Louisville freshman forward Montrezl Harrell provided the highlight dunk of the first half of the national title game when he smashed a beautiful ally-oop pass from Peyton Siva through the rim in the final 25 seconds.

Harrell's dunk punctuated a Louisville run by giving the Cardinals the lead after they had fallen behind the Wolverines by 12 points earlier in the half. Michigan managed to retake the lead 38-37 at halftime on free throws in the final seconds.

While Harrell's dunk was a thing of beauty, the half was dominated hot shooting of Michigan backup point guard Spike Albrecht and Louisville forward Luke Hancock.

More NCAA tournament coverage from Yahoo! Sports

• Bad call on Trey Burke block a turning point in title game
• Freshman's crazy alley-oop punctuates Cardinals' first-half comeback
• Louisville earns redemption, third national title
• Rick Pitino caught off guard by celebration fireworks

Spike Albrecht (Getty Images)

ATLANTA — The best thing that happened to Michigan in the first half of Monday night's NCAA title game was the national player of the year picking up two fouls in the opening nine minutes.

Once Trey Burke went to the bench, the Spike Albrecht show began.

Albrecht, a 5-foot-11 freshman who played sparingly behind Burke this season, erupted for 17 points in the first half of Monday's national title game to lead Michigan to a 38-37 halftime lead. The backup point guard did a little bit of everything, burying all four 3-pointers he attempted, blowing by Louisville defenders for layups and even fueling a fast break with an outlet pass thrown from his backside.

[Slideshow: Best action from NCAA championship]

When Albrecht scored his final basket of the half by using a hesitation dribble to shake Louisville's Tim Henderson for a driving layup, even the Michigan bench couldn't believe what they were seeing. They sprinted off the bench at the timeout and mobbed the unheralded freshman as he jogged off the floor with a huge grin on his face.

Louisville fans were no doubt typing Albrecht's name into their favorite search engines to figure out who was beating them because the freshman is far from a household name even in college hoops circles.

Appalachian State was the only Division I school interested enough in Albrecht to offer the Northfield Mt. Hermon Prep guard a scholarship until Michigan learned of him in March 2012. The Wolverines were desperate for a point guard because they feared Burke might turn pro after his freshman year, so they quickly offered Albrecht a scholarship and promised him a reserve role if Burke remained and the chance to compete for a starting gig if he left.

(USA Today Sports Images)Former Michigan star Chris Webber showed up to the national title game Monday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta wearing Michigan blue, completing a Fab Five reunion 20 years after they lost to North Carolina in the 1993 title game.

There had been widespread speculation about whether Webber would make it to the championship game against Louisville to support his alma mater. Former teammates and Fab Five members Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King all were committed to attend.

During a first-half timeout, the crowd roared when several members of the Fab Five were shown together in the stands.

Heads up! (Getty Images)

ATLANTA - When you tune into Monday night's NCAA basketball championship, whether because you love the strains of "One Shining Moment" or because you're one of those lucky few whose bracket is still clinging to life, you'll notice that the players are running up and down a court that appears to be two feet higher than the surrounding floor. It's a strange effect, particularly when the camera catches bench players looking like they're sitting at the kids' table at Thanksgiving.

In the case of the Final Four, the reason for the elevated court, which sits 27 inches off the floor, is both aesthetic and financial. There's an obvious challenge to staging a basketball game, with its 4,700 square feet of court, on a space designed for a football field, with its 45,000 square feet. Seat rows in the Georgia Dome and similar gargantuan arenas aren't designed to slope to what would, in effect, be the 35-yard-line on each side of the field. So while most court arrangements in domes force the NCAA

Jimmy King, Juwan Howard, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Ray Jackson. (Getty Images)

For a brief moment in the early 1990s, Michigan's Fab Five, a quintet of ridiculously talented freshmen who arrived in Ann Arbor simultaneously, owned college basketball ... or, at least, thought they did. An entire generation of college basketball fans can reel off every one of their names: Jalen Rose. Chris Webber. Juwan Howard. Ray Jackson. Jimmy King. Although they didn't win a national title, they captivated the entire sports world in a way that few college basketball teams had before, and none have since. Their attitude, skill, fashion sense, swift ascent and sudden decline changed the face of the college game in both positive and negative directions. And 20 years later, they're still a topic of conversation.

Four of the Fab Five plan to attend Monday night's championship game, where the 2013-model Wolverines will face Louisville. The lone holdout? Webber, the team's centerpiece and, in many ways, the reason for the Five's disintegration. Easily the best player of the five,

Russ Smith, Gorgui Dieng, Peyton Siva and Luke Hancock (Getty Images)

A is for Atlanta, which is hosting the Final Four for the fourth time. Marquette beat North Carolina for the national title in 1977, Maryland outclassed Indiana in 2002 and Florida defended its title against Ohio State in 2007.

B is for bloodlines, something Michigan has in abundance. Tim Hardway Jr. is the son of ex-NBA guard Tim Hardaway, Glenn Robinson III is the son of ex-Purdue star Glenn Robinson and Jon Horford is the son of ex-NBA player Tito Horford. All three Wolverines have thrived despite following in the footsteps of their father.

[Video: Tim Hardaway experiences son's joy]

C is for cutting down the nets, which Louisville will finally do if it wins Monday night's title game. The Cardinals have opted not to trim down the nets after winning the Big East tournament and advancing to the Final Four, a symbolic gesture meant to demonstrate they believe there is only one set of nets worth snipping.

D is for depth, which Louisville lacks at guard with Kevin Ware injured. Either Peyton Siva and Russ Smith are going to need to avoid foul trouble Monday night, or Louisville will have to get contributions from walk-on Tim Henderson for a second straight game.

E is for the early start John Beilein got scouting Louisville on Sunday morning. "I started at 5:45 this morning," Beilein said. "I didn't think they were fun because they give you so many looks. With a one-day prep, it's almost impossible to get ready for all of those things." Pitino had earlier called watching Michigan film "fun" because of the way the Wolverines cut, pass and shoot. As a coach going to play them, I really enjoy watching them on film," he said.

F is for the friendship between former prep school teammates Nik Stauskas and Russ Smith. They exchange texts frequently throughout the season, most recently after Stauskas sank six threes against Florida. "He texted me telling me I had a good game," Stauskas said. "I told him thanks and we'd see him in the finals."

Melissa McCarthy hosted Saturday Night Live this week and nailed a skit in which the show made fun of the scandal that led to Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice being fired and athletic director Tim Pernetti resigning.

McCarthy played tyrannical coach Sheila Kelly at fictional Middle Delaware State who has somehow managed to keep her job for three years with a 3-81 record. Enjoy.

(photo via @bradfnslagle)

Wichita State fans awoke Sunday morning to a classy gesture from the Shockers' coach.

Gregg Marshall, whose team fell to No. 1 overall seed Louisville in the Final Four on Saturday night, took out a full-page ad in Sunday's Wichita Eagle saluting Wichita State fans for their support. The ad reads "Thank You, Shocker Faithful" at the top with "WE KEEP MARCHING" underneath.

Wichita State fans were outnumbered both at the West Regional in Los Angeles and at the Georgia Dome on Saturday, but they made up for it by cheering louder than the crowd supporting any other team. The Shockers played in the national semifinals for the first time since 1965, becoming the fifth team seeded ninth or higher to reach a Final Four.