Louisville and Michigan will end the Madness Tonight

Tonight top seeded Louisville will take on 4th seeded Michigan to close out the madness of 2013. When the tournament started I like many picked Louisville to play tonight but other than Michigan fans, who thought the Wolverines would make it to the title game? I would say not many. When you look at that side of the bracket Miami, Indiana, Georgetown, Kansas and Florida all where much sexier picks at the start than Michigan. Tonight the Wolverines will be in the role of “David” as they try to knock off the Louisville Cardinals.

Michigan will have to deal with the pressure that Louisville brings. Now, Michigan withstood Syracuse's enveloping 2-3 zone on Saturday but tonight it has to deal with the Cardinals' maddening press. The good news for the Wolverines: Their 9.37 turnovers per game average is the best all-time in UM history and leads the nation. The bad news: Louisville is second in the nation in steals, at 10.8. Its foes turned the ball over an average of 18.4 times per game this season.

A guy to watch for the Cardinals is junior guard Russ Smith, Smith is on fire, he’s averaging 25 points a game and is hitting 50% from the floor in five NCAA tournament games. That is getting the job done. For the Wolverines the freshman forward Mitch McGary has led Michigan with 16 ppg and 11.6 rpg during the tournament. So who wins tonight?

When you look at the Louisville defense and the way they can score: the Cardinals have made 53.2 percent of their shots in five NCAA tournament games It’s hard to pick Michigan to win this game, but you don’t win games on paper. If the Wolverines can keep the game close in the second half they will have a shot, but if the Cardinals start to roll early the game will be over before half time. I think Louisville will win tonight but the game should be fun, enjoy.