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ATLANTA – Early last summer – for Lindy’s Preseason Magazine – I picked Rick Pitino’s Louisville squad to win the 2013 national championship.

I did so for a variety of reasons, including – of course – Pitino’s Hall of Fame-caliber coaching and a roster that included five of the top seven players from a team that lost to eventual national champion Kentucky in a semifinal of the 2012 Final Four in New Orleans.

But those reasons didn’t include the expectation that a transfer from George Mason, who was redshirt a year ago, would be the Cardinals’ best player during two come-from-12 points-behind victories in the Georgia Dome.

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Louisville 82, Michigan 76

Why Louisville won: The Cardinals turned in a much better offensive performance than did Michigan’s last two opponents (Florida and Syracuse) and crushed the Wolverines with 15 offensive rebounds.

The Turning Point: With his team trailing by 12 points, Luke Hancock hit four 3s in a stretch of two minutes late in the first half.

The Star: Luke Hancock came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points to go with three assists and two steals.

The X Factor: Sophomore forward Chane Behanan scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds – seven of those on the offensive end.

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Frank looks at Monday night’s championship game:

No. 4 (South) Michigan (31-7) vs. No.1 (Midwest) Louisville (34-5), 9:23 p.m., CBS

Records vs. NCAA tournament field: Michigan 13-6, Louisville 16-5.

Records vs. common opponents: Michigan State beat Pittsburgh (67-62) and Syracuse (61-56); Louisville won two of three with Syracuse (winning 58-53 and 78-61 and losing 70-68) and beat Pittsburgh (64-61).

Best individual matchups: Trey Burke (6-0, So., Michigan) vs. Peyton Siva (6-0, Sr., Louisville) when Louisville is in man-to-man; Mitch McGary (6-9, Fr., Michigan) vs. Gorgui Dieng (6-10, Jr.,

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ATLANTA – What bails a basketball team on a night when its best offensive players are struggling to score?

Uh . . . that’s a rhetorical question.

A team can always rely on its defense to get it out of the stickiest of jams:

It’s the oldest and most reliable of the staples of Hoops Coaching 101.

Of course, a few other offensive options can always come in handy, too.

Both NCAA Championship semifinal winners illustrated that perspective Saturday night in the Georgia Dome.

Russ Smith, Gorgui Dieng and Peyton Siva – who have combined to average 39 points this season as their team’s three-best scorers – missed 21 of 28 shots from the floor Saturday night for Louisville.

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Michigan 61, Syracuse 56

Why Michigan won: On a night when Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Nik Stauskas were just five of 29 from the field, freshmen Glenn Robinson III, Mitch McGary, Spike Albrecht and Caris Levert combined for 34 points.

The Turning Point: Reserve Jordan Morgan took a charge from Brandon Triche on a potential score-tying shot with 19 seconds to go.

The Star: Post Mitch McGary had 10 points, 12 rebounds and six assists to go with blocks on the opening two possessions of Syracuse to get his team into the title game.

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