The Michigan Wolverines were a team that was sort of marinating during the regular season, and coming down the stretch they gave some indications that they could be getting ready to make a very bold move. Well, they have done just that, moving their way through the West regional and earning a trip to the Final Four. And they can appear in the championship game if they can score a victory over the surprise team in the field, the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers, in the national semi-final that begins at 6:05 PM ET on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. VietBet customers are in a great position, because not only do they get reduced juice on this game before it starts, they also have a chance to place wagers after the action begins, as they can access the state-of-the-art software from Live Betting Ultra.
2018 Final Four Picks – Michigan vs Loyola-Chicago:
In the 2018 Final Four Picks that have been posted on this game by the people at VietBet, the Wolverines are laying points:
Michigan Wolverines -5.5
Loyola-Chicago Ramblers +5.5
Over 129.5 points -110
Under 129.5 points -110
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2018 Final Four Picks: CJ’s Take on Michigan:
Michigan has won thirteen straight games to bring its record to 32-7 straight-up (24-13-1 ATS), and along the way they won the Big Ten post-season Tournament, beating the likes of Michigan State and Purdue. So they were considered a team that was carrying an awful lot of momentum into the proceedings. They have fulfilled these expectations.
And it has been an interesting run, because the Wolverines have demonstrated that they can change speeds; they have played very slow-paced games, with low scores, against Florida State (58-54) and Montana (61-47), yet ran Texas A&M off the floor in a 99-72 victory. This has to be considered something to their advantage, since Loyola plays about as slow as molasses.
Certainly the Wolverines would be expected to have better athletes on balance, as a Big Ten power, and like the Ramblers, who have Clayton Custer, a transfer has played a key role. Charles Matthews came to Ann Arbor from Kentucky, where he played very little, and right now he is seeing more action than his former Wildcat teammates (well, very few, since they are dominated by freshmen). He is Michigan’s best all-around player, and had 17 points and eight rebounds against FSU in the regional final.
Complementing Matthews is a strong supporting cast. Well, maybe it is unfair to refer to Moe Wagner (pronounced “Vogner”) as a member of the supporting cast, because the native of Berlin has been one of the team’s star performers. And he is going to be a key figure because he can score on the inside and the outside. Wagner is almost a 40% shooter from three-point range, and he has no problem putting the ball up, so it becomes a matter of whether he can draw Loyola’s best rebounder, Cameron Krutwig, out there in open space to defend him.
A possible handicap here for Michigan is the fact that it has suffered through some poor shooting efforts in this tournament, hitting only 35.6% against Houston (which they won on a last-second miracle shot by freshman Jordan Poole) and 38.8% against Florida State. Thankfully, they have been able to make up for that with great defense, as they have held their opponents below 31% from beyond the arc in eight of their last nine games. But they do not want to get into a situation where they get into a jump-shooting contest with Loyola, because they stand a much better chance of losing. And it would be hazardous for them to rely on their free throw shooting as well, as they make only 66.1%, which is 326th among the 351 Division I teams. So as far as protecting a late lead, they may be vulnerable in that area, allowing Loyola to possibly keep this very tight.
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