The Michigan Wolverines are scary bunch, because they are the prototypical squad that has really peaked at the right time. They were not the favorites to win the Big 10 tournament; not at all, but they did so, defeating the likes of Michigan State and Purdue to get there. And they have used a little luck and a lot of skill to run through their regional opponents to the point where they are at the Final Four. Now on a 13-game winning streak (10-2-1 ATS during that stretch), they face the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers, who have won fourteen games in a row, in the national semi- final, beginning at 6:09 PM ET on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio.At BetAnySports, Michigan is a five-point favorite, with a posted total of 129.5 points.

So what might Michigan have to do in order to get by this Cinderella team and move on to the winner of the Villanova-Kansas game on Monday night for all the marbles?

CHANGE SPEEDS – Michigan is a slow team, at both ends of the floor. They are 311th in offensive tempo, holding the ball for an average of 18.7 seconds on a per-possession basis. They are also 298th in average possession when they are on defense, meaning that they make opposing teams work for a shot. Obviously Michigan has the athletes to go to a faster pace – ask Texas A&M about that. But we're not sure that Loyola would be comfortable playing at that tempo, so maybe that's something Michigan could try every so often.

GET WAGNER OUT IN SPACE – One of the great assets for the Wolverines is the fact that they have a 6-11 center who has the ability to go outside and make shots. Moe Wagner, the Berlin native, is 39.5% accurate from beyond the three-point arc. So who could possibly contest his shot out there? Loyola is not a team with a lot of height or length, so the logical choice would be their 6-9 center, Cameron Krutwig. And he would be pretty uncomfortable out there, not to mention in a less-than-ideal position to snare a rebound. Using Wagner's versatility would put Michigan in good stead.

RUN LOYOLA OFF THE THREE-POINT LINE – This is actually something Michigan has done a pretty good job of, if you look at the statistics, which indicate that opponents take only 30% of their shots from beyond the arc, and that is the sixth lowest percentage in the country. As BetAnySports patrons remember that Loyola is a poor offensive rebounding team, the Wolverines might want to try taking away something they do very well, which is to hit long-range (40.2%). Over the last nine games, Michigan has held its opponents below 31% in triples eight times, so logic would dictate that with their athletes, they have a better chance inside the arc.

KEEP GUYS FRESH – Michigan may have to make a special effort on the defensive end, and that could make some players expend a little bit more energy than usual. This team does not use a lot of bench minutes (only 28.9% of total minutes, in fact), but that doesn't mean they don't have very capable players in reserve. For example, 6-1 Jaaron Simmons is a transfer from Ohio who scored 15.9 points per game a couple of years ago. Yet he plays very little. Jordan Poole, who sank that very dramatic last-second shot against Houston which enabled Michigan to go forward, also does not play a lot of minutes. And then there is Isaiah Livers, the versatile freshman who was Mr. Basketball in Michigan last year. They can go to the bench and still be relatively strong.

Normally, we would say "make your free throws," but that's not a strategy, is it? That's something Michigan (66%) is probably going to have to do above average (THEIR average, anyway) on Saturday in order to get to the championship game.

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