Michigan 86, LSU 78
I had an entire post written about how Michigan blew up the early narrative of this game, which was LSU's incredible shot-making being too much to overcome for a Wolverines team missing their most reliable bucket-getter. When I went to hit submit, my still-shaking hands hit the wrong button, and I blew up my own post. This feels apropos.
So let's do the short version because my brain is still going AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH after one of the more fun, and therefore partisan nerve-destroying, games of the entire tournament. For most of the first half and a decent chunk of the second, it appeared that Cam Thomas and Javonte Smart would hit pullup jumper after pullup jumper, no matter how difficult, and LSU would do just enough on defense to pull off the upset.
Michigan refused to allow that to happen, grinding away a nine-point first-half deficit at the line after LSU's seventh foul to take an improbable 43-42 halftime lead. After Thomas opened 6/7 from the field, he closed 4/16 as Juwan Howard unleashed Chaundee Brown on him. Brown added a season-high 21 points, 14 after the break, to tie for the team lead with an inspired Eli Brooks, who drained 5/9 three-pointers.
Franz Wagner put the game out of reach at the end, hitting a hook, resetting for a three-pointer, dunking off a Hunter Dickinson outlet pass to break a press, putting back a Dickinson miss in traffic, and smothering a Thomas drive on the final Tigers possession with a sliver of hope. Nine of Wagner's 15 points came after halftime. Hunter Dickinson, who battled foul trouble in a poorly officiated game on both sides, managed an efficient 12-point, 11-board double-double in 31 minutes and did his usual bending of LSU's defense to open up the perimeter.
My narrative didn't survive the publishing process, which is how I refer to misclicks. Thankfully, Michigan's basketball team is much less shaky in the clutch. The Wolverines move on to their fourth Sweet Sixteen in a row and sixth in the last eight NCAA Tournaments. They'll face Florida State, convincing winners over Colorado this evening. Enjoy it as best as your nerves allow and be careful operating machinery.
[Hit THE JUMP for the box score.]
March 22nd, 2021 at 11:21 PM ^
There was some talk on the podcast about Chaundee’s advanced d-metrics and how they suggest he might not be quite the defender his reputation would suggest. Well, I don’t know what the metrics would say about tonight, but his performance should put that discussion completely to bed. The whole game turned when he seemed to shut down their hero ball almost single handedly. Just an amazing game by Chaundee!!
March 23rd, 2021 at 12:51 AM ^
Yeah, he's tall for a guard and strong. Plus, it turns out he can take the ball to the basket when appropriate. What a great story re his transfer to Michigan. Let's hope it keeps going!
March 22nd, 2021 at 11:22 PM ^
Eli was 7-11 including 5-9 from three, hit both his free throws (which was the clincher), pulled down four boards, had seven assists to one turnover...and only finished +5. Very shaky stat!
Also, we need to give Wade his due! It was super generous of him to burn through 15 seconds of clock every possession in the last few minutes.
March 22nd, 2021 at 11:30 PM ^
That wasn't just him being nice. Our perimeter D was fierce down the stretch. They didn't really want to be driving down 10 points but it's all they could get.
March 22nd, 2021 at 11:23 PM ^
It looked like Wagner got his confidence going at the end. That's big going forward and huge game by Brown off the bench. Hopefully he has more of that.
March 22nd, 2021 at 11:30 PM ^
This feels so good. Sweet 16, again! Everything from here is gravy as far as I'm concerned. Successful season achieved!
More than anything else, I feel so proud of our boys for the way they fought, maintained composure and made plays when it counted. That was one hard-fought game.
Another Sweet 16! Go Blue, beat FSU!
March 23rd, 2021 at 12:56 AM ^
Yup! Eli Brooks is on another planet. Smith and Brown are doing what they came here to prove they can do. Wagner fucks up, then dominates the end game. Dickinson knows the routine and doesn't get overly flustered whatever nonsense goes on with the referees. Livers is totally engaged even though he can't play. Johns steps up. And everything is buying into teamwork. Fun to watch!
