2020-21 florida state

54 minutes. We’re doing that thing again where we publish a partial pod between games then finish up after the next one.

The Sponsors

Thank you to Underground Printing for making this all possible. Rishi and Ryan have been our biggest supporters from the beginning. Check out their wide selection of officially licensed Michigan fan gear at their 3 store locations in Ann Arbor or learn about their custom apparel business at undergroundshirts.com.

And let’s not forget our associate sponsors: HomeSure Lending, Ann Arbor Elder Law, the Residence Inn Ann Arbor Downtown, Michigan Law Grad, Human Element, The Phil Klein Insurance Group, and Information Entropy, the Raw Power app for iOS by Gentleman Coders.

And introducing SignalWire, which is the virtual office platform we recorded this on because we’ve had it up to here with Zoom (use the code MUPPETS and they’ll buy your team lunch!)

1. Recapping FSU

starts at 1:00

Put that in your Seder. Florida State didn’t know what to do about Franz, Johns came alive. First time we’ve gotten to see Johns after a week to practice in this role, and first time we got to see Juwan coach with a week to prepare for a tournament opponent, something Beilein was always so good at. Chaundee can rise. FSU’s switching nerfed some of their better qualities.

2. Previewing UCLA

starts at 25:21

Weird team that wants to be big but lost two bigs and now overplays their 6’9”/260 foul-prone guy because the next biggest player is 6’6”. Kind of like Maryland in that they have a lot of scary wings who take a lot of jump shots, plus a wild-haired point guard who can pass (top-50 assist rate). Were underrated with the rest of their conference but drill down into the Synergy numbers and there are a lot of weaknesses, not to mention they’re all way smaller than Michigan’s frontcourt and no bigger in the backcourt.

3. A Farewell to WBB, Hockey, and Giles Jackson

starts at 42:57

Naz and the Browns took us as far as it could be believed, and further. Kind of like the 2009 basketball team that beat Clemson and hung with Blake Griffin, proving this is a program you can compete at. Hockey, man, at least it’s either star-touched Duluth or a team that’s never won it. Giles Jackson, man, at least we’ll always have the Indiana “return.”

[The player after The Jump]

3/28/2021 – Michigan 76, Florida State 58 – 23-4, 14-3 Big Ten, Elite Eight

Michigan was up 11 at halftime and Twitter was unanimous: they weren't even playing that well. Twitter cannot agree on anything.

there’s always someone on twitter arguing with no one. saying stuff like “but I was told steph curry wasn’t a good shooter”

— Mambo No. Pfizer (@killakow) June 11, 2019

Twitter cannot agree what color a dress is or whether a Vehicle Miles Traveled tax is a regressive monstrosity or a good, urbanist idea. The only things Twitter has ever agreed on are 1) a boat stuck in the Suez Canal is extremely, extremely funny, and 2) the Michigan-Florida State score did not accurately reflect how deeply Juwan Howard and friends had dunked the Seminoles into a trash can.

When Twitter's right, it's right. The boat is amazing, and FSU was deep in a trash can. After surveying all available stats this one seem like the best indicator: Michigan had 34(!) shots at the rim. They had 14 other twos. That is a crazy ratio, and honestly it felt like making 23 of those 34 at the rim was cursed. We've got Austin Davis assisting Chaundee Brown out here.

"How good are they," Bill Raftery exclaimed after that. And yeah, the impression Michigan gave off in this game was a magnificent, implacable They. Scoring was distributed. Aside from the deep bench Michigan scoring went like this: 14-14-13-12-8-6-6. Five different guys had at least two assists. Davis didn't make that roster but he only played eight minutes, so he gets a pass.

Michigan followed up a first half where they shot 33%—they weren't even playing that well—by hitting about 70% of their looks in the second half, and that conversion rate was deserved. Michigan's second half shot chart is incredible:

One bucket outside the paint, and ~2 that aren't at the rim. That is against the tallest team in America, and a team that entered the game 10th in two-point defense. Michigan assisted on 15 of 18 second half baskets. Clinic. That was a clinic.

---------------------------

There is something tremendously satisfying about winning a game where it's not about hitting shots. Michigan was 6/25 away from the rim, and it did not matter because half of Michigan's possessions ended either at the rim or in free throws.

Maybe LSU was onto something with their "give Michigan all the open threes" approach. Anyone can miss an open three. Michigan just had to hit a couple fewer and it was game on. Here there was no respite. FSU's ball denial and constant switching is on the completely opposite end of the defensive spectrum and all it got the Seminoles was the above parade to the rim.

On the other end, well… FSU got a bucket at the end of the first half. It was a pick and roll that evolved into an elbow jumper off the dribble. If you remember the preview, FSU is abominable—second percentile—at jumpers off the dribble. A bad idea shot that Michigan would give FSU all day which they will hit a quarter of the time. That's a win.

The larger win was encapsulated in the TV crew's reaction. Raftery exclaimed "they ran something! They ran something!" This is not a good spot to be in. When the color commentator is shocked that you did a basketball set more than nineteen minutes into a game, and that basketball set got you a not particularly efficient shot that you're particularly horrible at, you're going to be so far down the trash can that light reaching you from the rest of the universe is noticeably redshifted.

[After THE JUMP: Big Minutes Johns]

Florida State guard MJ Walker faced up in the post on should've-been Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Franz Wagner. Wagner swatted the shot to the baseline, won the race to the ball, and bonked it off Walker's head to ensure Michigan retained possession even if Walker hadn't been whistled for a foul on the way. 

Wagner's ensuing bonus free throws put the Wolverines up 20 with just over four minutes to play. That about sums up how this supposedly difficult Sweet Sixteen matchup played out, and now M finds themselves in their fourth Elite Eight in the last eight NCAA Tournaments. It is, of course, Juwan Howard's first as a coach, though the setting won't be unfamiliar to him.

Michigan outclassed Florida State in the British sense, looking more skilled, taking far better care of the ball, and passing with exquisite precision. They never trailed after the score was 4-2 Seminoles, bullied their way to an 11-point halftime lead despite shooting 33% from the field, and dismantled FSU's defense in the second half.

Even though Isaiah Livers has now officially been ruled out of the rest of the NCAA Tournament, Michigan is cruising into an Elite Eight matchup against the winner of Alabama/UCLA looking as strong as they have all season. The team effort on offense was beautiful to watch; Hunter Dickinson and Brandon Johns tied for the team lead with 14 points apiece, Wagner added 13, and everyone else in the rotation scored between six and 12; they had 19 assists on 29 field goals with only nine turnovers.

Johns set the tone with an early steal and dunk
[Brett Wilhelm/NCAA Photos via Getty Images]

The defense, as usual, was dominant throughout. Take out Malik Osborne, who went 4/7 from beyond the arc for a team-leading 12 points, and FSU combined to go 20/51 from the field and 1/13 on threes. It was Michigan, not the bigger 'Noles, that worked their way into the bonus early in each half. Soon-to-be lottery pick Scottie Barnes ran out for a couple early buckets and was otherwise shut down by Wagner and friends, going 4/11 with three assists and three turnovers.

When FSU tried to get early offense, their preferred way to points, they ended up with contested jacks instead of open looks. Getting stuck in the halfcourt was even worse. The Wolverines beat them on the glass, getting second-chance points from not only Dickinson and Johns, but also Chaundee Brown and Austin Davis.

The Wolverines dominated a very good team in a way few other remaining squads are capable, winning nearly every important battle within the war. They're playing with the freedom and calm of a team that's been freed from the burden of expectation. They look ready for anyone.

Let's go.

[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]