MICHIGAN KEEPS HOPE ALIVE FOR THE BIG TEN
INDIANAPOLIS
What the Big Ten needed was someone, anyone, to start playing like it came from the Big Ten.
LSU 78
Thanks to Michigan, the conference is still part of March Madness.
Longer, taller and deeper than LSU, the top-seeded Wolverines slowly wore down the Tigers. They got 21 points each from Eli Brooks and Chaundee Brown Jr., in a roller-coaster 86-78 victory that salvaged some hope for the hurting conference at the NCAA Tournament.
By the time coach Juwan Howard and Co. had returned to the hotel after their second-round game, Maryland had lost to Alabama, leaving the Wolverines as the only ones remaining of the nation-leading nine Big Ten teams who came to Indy.
And though they can’t undo what’s happened to the rest of the conference, that Big Ten seasoning came in handy in this one — a game Michigan (22-4) trailed in by nine early and had to fight to stay in range.
“That’s the test of the Big Ten, honestly,” Brooks said. “We get tested every night.”
In a game full of big runs, the Wolverines used the biggest — 14-1 over the decisive stretch midway through the second half — to pull away and save face for a conference that has otherwise tanked these four days in Indianapolis.
The Wolverines moved on to their fourth straight Sweet 16, where they’ll play No. 4 Florida State on Sunday. They’ll represent the only chance left for a conference that has lost everyone, from No. 1 seed (Illinois), to two No. 2s (Ohio State and Iowa), all the way down to 11th-seeded Michigan State, a perennial power that went out in the play-in round.
“I mean, it’s March Madness for a reason,” Brooks said. “You’re going to get the best shot from everyone. I still think the Big Ten is a really good conference. We just had some losses.”
After the Wolverines took a onepoint lead into halftime, this game had massive swings: an 8-0 run early for LSU; a 10-0 streak for Michigan; another 5-0 run for the Tigers (19-10).
But during the 14-1 stretch that opened things up, Michigan was able to wear down a smaller, lessdeep opponent with height and shooting.
Most-telling stat of the night was points off the bench: Michigan 26, LSU 2.
“They’re a tremendous, tremendous team,” LSU coach Will Wade said. “Coach Howard and their staff, their offensive execution, the way they moved, the way they guard, they’re a very, very good team. They’re going to be an extremely tough out for anybody.”
Brown, the 6-foot-5 guard, did the most-lasting damage, making six free throws and a 3-pointer during the decisive stretch that gave the Wolverines a 72-64 lead with 5:55 left.
Then it was 7-1 freshman Hunter Dickenson (12 points, 11 rebounds) and 6-9 projected firstround NBA pick Franz Wagner (15 and seven) who shut down LSU with defense.
LSU’s Cameron Thomas went from lighting up Michigan to barely being able to get a shot off. He finished with 30 points but it took 23 shots, and he went 3 for 10 in the second half.
No. 2 Alabama 96, No. 10 Maryland 77: Jaden Shackelford scored 21 points and made five of Alabama’s 16 3-pointers as the Crimson Tide (26-6) advanced to their first Sweet 16 since 2004 with a romp over the Terrapins (17-14). Nate Oats, the second-year coach who made Buffalo a must-watch team before moving up to the Southeastern Conference, will bring his high-energy style to a regional semifinal for the first time, with Alabama set to play UCLA.
No. 4 Florida State 71, No. 5 Colorado 53: Anthony Polite scored a career-high 22 points and the Seminoles (18-6) pulled away in the second half to beat the Buffaloes. Polite had never scored more than 15 points in a game, but the junior made 8 of 12 shots.
D’Shawn Schwartz scored 13 points for fifth-seeded Colorado (23-9), which shot 36 percent overall. McKinley Wright IV, Colorado’s leading scorer for the season with more than 15 points per contest, finished with 10 on 4-of-12 shooting.