Michigan has March Madness’ greatest REVENGE GAME opportunity vs. Louisville

The 2013 NCAA tournament was terrific. It featured a No. 9 seed, Wichita State, mounting a Cinderella run to the Final Four, and a bunch of earlier-round upsets that made the first few days of the tournament a blast. (Remember Harvard over New Mexico, La Salle over Kansas State, and Florida Gulf Coast in the Sweet 16?)

But the tournament’s most compelling teams, to me, were the ones that played in the national title game. That’s the one where a Russ Smith and Peyton Siva-led Louisville beat a Trey Burke-led Michigan, 82-76, for the right to cut down some nets.

It probably left the worst taste in Michigan’s mouths, not just because the Wolverines lost, but because the game was momentarily theirs and got away from them.

Reserve guard Spike Albrecht replaced Burke for most of the first half, because Burke had been called for two early fouls. Albrecht caught inexplicable fire and scored 17 points before the intermission. Michigan had a 33-21 lead after an Albrecht layup with 3:56 left in the half. Then everything went to hell.

Louisville’s Luke Hancock scored 14 points — four triples and two free throws — in a two-minute 33-second stretch after that. Michigan had a one-point lead at halftime, and Louisville outplayed them down the stretch. An egregious foul call on a Burke chase-down block of Siva, with five minutes left and UM down by three, was a killer.

But Louisville probably would’ve won anyway. The Cardinals grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in the second half to one for Michigan. Chane Behanan had seven all by himself. Michigan fans beefed that Behanan was literally tackling people to get some of those rebounds, and he might’ve been, but he was able to get away with whatever he did. Louisville was dominant and managed to win by six, with some breaks.

Nobody who played that night for either team will be in uniform on Sunday. The only principals who will be the same are the coaches, John Beilein and Rick Pitino.

But the matchup we’ve got on Sunday, in a second-round game between No. 2 Louisville and No. 7 Michigan in the Midwest region, is delicious. The Cardinals have been better than the Wolverines this year (that’s why they’re seeded higher!), but Michigan has an elite offense. It’s arguably the best in the tournament.

Ken Pomeroy’s projection model gives Michigan a 42 percent chance to win and forecasts a two-point Louisville win. Add in that Michigan is white-hot and has kind of a Team of Destiny feel right now, and the game feels like a tossup. (Michigan surviving a plane accident a few weeks ago doesn’t materially change this game, of course.)

Michigan guard Derrick Walton Jr. is having an incredible postseason, and he’ll go up against a committee of ball-dominant Louisville guards who can do offensive damage. That’ll be sort of a theme; Louisville has a lot more players who can contribute than Michigan does, especially inside. Michigan will have to make tons of shots to keep up with what will probably be a fresher opponent.

They weren’t there. But if Michigan fans felt they were done a grave injustice four years ago, they’ll never get a better chance for catharsis than what they have now.