The "Under" Gameplan
How Michigan slowed down Arizona.
From the very first Arizona possession of last night’s Final Four battle, Michigan’s gameplan was clear: go under ball screens.
Below is that opening possession.
Arizona flows into a throw-and-chase ball screen for Brayden Burries, and Elliot Cadeau goes right under it — essentially daring Burries to take the off-the-dribble jumper.
Burries tied his season high with 10 three-point attempts. He made just two.
A couple minutes later, it was Ivan Kharchenkov’s turn to get the same treatment.
This is another throw-and-chase ball screen, and this time Roddy Gayle slides under — meeting Kharchenkov at the foul line. But this possession also highlights another key aspect of Michigan’s defense: heavy gap help.
The Wolverines essentially use pack line principles when guarding one pass away. So in this example, it’s not just the under coverage that’s disruptive — it’s also Cadeau’s gap help, which forces a steal.
This second-half screenshot is my favorite example of how much Michigan clogged the paint against Arizona’s ball screens.
Gayle goes under the screen and Cadeau helps at the nail, just like in the previous play. But Aday Mara is also clogging the paint. And then — for good measure — Will Tschetter is in there as well, guarding Motiejus Krivas’s duck-in.
There’s nowhere to go for Kharchenkov.
Over the screen on Dell’Orso
Anthony Dell’Orso was the one Arizona player Michigan consistently chose not to go under on.
Watch Cadeau here.
Because Cadeau goes over the screen, he’s unable to keep Dell’Orso out of the paint on his own. This time, it’s Trey McKenney’s turn to provide strong gap help one pass away.
Burries recognizes the help and slides down to the corner, but Dell’Orso doesn’t find him. Instead, he throws the ball into the post.
Here’s one example of Arizona successfully beating the coverage with Dell’Orso.
Nimari Burnett goes over the screen and Cadeau helps in the gap, but this time Kharchenkov cuts to the basket — and Dell’Orso finds him for a bucket.
The result? A season-high in dribble jumpers
The under coverage — and let’s give some credit to Mara’s defensive presence as well — kept Arizona’s guards away from the rim.
According to Synergy Sports, the Wildcats took 22 off-the-dribble jump shots, their highest total of the season. To make matters worse, they made just six.
Arizona also posted its lowest points-per-possession game of the season (0.94). It was the first game all year the Wildcats were held under one point per possession.
This isn’t the first time a team has gone under ball screens against the Mark Few/Tommy Lloyd offensive scheme, but it proved to be a wise decision on Saturday.