NCAA Championship-Michigan Wolverines vs. Louisville Cardinals

The National Title game has been set! With that being said, Sportacular Sports will analyze and predict Monday Night's game.

Background:
CBS
9:23 PM ET
#4 Michigan Wolverines vs. #1 Louisville Cardinals

Final Four Recap:
In case you missed the two National Semi-finals, here is a quick recap.

Louisville-72
Wichita State-68

At one point in this game, the Shockers actually held a 12 point game. Unlike the Ohio State, Elite 8 game, this WSU lead slipped away. It was not the constant Louisville pressure that spurred a 15-0 crazy run (this did not happen), it was a more gradual comeback by the Cardinals. One you would expect from the Number 1 overall seed. The Shockers played a great game but the Louisville bench, led by Luke Hancock's 20 points, were the main reason the Cards play Monday night. The pivotal play of the game came after a missed Hancock free throw in which the ball was corralled by Wichita State. Unfortunately for WSU fans, Hancock clasped onto the ball and forced a jump ball. The rest is as they say history because Louisville owned the possession arrow and then the National Championship berth.

Michigan-61
Syracuse-56

The matchup between Michael Carter-Williams and Trey Burke could have been the greatest matchup of the Tourney, instead it was the role players who put on the show. Freshmen Spike Albrecht and Caris LeVert both hit important threes and the other freshmen big man Mitch McGary tallied his 3rd double double of the Tournament. With all those Freshman superstars, the MVP should truly go to Jordan Morgan. As McGary's play has improved, Morgan's minutes have diminished to the point where he didn't record a minute in their opening round game. After being a starter for most of the past two seasons, it is fitting Morgan owns MVP honors of the Semi-Final game. While it might not seem that he played a large part in the box score (3 points) it was his two charges taken that really won the game for the Wolverines. Michigan couldn't hit a Free Throw down the stretch connecting on only 3 of their Final 11 attempts but it was Morgan's charges that got them those extra possessions to save the game. He fittingly ended the game with a Monster slam to put Michigan in the Finals.

Now for the National Championship prediction!

To think that this is the National Championship matchup is a Hard Core fan's dream. The casual fan understands the Guard play matchup between Burke/Hardaway Jr. and Smith/Siva and that's a great storyline but for someone like me, sports lunatic, we see the real storyline. 

Michigan ranks #1 in Offensive efficiency while Louisville ranks #1 in Defensive efficiency. 
For a National title to have the top ranked offenses and defenses is hardly a reality. Fortunately for us that's what we have. Throw in that Louisville loves to force turnovers (2nd to VCU) and Michigan doesn't cough the ball up (2nd to none) and we have two amazing story lines. 

These two teams matchup as evenly as can be. For example, Russ Smith and Trey Burke. Both sporadic shot takers at time, can instantaneously take over and win their school a National Title. Hardaway Jr. and Peyton Siva. Both have amazing leadership and will will their to victory. Chane Behanan and Glenn Robinson Jr. Both slash the lane but have the ability to stretch the floor. 

Louisville has the edge in the experience department. Michigan has 5 Freshamn in their rotation, a Sophomore, a Junior, and a Senior (see above-Jordan Morgan). Louisville went to the Final Four last year and have plenty of Senior leadership. While people say experience doesn't really matter, check Louisville vs. Michigan's free throw shooting down the stretch. 

With the equality of both these teams, I am waffling a ton on my pick. I picked the Cardinals pre-season (I'm impressed with myself) but my favorite College Basketball team happens to be Michigan. Seeing both teams in action this weekend, I can't point out one thing that will separate one from the other.

With ALL this being said, I'm going with the...Wolverines...no Cardinals... tie?...OK

Michigan Wolverines!!!

I think the difference in the game is Mitch McGary down low and Trey Burke being the best player in the Nation. 


Wolverines-67
Cardinals-66

Could the road to a National Championship be easier than winning the Big Ten Tournament?

Today we will look at the question, Could the road to a National Championship be easier than a Big Ten Tournament Championship?

For this example the current BIG 10 standings will be used. Indiana ranks as the Number 1 seed because of a tie break win over Michigain State. MSU, Wisconsin, and Michigain round out the first round byes respectively. Therefore a pre-season National Championship contender, Ohio State, would not receive a first round bye in their conference tournament.

