Wolverines and Gators Set for NCAA Second-Round Game in Des Moines

» After defeating No. 15 seed Montana in the NCAA first round, No. 2 seed Michigan faces No. 10 seed Florida for a chance to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 in Anaheim.
» U-M last played Florida in the NCAA Tournament in 2013. The Wolverines used a 79-59 victory to advance to their first Final Four in 20 years.
» With a win, U-M could advance to its third straight NCAA Sweet 16, and fifth in John Beilein's nine tournament trips with the Wolverines.
» Zavier Simpson has had 10-plus assists in six of his last nine games. With 10 in the NCAA first round against Montana, he set the program record with eight total this season.

NEXT GAME (NCAA Second Round)
Saturday, March 23 -- vs. #10 seed Florida (Des Moines, Iowa), 4:15 p.m. CDT

The second-seeded and No. 8-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team (29-6) will face 10th seed Florida (20-15) Saturday (March 23) at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, for a chance to advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 in Anaheim, California. In a CBS broadcast, tipoff is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. CT with Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Reggie Miller (analyst), Dan Bonner (analyst) and Dana Jacobson (sideline) on the call.

Michigan at the NCAA Tournament

• Michigan was selected to its 28th (24th* after NCAA sanctions) NCAA Tournament.
• Michigan has a 60-27 (53-23*) all-time record in the NCAA Tournament.
• Michigan has made seven (five*) national championship appearances -- 1965, 1976, 1989, 1992*, 1993*, 2013 and 2018.
• Michigan is 1-6 (1-4*) all-time in the national title game.
• Michigan is 7-1 (5-1*) all-time in national semifinal games and owns the best winning percentage (.875) of any school to play in at least five games.
• Michigan won the program's first and only NCAA championship in 1989, following a dramatic 80-79 overtime win against Seton Hall when Rumeal Robinson made two free throws to secure the title. During the "Shock the World" run, Glen Rice set the NCAA Tournament record for most points in a single tournament with 184 (30.6 ppg).
• Michigan has eight (six*) Final Four appearances.
• Michigan has national title game appearances under four different head coaches -- Dave Strack (1965 vs. UCLA), Johnny Orr (1976 vs. Indiana), Steve Fisher (1989 vs. Seton Hall, 1992 vs. Duke and 1993 vs. North Carolina) and John Beilein (2013, vs. Louisville and 2018 vs. Villanova).
• Michigan has 14 (13*) Elite Eight appearances.
• Michigan has 15 (14*) Sweet 16 appearances.
• Michigan has earned a No. 1 seeding on two occasions -- 1985 and 1993*.
• Prior to this season, Michigan had earned a No. 2 seed on two occasions -- 1986 and 2014.

A Little About Florida

• Florida heads into its game with U-M sporting a 20-15 overall record. The Gators finished eighth in SEC play with a 9-9 mark and fell to Auburn, 65-62, in the SEC Tournament semifinals.
• The Gators opened the NCAA Tournament by defeating No. 7 seed Nevada, 70-61.
• Senior guard KeVaughn Allen is the lone Gator averaging in double figures at 11.9 points per contest. Allen is also an 88.7 percent free throw shooter, 10th-best in the nation.
• The Gators have six players averaging between eight and 10 points per game: Noah Locke (9.4), Jalen Hudson (9.2), Kevarrius Hayes (8.3), Keyontae Johnson (8.1) and Andrew Nembhard (8.1).
• Freshman guard Andrew Nembhard was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. Nembhard is averaging 8.1 points per game and has started all 35 games for the Gators. He is 30th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.62) and 45th in assists per game (5.3).
• Florida is ranked 21st in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 63.6 points per game.
• Mike White is in his fourth season as head coach. White came to Florida following four seasons as head coach at Louisiana Tech.

What Happened in First Round vs. Montana

• Michigan jumped out to a 19-6 lead midway through the first half and went on to a 74-55 victory over 15th seed Montana on Thursday (March 21) to advance to the NCAA second round. It was the second straight win over Montana in the NCAA first round (61-47, 2018).
• Going 8-for-12 from the field, Charles Matthews led the Wolverines with 22 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and seventh of career.
• Zavier Simpson posted his sixth double-digit assist game (10) in his last nine games while adding four points and seven rebounds.
• In total, U-M had four players in double figures: Matthews (22), Ignas Brazdeikis (14), Jon Teske (11) and Jordan Poole (10).

If U-M Advances

• If Michigan advances, the Wolverines will head to Anaheim, California, for the regional rounds at the Honda Center. The Anaheim Sweet 16 games will be played on Thursday, March 28, with the Elite Elite on Saturday, March 30.
• In the connecting bracket, U-M could face the winner of No. 6 seed Buffalo vs. No. 11 Arizona State or No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 Northern Kentucky.
• Michigan was one of eight Big Ten teams selected to the NCAA Tournament: No. 2 seed Michigan State (East), No. 3 Purdue (South), No. 5 Wisconsin (South), No. 6 Maryland (East), No. 10 Iowa (South), No. 10 Minnesota (East) and No. 11 Ohio State (Midwest).
• Indiana earned a No. 1 seed in the NIT, while Nebraska was awarded a fourth seed, helping the conference have 10 total teams in postseason play.

These Are Just Cool Stuff

• Zavier Simpson has not missed a game in three seasons -- a streak of 114 straight.
• Jon Teske has not missed a game in two seasons -- a streak of 76 straight.
• With 10-plus assists in six of his last nine games, Simpson has vaulted himself up U-M's all-time leaders and become the 10th Wolverine to surpass 400 career assists. He ranks tied for seventh all-time with 421 career assists.
• Simpson's eight games of 10-plus assists set the program record, passing Darius Morris' seven in 2010-11.
• Simpson's 234 total assists this season are 26 away from reaching Trey Burke's program record of 260 (2012-13).
• Simpson is third in the nation for assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.6 (234 to 67).
• Charles Matthews (925) needs 75 more points to become the 55th Wolverine to score 1,000 career points.
• Jordan Poole (111) is the 27th Wolverine to make 100-plus three-pointers in a career.
• Jon Teske leads U-M with eight double-doubles, while Zavier Simpson is second with five.
• Ignas Brazdeikis leads U-M with 15.0 points per game. The last Wolverine freshman to lead the team in scoring was Trey Burke, who scored 14.8 points per game in the 2012-13 season. Brazdeikis has scored in double figures over his last nine games and leads U-M with 30 double-figure games including 10 20-plus point.