It’s a tough way for the season to end, but the biggest reason Arizona lost to Michigan wasn’t talent. It wasn’t rebounding. It wasn’t even shooting. Arizona lost this game because it played too fast and turned the ball over, which is exactly what Michigan wanted.
Arizona Played Too Fast From Start
All week, the key to beating Michigan was simple: slow the game down, take care of the ball, and make it score in the half-court. The teams that beat Michigan earlier in the season did the same. It didn’t run with them, and it didn’t give them easy transition points.
But Arizona came out and tried to run with Michigan, and that was a huge mistake.
Michigan is almost unbeatable when the game is fast because it plays great defense, forces turnovers, and turns those turnovers into open threes and fast break points. That’s exactly what happened in this game. Arizona turned the ball over early, Michigan hit threes, and the game got out of control really fast.
The Guards Struggled When It Mattered Most
Arizona’s guards were supposed to be the advantage in this game, but it ended up being the opposite. The assist-to-turnover ratio in the first half was terrible, and that basically decided the game.
Turnovers against a normal team are bad. Turnovers against Michigan are game-ending because the Wolverines don’t just score, they score fast, and they score threes. That’s how a close game suddenly becomes a 15-point game.
It wasn’t just Michigan playing great defense either. A lot of the turnovers were unforced errors, bad passes, rushed decisions, and playing too fast.
Michigan Controlled the Game Plan
This is also where coaching and game plan come into the conversation. Michigan clearly had a plan: speed Arizona up, pressure the guards, force turnovers, and shoot threes in transition…