Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

No. 3 Michigan outlasts No. 9 Florida State to advance to Final Four

Florida State v Michigan

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 24: Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman #12 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates the Wolverines 58-54 win against the Florida State Seminoles in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament West Regional Final at Staples Center on March 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Michigan struggled to generate consistent offense, but the Wolverines held off No. 9 seed Florida State for a 58-54 win on Saturday night during the West Regional final in Los Angeles.

The No. 3 seed Wolverines (32-7) are headed back to the Final Four under head coach John Beilein for the first time since 2013 and for the eighth time in program history.

Making things look easy during a Thursday night blowout win over Texas A&M, Michigan made 10 first-half three-pointers to cruise to victory. During the Elite Eight, Michigan couldn’t generate any consistency from the perimeter. Only shooting 18 percent (4-for-22) from three-point range, Michigan missed ten straight three-pointers at one point as they had to grind out a win in an offensive struggle. Redshirt sophomore guard Charles Matthews paced the Wolverines with 17 points, while junior big man Mo Wagner chipped in 12 points despite an 0-for-7 shooting night from three-point range.

Even though Michigan has been known as a traditionally offensive-minded team under Beilein, it has been consistent defense that has the Wolverines advancing to San Antonio. Outside of the barrage of three-pointers Michigan hit against the Aggies on Thursday, this is a team that has struggled offensively during most of the 2018 NCAA tournament.

A year ago, Michigan advanced to the Sweet 16 behind a potent offense that had veterans like Derrick Walton Jr., Zak Irvin and D.J. Wilson. When all three of those guys moved on this offseason, the Wolverines became a more focused team on the defensive end. The offseason saw Michigan hire assistant coach Luke Yaklich, as he became the team’s defensive coordinator. Point guard Zavier Simpson took over for Walton as the sophomore’s defensive-minded approach also aided in Michigan’s transformation into a two-way team.

It hasn’t always been pretty during the past few weeks, but Michigan is playing some of its best ball of the season right now. And the team’s offense isn’t even knocking down shots. Holding Florida State to only one field goal over an 11-minute span was the cushion that ultimately helped Michigan prevail when its offense couldn’t buy a bucket from the perimeter. That 11-minute stretch on defense was also something that last season’s Michigan team could not have pulled off.

Florida State (23-12) did its best to hang around despite having major offensive issues of their own. The Seminoles found themselves trailing by three points with under a minute left, but they couldn’t get over the hump in the final few possessions. Senior forward Phil Cofer (16 points) and junior guard P.J. Savoy (12 points) were the only two double-figure scorers for Florida State as they shot 32 percent (16-for-50) from the field and 25 percent (4-for-16) from three-point range.

The Seminoles were down by four with under 15 seconds left but they opted not to foul to extend the game. Michigan surprisingly ran out the clock as Florida State’s comeback (and season) ended in underwhelming fashion.

Michigan advances to next weekend’s Final Four in San Antonio as they’ll take on No. 11 seed and national darling Loyola.