Rich's Nerves Before Michigan-UConn

Rich walked through his nerves ahead of Michigan's national championship game against UConn after watching his Wolverines dismantle Arizona in the Final Four. Susie took Taylor to the women's Final Four in Phoenix. His boys were on the East Coast for spring break. Rich watched the game alone, got tipsy, and started getting texts he didn't want.

Michigan went up 10-1 to start. Someone texted the group in invisible ink: "This is over." Within seconds, Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lindenborg picked up two fouls in five seconds. Dusty May put him back in and Lindenborg drove the lane, rolled his ankle on Arizona's 7-foot-2 Creass, and limped off. Tracy Wolfson had to keep updating on the injury.

Arizona went on a 9-0 run. That was the closest they got. Roddy Gayle hit a dunk over Creass that should have been an and-one, and Michigan never trailed. The 18-point margin was tied for the biggest one-seed versus one-seed BTA (beatdown) in tournament history. And it happened without the Big Ten Player of the Year in the first half.

Rich's heroes: Trey McKenna did his thing. A Deim Mara, a transfer from UCLA, went for 26 points, 9 rebounds, and a couple of blocks while being the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Lindenborg came back in and hit two threes.

The quote of the night came from Dusty May explaining why he put Lindenborg back in: "Apparently you guys missed the UConn-Duke game." He wasn't feeling confident enough to put the kids to bed.

The twist is that UConn is who Michigan drew. Dan Hurley is the modern-day Coach K. UConn doesn't lose when they hit the Sweet 16. Alex Karaban is about to become the fifth player to start in three national championship games in four years, joining Patrick Ewing, Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, and Bobby Hurley.

Hurley, who's 199-74 at UConn, spent his press time talking about how his lucky suit jacket is falling apart. Dusty May, meanwhile, was courtside scouting UConn and Illinois before Michigan even beat Arizona. Rich's ask for tonight: tip before 9 Eastern. No Chainsmokers concert. Nobody wants it.