March 22nd, 2021 at 11:30 PM ^
What happened to Mike Smith down the stretch? He struggled guarding and shooting against LSUs taller guards, but OMG, he was a turnover machine in the last few minutes and finally got pulled after the last traveling turnover. Not a clutch guy under late game pressure lately. Franz was the opposite, horrible most of the game, but boy did he show when it mattered.
March 22nd, 2021 at 11:30 PM ^
What happened to Mike Smith down the stretch? He struggled guarding and shooting against LSUs taller guards, but OMG, he was a turnover machine in the last few minutes and finally got pulled after the last traveling turnover. Not a clutch guy under late game pressure lately. Franz was the opposite, horrible most of the game, but boy did he show when it mattered.
March 23rd, 2021 at 12:05 AM ^
Yeah that was a surprising performance under pressure from Smith at the end. And got pulled. Hopefully that doesn’t happen again.
March 23rd, 2021 at 12:23 AM ^
Let's hope it doesn't shake his confidence. We won't win many games if he plays that way at the end of more games.
March 22nd, 2021 at 11:33 PM ^
That was a real ballsy win. LSU was hitting everything. But M never lost their focus and they clawed back a few different times. LSU is really dangerous and they seem like they have a really high ceiling. They probably could beat a ton of teams in this tournament. This reminded of that first Ohio State game: Michigan was up against a really talented team that was playing out of its mind. The opponent played it's best possible game but Michigan withstood the challenge. Real impressive W - if they continue to play like that, who knows how far they can go.
And I agree officiating was bad on both sides (Chaudee stepping out of bounds, dribbling the ball off his foot and then getting bailed out with a call was embarassing). I can't believe how bad it is in the tournament so far. Michigan got a few calls but it also seemed like the incompetence favored LSU. They got a lead early in the 2nd half without hitting a FG for like 7+ minutes and the calls were dubious, all while Dickinson and Johns were getting hammered while touch fouls were getting called for LSU. Getting to the line was one of LSU's paths to victory so I'm glad M was able to overcome it. But, goddamn, college officiating is bad.
March 22nd, 2021 at 11:40 PM ^
This squad is uncanny in how the stars can be either not present (Livers) or have an off night (Wagner) but there are multiple guys that pick up BIG TIME for them. Aside from Gonzaga, maybe, there is no better TEAM in the tournament than Michigan. I am certain of that.
March 22nd, 2021 at 11:35 PM ^
Hail to the Victors! Chaund333 was huge off the bench. 3li kept us close (enough) early. D picked up & LSU wasn't hitting everything anymore. 32 DRBs collected & 22 assists. Hard fought battle. Go Blue!
Also, Mutti Wagner was there, so we were good.
March 22nd, 2021 at 11:36 PM ^
The unspoken secret of Michigan basketball is the depth of the bench. I have a feeling that we have players that have very little playing time that would be starters on most of the teams in this tournament. Look at Castleton! He is a star at Florida.
This depth is exactly what you need at tournament time. It allows you to rest star players with little drop off (and sometimes an improvement) in play. For example, Brooks, Smith and Brown each have their strengths but they are plug and play stars in Howard's system.
March 22nd, 2021 at 11:38 PM ^
This Michigan basketball squad is so interesting to me in this tournament. I am waiting for them to collapse, but I am also waiting for them to rip a team's head clear off. First halves have not been great for us. Tons of points left on the floor. But the guys bear down and play veteran basketball to the finish. Total team effort every game.
March 22nd, 2021 at 11:51 PM ^
Chaundee was outstanding on both ends of the floor. A great team effort against a very difficult opponent. So proud of this team. Take it one game at a time because there aren’t going to be any free passes this year.
March 23rd, 2021 at 12:07 AM ^
6th Sweet 16 in the last 8 tournaments. That is incredible.
March 23rd, 2021 at 12:21 AM ^
It really is, allezbleu - good to appreciate how remarkably, consistently successful Michigan basketball has been.
Making the sweet 16 is not easy - no matter your seed, you've got to win 2 games under tournament pressure. To do that year after year is fantastic.
What a joy Michigan basketball continues to be! Go Blue!
March 23rd, 2021 at 12:11 AM ^
LOL at the bench points and total assists stat lines. Big oof at the Smith +/- . On to FSU!
