CBS analyst Clark Kellogg breaks down Michigan and the challenges for Syracuse:
Q: Is Michigan maybe a mojo team right now with the way they beat Kansas?
A: Yeah, early in the year they were really good offensively. Once they got into the rigors and the grind of the Big Ten, they lost a little bit of that edge, which a lot of teams in their conference do. But they've re-emerged, in part because of the play of Mitch McGary. He gives them an element that they really didn't have, a physical big-skill guy. I think (Trey) Burke has been fantastic all year long. And they've got other guys (Tim) Hardaway Jr. has been really good and can shoot it. (Nik) Stauskas is a terrific shooter. Glenn Robinson III is a really good all-around player. I don't know if there's a team that has the perimeter shooting that Michigan has, and that's always useful if you're going to face the zone.
Q: If you’re Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim and you watch film of Florida-Michigan, what do you say we’ve got to do better than Florida did to beat Michigan?
A: Their zone defense is such that you've got to make sure you're in the space of the shooters early. It seemed like Michigan got a bunch of good (3-point) looks. One thing you have to do is crowd — be on shooters like that on the catch or before the catch, really. And Syracuse has the ability with the length that it has, not just on the baseline, but out front. I mean Michael Carter-Williams is (6-foot-6), and Brandon Triche is 6-4, and both of them are pretty long, too.
Q: Doesn’t this make for an interesting matchup from a style standpoint?
A: No question. Michigan is probably as skilled and efficient an offensive team as there is in the country because they can shoot it. They've got a tremendous point guard who not only can set up other people who operate really well in the pick-n-roll, but he can shoot it off the dribble. He can step into pull-up 3's from 30 feet and make them. That's going to be interesting to see.
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