INDIANAPOLIS -- In an NCAA Tournament full of upsets, with top Big Ten teams getting bounced all over the bracket, No. 1 seed Michigan found a way to survive and advance.
The Wolverines won a thriller against 8 seed LSU in the Tournament’s second round on Monday night, 86-78. Michigan is on to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight time to face the winner of 4 seed Colorado and 5 seed Florida State, a game still going as the buzzer sounded on Michigan’s win.
Eli Brooks kept the Wolverines in it. Chaundee Brown brought them to the finish line. Each scored 21 points as Michigan overcame a nine-point first-half deficit against the offensively gifted Tigers.
The Wolverines were down five with 10:38 left after yet another LSU burst. Michigan responded with a 14-1 run over the next five minutes, including 12 points from Brown, to take control for good. LSU missed seven straight shots during the stretch and never got closer than six points.
LSU attempted 17 more shots than Michigan, partly due to committing just three turnovers to Michigan’s 12. LSU had its own dynamic duo: guards Javonte Smart and Cameron Thomas, each of whom played the entire game, poured in a combined 57 points. They each needed 23 shots to get there though, and Michigan’s superior defense was the difference over 40 minutes.
Brooks scored 13 in the first half and finished with seven assists. Brown had 14 points in the second. Both are seniors. Franz Wagner added 15 points and seven rebounds for Michigan, while Hunter Dickinson, who saw a double team on most of his post touches, tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds. Michigan shot 54 percent from the field and went 10-of-25 from 3.
The Wolverines made 20-of-25 free throws. LSU was 18-for-23. The Tigers (19-10) entered with the fifth-best offense in the country.
The defensive matchups for Michigan were intriguing coming in. Michigan went with Mike Smith on Javonte Smart, Brooks on Thomas, Brandon Johns Jr. on Darius Days, Wagner on Trendon Watford, and kept Dickinson near the basket against the 6-foot-6 Aundre Hyatt, LSU’s least dangerous offensive player. Michigan also showed some zone.
LSU flashed its offensive firepower early, with Thomas draining a few difficult shots, including a step-back 3 that put the Tigers ahead 13-6 before the first media timeout. A Brooks 3 and Smith fast-break layup cut the deficit to 15-12.
The Tigers’ fourth 3-pointer made it 24-16 midway through the half. Brooks answered with a 3 to give him eight points.
Dickinson’s second shot attempt didn’t come until 6:43 left in the half, but it was an and-one, and the free throw cut the margin to three. Brooks continued to dominate offensively, draining another 3, setting up Wagner for a layup, and scoring at the rim to cut LSU’s lead to 40-38 with 3:40 left in the half and bringing the Michigan fans inside Lucas Oil Stadium to life.
LSU missed its final four 3-point attempts of the half and Michigan, mostly through free throws, went on a 7-0 run in the half’s final minutes. Thomas hit a jumper just before halftime to make it 43-42 Michigan. The Wolverines shot 57 percent for the half but took 11 fewer shots than LSU, which did not commit a turnover.
Michigan made a concerted effort to get the ball inside to Dickinson to start the second half. He scored once, but then LSU went on an 8-0 run, a stretch that included some uncharacteristic fouls by Michigan, including Wagner’s second and third, which sent him him to the bench. LSU led 51-45. The Tigers’ first turnover of the game -- on a backwards, through-the-legs pass that went out of bounds -- brought about the first media timeout of the half.
Michigan responded out of the stoppage. Smith hit a 3. Quick ball movement led to a Brooks 3. Just like that, it was tied. The Wolverines had some momentum. Johns hit a couple of free throws. Brown’s baseline cut resulted in a thunderous dunk. Michigan led 55-51.
In the blink of an eye, LSU answered with a 7-0 spurt to reclaim the lead with 12 minutes left. The lead grew to five but Michigan again responded. Brown made four free throws and a corner 3 as part of a 9-0 run to make it 67-63 Michigan with 8:47 left.
Michigan had upped its edge to five when play was stopped with 7:03 left as Brooks laid on the court in discomfort. He walked gingerly to the bench. With Brown still in the game, Michigan was OK. His third triple made it 72-64 with 5:57 left.
Dickinson picked up his fourth foul, on the offensive end, with 4:46 left and was replaced by Austin Davis. Wagner, quiet offensively for much of the night, stepped up, banking in a running baby hook and canning a 3 to make it 79-70 with 3:56 left. A Davis free throw pushed the lead to 10.
LSU didn’t quit. Smith’s pass was intercepted near midcourt -- the point guard struggled against LSU’s tall guards -- and brought the other way for a layup with 2:37 to go. On the ensuing inbounds, Smith was trapped and called timeout. Michigan’s press break led to an uncontested Wagner dunk. Two minutes later, the Wolverines (22-4) were celebrating on the court. They’ll remain in Indianapolis leading up to Sunday’s Sweet 16 game.
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