Michigan Wofford NCAA Tournament
The Michigan Wolverines hope to make another run to the NCAA Title Game, where they fell to Louisville a year ago. Reuters

Hoping to make another run to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game, the Michigan Wolverines -- seeded No. 2 in the East Region -- are making final preparations before a Second Round showdown with No. 15 Wofford, a talented squad from the Southern Conference. Though the Wolverines earned victories in eight of their last ten outings, the defending National runner-up dropped the 2014 Big Ten Championship Game to rival Michigan State, prompting head coach John Beilein to call for more defensive intensity after the maize and blue surrendered 69 points to the Spartans while watching Tom Izzo’s bunch shoot an even 50 percent from the field.

“There’s really good days and then there are days …” Beilein said in a recent interview, stopping before completing his sentence concerning the Wolverines recent defensive play. “Individually, all you need is one guy to not be in the right position, one guy not to come out in the right stance, what we call the right close-out, and it all breaks down within seconds. So when we’re all together, we’re all together. This is very common of young teams. You need veterans to look at the bigger picture here. We have to be focused on defense or we will go home early. It’s really important that we do this. If we don’t, OK, great lesson learned, but this is not the way you want to have to learn.”

While Michigan looks to get back on track to start their NCAA Tournament responsibilities, the Terriers -- who won the Southern Conference as the No. 3 seed behind Chattanooga and top-seeded Davidson -- look forward to the challenge of upending a talented Wolverines squad. Though Michigan boasts scoring power in sophomore Nik Stauskas (17.5ppg, 3.1rpg, 3.3apg) and Caris LeVert (13.3ppg, 4.5rpg, 2.8apg), Wofford holds significant talent of their own. Junior guard Karl Cochran averages over 15 points and 5 rebounds per game while sophomore Spencer Collins and junior Lee Skinner hold the ability to hit double figures any night, traits that can present problems for each opponent.

Fully embracing the underdog role ahead of Thursday night’s showdown, Wofford twelfth-year head coach Mike Young -- who leads the Terriers to their third NCAA Tournament in five seasons -- says his team doesn’t need any extra motivation since they’re up for the challenge of facing last season’s finalist.

“You know, the underdog deal, you know, that's the way it is when Wofford comes to games such as these,” Young said. “I don't think we need any more motivation than that -- a storied program with a terrific coach. Let your hair down and you fight, you go at it and our team will do that.”

Michigan Wolverines vs. Wofford Terriers: DATE, TIME & VIEWING INFO

DATE: Thursday, March 20

TIME: 7:10 p.m., ET

LOCATION: BMO Harris Bradley Center -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin

TV COVERAGE: CBS

LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE

© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.