ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
All eyes will be on Indiana, the Hoosier state, for tomorrow's NCAA Men's National Championship game. No teams' journey to the final is identical. Both squads have had to dodge upset-minded teams through weeks of bracket-busting jubilation for a chance to cut down the Nets at Lucas Oil Stadium. Adam Lefkoe is in Indianapolis for the championship game. He's the host of TNT Sports College Basketball coverage. Adam, welcome to the show.
ADAM LEFKOE: Hey. Thanks for having me, man.
SCHMITZ: So before we look to tomorrow night's game, what were your biggest takeaways from last night's Final Four games?
LEFKOE: I think this is the second time this season where I went into a Michigan game and thought, this game is going to be special. And it makes me look at the two teams that I watched win last night. And in UConn, I see that championship DNA. But in Michigan, I see this perfect amalgamation of transfers and coach strategy. And it was incredible to watch Michigan go wire to wire against the team that I thought heading in was the best team in college basketball in Arizona. So it was a little bit shock and awe.
SCHMITZ: For the uninitiated, how would you best describe who these teams are and what makes them unique?
LEFKOE: All right, let's start with UConn. UConn, you have the bristly coach that does not care what anybody thinks. He was the forgotten son of a high school coaching legend. Everyone in the world in the '90s was obsessed with Bobby Hurley. No one cared about Danny Hurley. And from those shadows emerged this man that is the perfect coach for any situation. He has a player in Alex Karaban, who is now in his third championship game in four seasons.
And for Michigan, you have this coach in Dusty May, a former assistant of Bobby Knight back in the day, who went to FAU, took one of the most surprising teams to the Final Four ever. Those players went around the country from NIL, and then he left to go to Michigan, where he has one of the tallest teams we've ever seen. So it's this powerful, you know, reemergence of Michigan that - we haven't seen a championship there since 1989 - versus UConn where you're going, there's no way they can do it again, and yet they have.
SCHMITZ: Adam, you're making this sound like a Marvel film (laughter).
LEFKOE: You know, it's kind of like "The Avengers." Michigan's a little bit...
SCHMITZ: "Avengers."
LEFKOE: ...Like "The Avengers," you know? And UConn is this team of, like, Tony Stark going, hey, man, I'm going to get out of this cave and figure it out.
SCHMITZ: So Michigan looks unstoppable. But UConn, the slight underdog here, is full of surprises. What is the secret to beating this Michigan team?
LEFKOE: So I think what we've seen, especially in games in stadiums, distance shooting typically falls by the wayside, and it is the great equalizer of size. It is the slingshot for David against Goliath, if they can hit those shots. Michigan really hasn't had that yet. And look, I thought Michigan was in trouble early against Arizona. All three of their big men had two fouls, and yet it didn't deter them at all. I think the interesting storyline here is a little revenge and redemption. Tarris Reed Jr., the big man for UConn, played for Michigan two years ago when they only had eight wins, and he was cast aside. But it's a 7 1/2-point spread. Michigan is the heavy favorite.
SCHMITZ: I cannot wait to watch this. That's Adam Lefkoe. He's the host of TNT Sports College Basketball coverage. Adam, thanks for coming on.
LEFKOE: Hey. Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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