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Michigan joins elite company with monster first half vs. Arizona
By Ethan Stone
Published:
The Michigan Wolverines just annihilated Arizona across the first 20 minutes of Saturday night’s Final Four matchup. The Wolverines, even without star forward Yaxel Lendeborg, entered halftime leading 48-32.
Michigan’s first half put it in stride with some pretty impressive company, too. According to CBS Sports, Michigan’s first half against Arizona and its first half against Tennessee marks the first time a team has led by 15-plus at halftime of the Elite Eight and Final Four, dating all the way back to 1967-68 UCLA.
The 1968 Bruins ended up winning the national championship, led by star player Lew Alcindor — better known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Of course, Michigan is looking to follow 1968 UCLA’s footsteps, but they still need to play 60 minutes of winning basketball to do so. The Wolverines came out firing in the second half and currently lead Arizona by 20 following the U16 timeout.
Assuming Michigan is able to hold on, the Wolverines will face off against Dan Hurley and UConn, which does nothing but win in March. Michigan has looked like the best team in basketball this season, but it’s hard to count UConn out with Hurley leading the way.
First, though, Michigan has to put Arizona to bed.
Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Tradition.