Michigan leans on poise, experience against Louisville press
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) No. 2 seed Louisville (25-8) vs. No. 7 Michigan (25-11)
Second round, Midwest region; Indianapolis; 12:10 p.m. EDT.
BOTTOM LINE: Michigan has used poise, emotion and experience to reel off six straight wins. The Big Ten Tournament champs don't foul much and take care of the ball, too, as evidenced by the four turnovers they had in a first-round win over Oklahoma State. Louisville, meanwhile, likes to use pressure defense to crank up the tempo. It worked against Jacksonville State, but even coach Rick Pitino knows it will be much harder to get the Wolverines out of sync.
NEUTRAL PERFECTION: The Wolverines are 7-0 this season on neutral courts, with six wins coming against NCAA Tourney teams. They won beat Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota and Wisconsin on successive days in Washington. And in addition to Friday's win in Indianapolis, the Wolverines also have beaten Marquette and SMU for the 2K Classic championship in New York. Another neutral court win will send them to the regional semifinals.
SWEET SUCCESS: Louisville has made the Sweet 16 in five of the past six years. The lone miss came in 2016 when the Cardinals served a school-imposed postseason for alleged recruiting violations. The Cardinals have been to 21 regional semifinals, the fourth-highest total in NCAA history.
DID YOU KNOW: The Cardinals are 3-0 in this series with one win in Louisville, one in Ann Arbor and most recently in the 2013 championship game in Atlanta.
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