Oregon's game plan going into Thursday's thrilling 69-68 victory over Michigan was born Monday during film review of the Wolverines.

Watching film of Michigan's victory over Louisville last weekend, Oregon coaches noticed the Cardinal didn't make the Wolverines work hard on their passes and even worse, the Wolverines got easy passes into the paint.

By failing to make things difficult, Michigan dominated the second half and pulled off the upset. To prevent another upset, the Ducks knew exactly what they needed to do defensively. The Ducks played an aggressive and tight defensive rotation on the wings and got up and into the Wolverine guards. They pressed, they fought and brought with them a gritty defensive performance.

"We messed up their rhythm for sure," said Brooks. "They were scared to pass the ball into it. We were denying their wings to get the ball. We were just playing tough. That's the type of defense that we need."

In the first half, the Wolverines committed seven turnovers and could never find their groove offensively. In the second half, those turnovers were cut down, but Oregon's defensive pressure had accomplished what it needed to by locking down the Wolverine's efficient offense.

Michigan shot just 43 percent from the field, made just 35 percent of their 31 three-point attempts, and scored just 16 points in the paint to Oregon's 34.

Michigan's game-winning attempt was a closely contested jumper that had Oregon's defense draped all over senior guard Derrick Walton. The shot fell short and the Ducks left the court victorious.

"We took shots our kids would like to have back. We haven't been shooting that ball. They just rattled us just enough to make a difference in this game," said Belien.

Oregon head coach Dana Altman said the Ducks played just 'alright' defensively because of a few defensive mishaps and lack of communication on a few of Michigan's 'slips' on screens, but for the most part, the Ducks held their own.

"11 for 31 for a really good three-point shooting team?" Altman asked. "I thought we did a decent job of running them off the line and not giving them open shots."

When Michigan's shots weren't falling, the Wolverines tried going inside to sophomore forwards D.J. Wilson and Moritz Wagner, and the duo combined to shoot just 3-of-8 from the field as they couldn't get any kind of flow inside.

"It's difficult in that defense to do that," said Beilein. "Jordan Bell is a great defensive player. We tried to do that a little earlier with Mo. Didn't work out so well."

Bell dominated inside with his length, strength, and athletic ability as the Wolverines couldn't find a way get past him.

With Altman at Oregon, the Ducks have always been one of the best offensive teams in the Pac-12. This season, the Ducks have cranked up their defensive play to equal that of their offense. Now in the NCAA Tournament, the Ducks know they've got the defense to carry them to wins, even if their offense goes missing like it has the last two games.

"Defense always travels," said Tyler Dorsey. "Defense and rebounding, like coach says. The last two games that's been it."

The Ducks left the arena knowing they can play championship basketball because they know wherever they go, their defense will be there with them.

"It gives us a lot of confidence," said Bell. "It gives us a lot of confidence that if we don't play our best basketball we can still pull out wins like this."