There's still time to win! Pick the Final Four winners in CBS Sports' Round-By-Round game and you could be in attendance next year.
Michigan is not imposing. That is, if you compare it to … Michigan.
John Beilein's previous Final Four team, five years ago, featured seven future pros. It featured the national player of the year (Trey Burke) and a future Big Ten player of the year (Nik Stauskas).
This Final Four team, well, doesn't have that. Center Moritz Wagner looks like a serviceable stretch-five in the NBA. Guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman may get there. Perhaps some others, like redshirt sophomore Charles Matthews or freshman Jordan Poole, in the future.
The point is, the Wolverines weren't supposed to be here. Michigan State was the Big Ten's year-long Final Four favorite. If not the Spartans, then Purdue. The Wolverines rose up the seed lines with a nine-game winning streak entering the Big Dance, including a Big Ten Tournament title -- they haven't lost since Feb. 6.
Michigan being in the Final Four again is a testament to Beilein's slow and steady hand. The coach wasn't over .500 at Michigan until his fifth season. A year later it was in the Final Four. The Wolverines aren't usually flashy. Check out that slogan on their warm ups, "Do More, Say Less."
They aren't flashy but they can be. Against Texas A&M in the regional semifinal, Michigan ran the Aggies off the floor.
If Loyola-Chicago wants to run, heaven help them. And it seems the Ramblers already have plenty of help there. But Loyola will need more than Sister Jean to get past the Wolverines.
Michigan is sneaky good. The frontcourt is built around variety. You know about Wagner, the leading scorer who has big-man size and a 3-point stroke. Duncan Robinson is a stretch four who doesn't mix it up a lot inside but pulls his man away from the basket. Then, 7-foot-1, 255-pound sophomore Joe Teske is a true center. What he lacks in offensive skill at the moment is made up for with the physical presence he provides in the paint in limited minutes.
This team is driven by guards. Freshman Zavier Simpson is a slick point guard who probably provides the most highlight-worthy moments.
Matthews is playing better than anyone on the team right now. The 6-6 junior was the most outstanding player of the West Regional. The Kentucky transfer heated up just in time for the NCAA Tournament averaging 16.5 points in those four games. In the last eight games, he has turned the ball over more than once only one time.
Abdur-Rahkman is the steadying influence. A senior, averaging 13 points and 3 ½ assists, he'll play his 143rd career game in the Final Four. That's third all-time at the school. He is the perfect Beilein guy with a 6-7 wingspan and quiet personality that fits right.
And yes, he was named after Muhammad Ali. He won't pull any punches. (Pun abuse hotline is now available.)
For all the bluster over Loyola, the Ramblers must adjust to the Wolverines, not the other way around. Michigan is the better team. It can win playing up tempo or drag you down in the dirt and win in the halfcourt.
This stat is one of my favorite in the Final Four: Michigan is in position to lead the Big Ten in defensive scoring for only the fourth time in 102 years. Beilein's teams had never ranked higher than 37th nationally in defensive efficiency, but this season they rank No. 4 overall -- the best defensive team still alive.
By the end of Monday night, the Wolverines could be college basketball's darlings because they will have beaten Cinderella and a blueblood (Villanova or Kansas).
Beilein calls his guys pit bulls. I called them Gumbys. They can beat you any way you want to play.