In Reply to: UCLA at Michigan Preview posted by mh on February 13, 2026 at 11:15:21
Cronin may be tempted to shut Mara down given the history— he doesn’t want Mara having a big game. That would be a mistake imo.
When Mara catches the ball near the 3 point line which is common in Michigan’s offensive system, teams have been making the mistake of guarding him. Instead, Cronin should tell our bigs to lay off him. Stay in the paint. Mara is an excellent passer and when opposing bigs have pressured him Michigan runs cutters into the lane and Mara usually finds them for easy 2s. Also, never double Mara even when he gets it down low. He sees over the top of the doubles and finds wide open 3 pt shooters or cutters. Let Mara get his points. Focus instead on keeping others off the glass and guarding their shooters and cutters.
On offense, let’s launch a ton of 3s and hope. Thats really our only chance.