The first round matchups would be as follows (higher ranked team first)
Ohio State vs. Penn State
Minnesota vs. Nebraska
Illinois vs. Northwestern
Purdue vs. Iowa

With the unpredictability of this year's College Basketball of course any team could go down at any moment. But for example's sake let's assume the top teams take care of business in the first round.

Last years NCAA tournament was crazy with two #2 seeds falling in the opening room but the chances that one falls again this season are extremely slim. Looking past those upsets the top 4 seeds could potentially receive Number 1 or 2 seeds equaling a first round bye.

The Quarterfinal matchups in the BIG 10 tourney would then be:
Indiana vs. Purdue
Michigain State vs. Illinois
Wisconsin vs. Minnesota
Michigain vs. Ohio State

The quarters are where things would get interesting. The Kentucky Wildcats were National Champions last season and I would argue that UK's second round matchup, Iowa State, is somewhat of an equal to the Boilermaker squad. Obviously, the other matchups would be a College Basketball fan's dream with games like upset ready Illinois vs a well coached Sparty squad. An underrated Badger team against Minnesota who is prone to heat up. And of course another matchup between the Buckeyes and Wolverines.

Again assuming the top seeds advance the semi-final matchups would be:
Indiana vs. Michigan
Michigain State vs. Wisconsin

Those matchups rights there could potentially be the National Semi-Final yet they could be in the Semis of a Conference. Kentucky faced a worse Indiana squad, Baylor, and Louisville on their championship run. All 4 teams remaining in the BIG 10 tournament would be better than that Baylor team and the Louisville team. To think Indiana would have to face a National Championship contender in a game not named the Championship would be unforeseeable in a conference tournament. And we aren't done.

The BIG 10 title game would be a hot Michigan State squad against projected National Champion, Indiana. I think it's a valid argument to say that Michigan State could rank amongst Duke and Miami the other top teams in the nation. As a cause of this, I definitely believe that it is a fair question to ask which title run will be tougher. While I've stated exactly all the reasons why a BIG 10 title would be harder, I'm going to stick with the Big Dance and say this. When it comes to March, you don't want to play the team that is hot. For example, Uconn 2 years ago. In addition, you are playing an extra game. And finally, the tournament is where upsets happen. The NCAA tournament is such a great event because you never know what is going to happen. So my closing decision would be the BIG 10 title run is almost equal to a National Championship run.

Did Notre Dame belong in the National Championship

Did Notre Dame belong in the National Championship?

A lot of people are asking after last night's beat down, if the Irish should have been in the National Championship. Most of this concern comes from the over reaction of the blowout but I do believe it is a valid question.

In today's system, there was no other team in the land that deserved to be number one purely to the fact that the Irish went undefeated. Were they the best team in the country, clearly not but Notre Dame was the only team that took care of business and won every game. While their schedule obviously does not line up with an SEC schedule, the Irish played formidable opponents like Michigan and Stanford.

Everyone will point out the magical escape of the Pittsburgh Panthers in Triple Overtime but every championship team has a game like that over the course of the season. For example, tears and all, AJ McCarron led a comeback victory in Baton Rouge earlier in the season. Of course Pitt and LSU do not match up but the theme is winning a game they had no business in winning.

Playoff System:
Thankfully, the NCAA board or whoever made this decision has chosen to institute a 4 team playoff in the 2014 season. In this system, Notre Dame would have faced Oregon who, after seeing this game, would look like a Duck blowout. But in fact Notre Dame is similar to Stanford who were the Duck's kryptonite this season. Florida would've faced Alabama and probably showed up for the game in an SEC clash. An Alabama-Oregon championship was every fan's dream and in the new playoff system it would have been made possible.

Deserving?
I honestly do believe Notre Dame did belong in the title game. They set themselves up with tough opponents throughout the season and took care of business. You can't fault them for going undefeated. The final point comes from the talk that I saw this coming. My response to that is 20-20 vision. Unless you had it in writing before the game thats a load of ___. I was one of the people that thought Notre Dame's defense would be able to keep them in the game but the first quarter and 4 seconds proved me wrong. I'm proud enough to admit it but would you if you were wrong?

Alabama-42
Notre Dame-14