In the second national semifinal game of the 2013 Men’s Final Four, no.4 Michigan defeated no.4 Syracuse 61-56.
Michigan freshman forward Mitch McGary, who has become one of the breakout stars of the tournament, led the charge for the Wolverines with a 10 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
His play negated the bad games by point guard Trey Burke and shooting guard Nik Stauskas thanks to McGary’s efficiency.
Burke scored seven points on a paltry 1 of 8 shooting while three-point sharpshooter Stauskas went scoreless as he went o-5, including 0-4 from three-point range.
The game was not without controversy.
With roughly 20 seconds remaining when Syracuse was down two, Syracuse shooting guard Brandon Triche drove the lane and got called for a charging foul. The controversy began to brew when it appeared that the defender’s feet were not set. Triche made the layup, so it would have been a tie game with the 74% free throw shooter heading to the charity stripe for one free throw attempt.
Now it is obviously not guaranteed that Triche would have put the Orange up, although it did indeed have a major effect on the outcome of the game.
As it stands though, the no. 4 seed Michigan will face the no.1 seed Louisville Cardinals in the 2013 NCAA Men’s National Championship Game in a matchup that could be an instant classic.