Michigan Advances To The Sweet 16 By Beating LSU In A March Classic, 86-78
Did you miss any of tonight's thrilling NCAA Tournament game between the Michigan Wolverines' basketball program and the LSU Tigers?
Here is how the entire contest unfolded…
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First Half
Junior forward Brandon Johns got Michigan on the board first tonight, hitting a baseline jumper on U-M's first possession to put the club up 2-0. LSU immediately ripped off an 8-0 run though and took a quick 8-2 lead.
The Tigers' lead sat at 13-6 at the under-16 timeout, with both teams off to a blazing offensive pace — they were a combined eight-of-15 from the field. Senior guard Eli Brooks drained a three-pointer from the right wing at the 13:50 mark to keep pace, trimming the Tigers' lead to 15-10.
LSU's advantage was stretched back to seven (19-12) at 12:13, and U-M head coach Juwan Howard was forced to call a timeout. Tigers freshman guard Cam Thomas had 12 of his club's 19 points at that juncture.
LSU was up 19-14 at the under-eight media break, and the Wolverines' offense was having a hard time scoring — Johns was the leading scorer with just four points. The Tigers kept the offense rolling with a triple from junior guard Javonte Smart at 9:43, and his club held a nice (for them) 24-16 lead.
Brooks answered Smart's shot with a triple of his own from the left corner to quickly trim LSU's edge to 24-19. The bucket gave Brooks eight points at that juncture. The Tigers held an eight-point lead (29-21) at the under-eight media timeout, and both offenses were blazing hot at that point (Michigan was 50 percent from the field and LSU was 48 percent).
U-M kept creeping close when freshman center Hunter Dickinson converted an and-one with 6:43 left in the half, cutting the Tiger margin to 30-27. Brooks also continued his hot play with another three-pointer with 4:44 to go, inching ever closer (cut the Tiger lead to 36-34).
LSU led 40-38 at the under-four timeout, and Michigan was a red-hot 62 percent from the field and in the midst of a 9-of-10 successful stretch. Brooks was the team's leading scorer with 13 points.
The Maize and Blue finally took the lead (42-40) with 30 seconds to go in the half on two free throws from sophomore guard Franz Wagner. Thomas nailed a deep two-pointer as the half expired though to trim U-M's edge to 43-42 at the break.
The Wolverines shot 57 percent for the half, with the defense having stepped up in a big way over the final four minutes, allowing LSU to hit just one of its final 10 shots.
Second Half
LSU reclaimed the lead on an and-one from Smart at 17:46 to go up 47-45. The poor start to the half for the Wolverines continued when Thomas drained two free throws at the 16:09 mark, putting LSU back up six at 51-45.
The Tigers were on an 8-0 run, and U-M was just 1-of-6 from the field for the half at that point. Brooks tied it up at 51-all, however, with a trifecta from the left wing at 14:40. The Maize and Blue then took a 53-51 lead on two free throws from Johns, capping off an 8-0 run of their own.
The Tigers strung together a 7-0 run (a theme for the night) of their own though, taking a 58-55 lead into the under-12 media timeout. LSU went up 63-58 at 10:46 and Howard was forced to call a timeout, with the Tigers enjoying a 12-3 run at that juncture.
The entire night was a game of runs, and that was captivated beautifully when Brown drained a corner triple at 8:36, swinging the game on a dime and putting his club back up 67-63 in the blink of an eye.
U-M's margin was 67-64 at the under-eight timeout, and the Wolverines had hit six of their last eight shots. Brown continued his incredible performance with another three-pointer at the 5:50 mark to put Michigan up 72-64.
He had 21 points at that mark. U-M's advantage was stretched to eight (74-66) with 5:10 to go, and LSU was in a cold 2-of-10 drought from the field. Wagner gave his team their biggest advantage of the night with a triple at 3:40, at 79-70.
That's where the score stood at the under-four media timeout, and the Maize and Blue were feeling good about themselves. U-M was also in a hot 5-of-7 stretch from the field, with the offense staying hot at the right time.
The Wolverines inched closer to victory with a Wagner lay in off a Dickinson miss with just 1:35 remaining, and it put Michigan up 84-74 (its biggest edge of the night). LSU kept hanging around with a Thomas lay in with just 44 seconds to go, and it allowed them to keep clinging to life to make the score 84-78.
Brooks stepped up in a big way tonight as a senior (21 points and seven assists on the evening) and sealed the win with two clutch free throws with 31 seconds remaining, and that helped cap off the 86-78 win.
U-M shot 54 percent for the game and held LSU to just 39 percent, with four different players for the Wolverines scoring in double figures. Michigan will next take on Florida State Sunday in the Sweet Sixteen.
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