Plenty of basketball observers didn’t expect UCLA to beat Michigan State in the first four play-in game the two participated in, but four wins later, Mick Cronin’s Bruins have found themselves in the Elite Eight.

It took a thrilling overtime triumph over No. 2-seeded Alabama in yesterday’s Sweet Sixteen to get here, with Cronin’s crew overcoming a miraculous three-point shot from Crimson Tide forward Alex Reese as regulation expired to send the game into overtime, fending off Alabama’s late rally and still coming away with a 88-78 win.

RELATED: Five Quick Takes On Michigan Drawing UCLA In The Elite Eight

RELATED: Five Takeaways From Michigan's Sweet 16 Win Over Florida State

Things won’t get any easier for UCLA, who will next square off with the top seed in the East region — Juwan Howard’s Michigan Wolverines' basketball team — tomorrow night with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

“Alabama was unbelievably fast in transition, while Michigan is Big Ten basketball and physical,” Cronin explained this afternoon while previewing the matchup. “Their execution is extremely impressive.

“Their unselfishness is impressive as well, and their assist-to-turnover ratio in their last five to 10 games has been unbelievable. They also have seniors and senior guards, so we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Several of those veteran guards in particular that Cronin referenced — fifth-year senior Mike Smith, and seniors Eli Brooks and Chaundee Brown — have been key cogs to U-M’s success this season.

Smith and Brooks handed out a combined eight assists in yesterday’s 76-58 blowout of Florida State, while Brown continued his hot play with 12 points and a two-of-two showing from deep.

“Smith is a great player,” Cronin exclaimed. “His assist-to-turnover ratio is unbelievable. He’s a good defender and takes care of the ball, and it’s great for the kid like him to play on the big stage [he had never played in the postseason during his four years at Columbia].

“It’s also great for Michigan, so it’s a win-win for both.”

Balance has been the name of the game for Michigan this season, a trend that is still alive and well even without injured senior forward Isaiah Livers in the lineup. Cronin was quick to point out that his Bruins also suffered a similar injury this year, with senior guard Chris Smith being lost for the season in late-December after averaging 12.6 points and 6.4 boards through UCLA’s first eight games.

Smith is/was the team’s leading rebounder and its second-leading scorer.

“We went through the same thing with Chris Smith, but that’s why you have other guys on your roster,” the Bruin head man said when asked about Livers’ injury. “[Junior forward] Brandon Johns is a good player and Brown is a good player as well.

“All it does is creates opportunities for guys who are quality players — you might just have a better advantage with a Chris Smith or a Livers in the lineup. Their guys are making the most of it.

“The longer it goes, the more those particular guys are getting quality minutes, instead of shorter minutes — they get better at playing extended minutes. It’s an adjustment, but those guys have had enough games by now where they’ve gotten used to it.”

Michigan indeed looks quite comfortable without Livers on the floor and is once again playing like a well-oiled machine, having gone on a run not many thought they could achieve without the senior’s presence.

UCLA, on the other hand, is on a run nobody outside of Westwood thought it could pull off, with the Bruins undoubtedly playing their best ball at the right time of year.

“We’ve been taking care of the ball and have been shooting a high percentage in the tournament,” Cronin said while trying to diagnose his club’s newfound success. “Our defense — ever since the first half against Michigan State [in the play-in game] when they made shots — has been much better.

“It has been a lot more consistent. The Pac-12 is a really good league and we had to reinvent ourselves after losing two key guys [Smith and forward Jalen Hill], and we learned to be more consistent with our defensive efforts.

“Our field goal percentage defense in our last four games is so much better than it had been. Michigan did it all year and that’s why they’re a No. 1 seed. They shoot 48 [percent] and give up 39 [percent to opponents].

“We have a lot of guys who can score the ball and who can make shots, so we can spread you out. We have to do that because we’re not a powerful team down low, other than [big man] Cody Riley [who averages 10 points and 5.4 boards per game].”

Notes

• Cronin admitted he hasn’t watched much film on Michigan yet, but was asked what his early impressions were of sophomore guard Franz Wagner, who has been a matchup nightmare for opponents all season while playing as a 6-9 guard.

The UCLA head coach didn’t yet know enough about Wagner to praise him, but handed out plenty of praise elsewhere.

“My impression after being up all night is that Coach Howard does an elite job — not a good job, an elite job,” he exclaimed. “When your team is as organized on both ends as they are and plays as physical and as tough as they do, that’s a reflection of the coach.”

---

• Talk about this article inside The Fort

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine

• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett

• Like us on Facebook