[ad_1]
Michigan is headed to the Sweet 16.
The Wolverines, the No. 1 seed in the East Region, outlasted No. 8 seed LSU, 86-78, in a back-and-forth contest on Monday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Michigan’s win salvaged some Big Ten pride after a disappointing men’s tournament for the conference’s teams. The Big Ten sent an NCAA-best nine teams to the Big Dance, with two No. 1 seeds and two No. 2 seeds. By the end of the night, the Wolverines could be the only Big Ten team left standing.
LSU jumped out to an early lead to start the game and played exceptional offense. But Michigan responded in kind. And it came up with key stops when it mattered the most.
Eli Brooks and Chaundee Brown each scored 21 points, making a combined eight 3-pointers. Hunter Dickinson scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Franz Wagner was quiet in the first half — but scored nine points in the final five minutes, making Michigan’s last four field goals.
Incredible basketball
The entire second half was made up of runs. The Wolverines came out flat and ceded an 8-0 run that saw LSU draw numerous fouls on Dickinson and Franz Wagner. Michigan punched right back with a 10-0 lead that began with two 3s from Mike Smith and Brooks (the second of which materialized after LSU doubled Dickinson in the post). Then, Dickinson left the game and LSU attacked the rim, putting together a 7-0 spurt.
Again, Michigan had a response. The Wolverines went on a 9-0 run, punctuated by a corner 3 from Brown, to retake the lead — this time for good.
Brown was huge in the second half, scoring 14 of his 21 points over the final 20 minutes. And Wagner gave U-M a huge pick-up with his late offense and defense, as his length led to several late LSU misses — including a crucial miss from Cam Thomas with 34 seconds remaining and Michigan leading by six.
OPINION: Big Ten men bust your bracket? switch to viewing the Big Ten women
ILLINOIS: Racist comment directed at Kofi Cockburn after Illini’s loss
Wild first half
LSU’s stars showed up to play.
Thomas had 19 points in the first half and made five of his first six attempts — all contested shots of varying difficulty. The freshman guard rose up over Michigan’s smaller guards and buried numerous long jumpers to give LSU the early lead. Thomas eventually cooled off, making just two of his final seven attempts of the half, but his teammates were right there to pick up where he left off. Smart and Watford combined for 17 first-half points, hitting a variety of floaters.
The Wolverines trailed by as many as nine by battled their way back into the game with a combination of improved defense and efficient offense. Juwan Howard made several adjustments, such as switching Dickinson onto Watford, that helped slow down the Tigers. Michigan’s offense, meanwhile, settled in despite poor outside shooting. The Wolverines generated high-quality shots from outside but made just 4 of 12 3s. Instead, they did their damage inside the paint. Brooks had a team-high 13 in the first half with four assists, hitting 3 of 4 3s and attacking closeouts.
SECOND ROUND: Winners and losers from men’s games on Monday
OPINION: Upset-filled weekend may be product of unusual silence
LSU’s star power doesn’t outshine Michigan
Expect to see several Tigers playing at the next level. The top trio of Thomas, Smart and Watford is as good as any and nearly carried LSU to an upset.
Yet Michigan simply was the better team.
The Wolverines played better defense, forcing the Tigers’ stars to make tough shots. They collapsed at the rim and provided help when one of their own was beat off the dribble. They boxed out so that others could collect key rebounds.
Offensively, they shared the ball, especially when Dickinson was double-teamed down low. Michigan proved it was one of the nation’s elite teams because of how well its top players operated in unison. That was thrown off when star forward Isaiah Livers went down. But the Wolverines still have plenty of juice. And they’re headed to their fourth consecutive Sweet 16.
Contact Orion Sang at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @orion_sang.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: March Madness: Michigan rallies past LSU to keep Big Ten men afloat
[ad_2]
Source link
