The No. 2 seed Michigan women’s basketball team faces No. 1 seed Texas at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN) with the Wolverines’ first ever Final Four berth on the line. Here’s a look at the key components of the game.
Battle of the Defenses
Texas is one of the nation’s top defensive teams, limiting opponents to 56.3 points per game while forcing 22.4 turnovers and generating 26.4 points off those turnovers, on average. The Longhorns also average 11.9 steals and 4.6 blocks per game, led by the tandem of guard Rori
Harmon and AP All-American first team forward Madison Booker.
The Wolverines limit opponents to 62.2 points per game while forcing 21.7 turnovers and generating 24.3 points off those. Michigan averages 11.4 steals and 3.6 blocks per game, the steals led in large part due to senior guard Brooke Quarles Daniels. Quarles Daniels’ defense bolsters the Wolverines’ full-court press, which wreaked havoc against each of their opponents thus far in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan swiped 10 steals against No. 15 seed Holy Cross, 14 against No. 7 seed North Carolina State, and nine against No. 3 seed Louisville in the Sweet 16 on Saturday. The Wolverines forced a total of 60 turnovers (20, 22, 18, respectively) and plan to ramp up their defensive efforts full-throttle to contend with the Longhorns’ lethal offense.
Containing Booker and Harmon
Booker averages 19.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game to lead Texas in both categories. She’s a complete player who can score at all levels, and
“She is just phenomenal,” head coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “Her pull-up game is, like — I mean, you can put it with anyone in the world, and I think, you know, she would win that contest. She just has a knack for the goal. I mean, she shoots it, and the ball goes in. So she is just a really, really special player.”
In the NCAA Tournament so far, Booker has scored 17 points against No. 5 seed Kentucky in the Sweet 16, 40 against No. 8 seed Oregon in the second round, and a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double against No. 16 seed Missouri State in the first round. Her lowest field goal percentage was 50 percent from the floor, and a high of 66.7 percent against the Ducks. Booker takes efficient shots, facilitated by Harmon.
“Rori Harmon, who is arguably one of the best point guards in the country that plays both ways,” Barnes Arico said. “She defends her butt off, 94 feet as well as playing offense at a really, really high level.”
Harmon’s 6.2 assists and 2.8 steals per game — as the Longhorns’ all-time program leader in those categories — are emblematic of her in-game impact. Entering the NCAA Tournament, Texas ranked third nationally in turnover margin, fourth in scoring margin, fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio and fifth in field goal percentage, in no small part thanks to Harmon. She’s a high-efficiency scorer herself, adding 8.5 points per game, while shooting 46.2 percent from three (albeit at a lower clip than most guards). Her defensive tenacity and full-court pressure alter the game, and could have a big impact on Michigan’s offense if not controlled.
Capitalize on threes
Texas shoots three-pointers at the nation’s lowest rate out of 363 teams. If the Wolverines can heat up from three, coming from sophomore guards Syla Swords, Olivia Olson, Mila Holloway and sophomore wing Te’Yala Delfosse, they can compensate for the Longhorns’ efficiency within the arc to hang tight. Michigan shoots 33.6 percent from deep as a team and lit up the scoreboard with 10 triples against the Wolfpack in the NCAA Tournament second round. However, the Wolverines shot just 4-for-13 beyond the arc against the Cardinals in the Sweet 16, and will need a return to form.
On offense, Michigan will also have to limit its turnovers more closely to its opening weekend average (7.5) compared to 17 against Louisville. The Longhorns capitalize on turnovers, running in transition, and make it difficult to get clean looks offensively in the halfcourt. The Wolverines will need to stay true to their identity, playing with a controlled tempo, to generate efficient opportunities and make their first Final Four.