March 23rd, 2021 at 12:12 AM ^
I think I speak for alot of college basketball fans, not just UM fans, when I say can the NCAA take a little harder look at their officials and revaulate if some of them should be officiating at this level. Quality of officiating in the tournament has been generally awful for the most part. First half I thought was a decently called game. First five minutes of the second half LSU went on a run mainly caused by help from the officials on plays where little to no actual contact happened. Johns then got hammered with no call on the other end and Howard got into the officials at that point. From then on it was a complete clown show for both teams. Second straight game I would sum up the officiating as a clown show.
Lol always ref defenders even in a clown show. And we wonder why the officiating never improves.
Agreed. I thought I was just being biased during M games, but it's been the same story as a neutral observer during almost every game of the tournament. Inconsistent, awful calls, and at times brutally hard to watch.
March 23rd, 2021 at 12:21 AM ^
Unfortunately, I was working so I could barely watch it. But that looked to be a weird ass game. It seemed like every time I looked at my phone #24 (I think that was his #) for LSU would just run to the paint and just kind of toss the ball up and make it. Weirdest thing I ever saw.
I gotta say this is one of the best teams I've watched. If this was any other year and our best player went down or wasn't playing well the team would fold. These guys just keep winning. So damn proud of these men! Go Blue!
March 23rd, 2021 at 12:39 AM ^
God that was an amazing game. It’s been a while since I’ve had that nerve wracking feeling during a game....feels good. Feels even better after a dub, the boys went out and beat a very good squad. Loved their aggression, never backed down for a second. Hell yeah
Let’s fuckin roll boys
hail
Loving that box score with so many contributors!
Loving that box score with so many contributors!
That picture is pretty cool! During these anxious times of the tournament or M football we would ask Brown Bear to hold us!
The Tigers bench had more fouls than points, rebounds and assists combined
The TEAM the TEAM the TEAM.....
great team win.... Lots of grit.
GO BLUE
Crazy, nerve-wracking game. Brown and Brooks were great, and Franz stepped up at the end of the game. One thing that surprised me was how many turnovers we gave up given LSU's reputation for not playing defense. I can't tell how much was them forcing the turnovers, and how much was us not being careful with the ball, but I hope we can clean that up.
Imperative from here on out to begin the games sharper. For the last month it seems like we get off to slow starts and have to claw back.
Kenny Smith actually called this pretty well. He said they'd come out early with their best shot and Michigan would need time to adjust. Man did they ever
YESSIR!
Great win. I do see FSU as oddly comparable in terms of the challenge. However, without Isaiah's shooting, I think Michigan could hit some scoring droughts, so I worry more about playing a team with great defense like....Alabama. But whatever, I remember the second year of the Fab Five no one gave them a shot against Kentucky. As Mitch McGary would say in between puffs of his joint, win the game.
Game flow was very similar to the return-from-lockdown game against Wisconsin: A step slow for 15 minutes, with a few clutch shots keeping the game from getting out of hand. Then a late-first-half scramble to draw more or less even, and a superior performance in the second half. LSU is better than Wisco, so we didn't pull away definitively until the last 2 minutes like we did at the Trohl Center, but in both cases there was no doubt at the end.
Mike Smith's +/- looks bad but the guy had to work hard beating the press for a big chunk of the game it seemed. He also ran around like a madman on offense. With a serious height disadvantage that's the best he could do and he did a damn good job.
Nice consistency in Michigan's scoring, by half, since the end of the regular season:
40, 39, 27, 40, 42, 40, 43, 43
March 23rd, 2021 at 10:25 AM ^
Franz can be an emotional player to a fault. He can go 35 minutes of playing terribly and seem like he's in a mental negative free fall of bad decisions and second guessing himself on both ends then in the last 5 minutes something will click and he'll just go off. I think Juwan needs to mentally coach Franz more and get him into a positive mental state and run plays to build his confidence because when he's in a rut, it can progressively ruin his game on both ends
March 23rd, 2021 at 10:45 AM ^
The coaching staff deserves a shout out for their contribution. Multiple defensive looks in the first half slowed LSU momentum at crucial moments, and several different lineup looks found the right combination. The defense with the big lineup was something else--down the stretch the switching just shut down the driving lanes. I have a feeling we will see that lineup again . . .
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