ATLANTA—An in-depth position-by-position breakdown for Monday night’s national championship game between Louisville and Michigan.
Point guard
Louisville: Peyton Siva
Siva’s greatest strengths—he’s a relentless defender, selfless leader and outstanding passer—fit perfectly with Louisville’s core philosophies. He often walks a fine line offensively, though. He can score when opportunities present themselves, but ideally he’s not the first, second, third or fourth option. In the semifinal, Wichita State went under screens on the perimeter virtually the entire game, practically daring Siva to shoot the basketball. He did, without much success. Siva finished 0-for-5 from 3-point range as part of his 1-for-9 shooting night.
Michigan: Trey Burke
He has not been the same player in the NCAA Tournament as during the regular season, and in some ways that has been a benefit. He is hitting just 25.8 percent of his 3-pointers, but when the Wolverines encountered difficulty before he often went into savior mode. Four of his five games of 20-plus shots were UM defeats. Struggling to get clear shots against the Syracuse zone, he relented and ran the team, making smart plays that helped to preserve the lead.
BY Sporting News
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