INDIANAPOLIS — The Post breaks down Monday night’s national championship game between No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Connecticut at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Backcourt
For Connecticut to pull the upset, the Huskies must have a considerable edge here. It means point guard Silas Demary Jr. shutting down his counterpart, Elliot Cadeau. It means Demary, Braylon Mullins and Solomon Ball not only making shots but limiting the Wolverines guards from beyond the arc and forcing turnovers. That might be Michigan’s biggest weakness; it ranks 160th in turnover percentage. It won’t help UConn that Ball (sprained left foot) is a question mark for Monday night.
Edge: Connecticut
Frontcourt
There hasn’t been a more dominant player in this tournament than Connecticut center Tarris Reed Jr. Now, he meets the nation’s premier frontcourt, anchored by 7-foot-3 big man Aday Mara. Mara has plenty of help from Morez Johnson Jr. and Associated Press first-team All-American Yaxel Lendeborg. The versatile trio accounts for an average of 40.4 points, 21 rebounds, seven assists and 4.9 blocks. Lendeborg, though, may not be close to 100 percent after spraining his left ankle and MCL in Saturday’s rout of Arizona. It hardly mattered against the Wildcats. Scoring in the paint against the Wolverines is a daunting task. They are second in the country in 2-point field goal percentage (44.1) and first in defensive efficiency.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
