Michigan
32-7
Florida State
23-12
Hello, Final Four! Michigan's Defense Reigns Against Florida State
3/24/2018 11:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» Michigan advances to the Final Four for the eighth time in program history and for the first time since 2013.
» Michigan limited Florida State to 7-of-30 shooting in the second half (.233).
» Duncan Robinson sealed the game with two free throws with 21 seconds remaining.
» Michigan set a single-season school record with its 32nd victory.
» Michigan has won 13 straight games -- 10 of which have come away from home -- and is 23-2 when leading at halftime.
Site: Los Angeles, Calif. (Staples Center)
Event: NCAA Tournament (West Regional Final)
Score: #7 Michigan 58, Florida State 54
Records: U-M (32-7), FSU (23-12)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 31 -- vs. Loyola Chicago - NCAA Final Four (San Antonio, Texas), 5 or 7:30 p.m. CDT (TV: TBS)
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team set a single-season school record with its 32nd win and advanced to its eighth Final Four as the third-seeded Wolverines won a defensive gem over No. 9 seed Florida State by a score of 58-54 Saturday night (March 24) at the Staples Center.
Michigan will face No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago in the Final Four next Saturday (March 31) at approximately 5:09 p.m. CT in San Antonio, Texas. TBS will televise the national semifinals and championship game.
Leading by 10 with 2:25 to play, Michigan (32-7) survived a torrid FSU comeback thanks to the heady play of point guard Zavier Simpson and the shooting touch of Duncan Robinson, who closed out the game at the foul line.
Michigan led at the halftime break, 27-26, following a physical first half in which it forced 14 FSU turnovers.
FSU scored on a quick jumper to start the second half, but U-M rattled off seven straight, keyed by the incredible play of Charles Matthews, who drained a triple and showed resiliency in the lane with a put-back bucket for his 15th point and a 34-28 lead with 15:49 to play.
Coming out of the media timeout, U-M forced two more empty possessions and capitalized with layups to take a 38-28 lead with 14:20 to go.
FSU went on a 9-2 run capped by a traditional three-point play from Phil Cofer before U-M regained its footing. With 8:25 to go, Moritz Wagner showed great effort as he outreached three FSU players for a rebound, put-back and the foul. His free throw gave the Wolverines a 45-38 edge as play went to the under-8:00 media timeout.
A wild segment gave FSU momentum as the Seminoles got away with a goaltending call and Wagner was whistled for a crucial blocking foul, his fourth of the game. FSU scored four times from the line, but Simpson ended the slide with a savvy feed to Jon Teske on the break for a 47-42 lead with five minutes to play.
FSU was put into the double bonus with 4:15 remaining and narrowed the margin at the line to 47-44 before a patient, twisting jumper in the lane from Matthews put the margin back to five.
Coming out of the under-4:00 timeout, Simpson was a spark, driving for a nifty layup, then driving and dishing to Robinson in the corner for a huge triple and a 54-44 lead with 2:15 to play.
FSU regrouped and opted to foul to send Michigan to the line. The strategy worked well as Michigan faltered from the stripe and FSU scored five straight. Then, following 1-of-2 at the free throw line from Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, PJ Savoy connected for a crucial triple to make it a 55-52 game with 1:16 to play. Following a 1-of-2 mark at the stripe from Simpson, Cofer got a tip-in to make it a 57-54 game. FSU was forced to foul Robinson with 21 seconds left, and the deft shooter was again true, sinking both for the final margin.
By the time the score had settled, Michigan had limited FSU to a 23 percent shooting mark in the second half (7-of-30) and 31 percent for the game (16-51). FSU stayed in the game thanks to an 18-of-20 mark at the free throw line.
Matthews, who led the way with 17 points and eight rebounds, was named most outstanding player of the West Regional. Wagner finished with 12 points, and Simpson delivered nine points (4-8 FG) and five assists against just one turnovers.
Florida State (23-12) was led by Cofer's 16 points (6-12 FG) and 12 rebounds while Savoy had 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting.
As it did in the round of 16, Michigan came out clicking, staking its claim to a 10-4 lead at the 16:48 mark when FSU's defense sagged off Abdur-Rahkman too much at the top of the arc and he connected from deep.
U-M turned five early FSU turnovers into seven points and rode the strong start of Matthews, who made 3-of-4 early including two emphatic dunks, for a 15-10 lead. The Wolverines forced 14 FSU turnovers in the first half but were not nearly as successful converting them into points the rest of the way as the higher-seeded team committed eight miscues of its own.
At the 10:32 mark, Robinson was whistled for a flagrant foul following a lengthy video review, and FSU reclaimed the lead with a pair of free throws, 17-15. In a first half that saw five lead changes and five ties, Simpson broke a nearly four-minute scoring drought when he took an outlet the length of the court for a head-fake layup and a 17-17 tie.
FSU then took its largest lead of the half, 23-19, with 6:10 to play on a floater in the lane from Cofer. Abdur-Rahkman answered with a contested triple, breaking a cold streak from long range, before Matthews regained the lead, 24-23, on a pair of freebies. FSU answered right back with a corner triple from Cofer to make it 26-24 in favor of FSU before the Seminoles committed four turnovers and were held scoreless for the final 4:41 of the half. Michigan missed four free throws in that stretch but still managed to pull ahead at the break, 27-26.
After connecting on 3-of-4 to start the game, U-M managed to make just 4-of-17 the rest of the way but stayed competitive thanks to an 11-of-15 mark at the free throw line. FSU overcame 14 turnovers forced by Michigan's tenacious defense and 12 first-half fouls thanks to 9-of-21 shooting (.429) and a perfect 5-of-5 mark from the charity stripe.
