Michigan’s maize leaves Florida blue
Brazdeikis ignites the run that helps Wolverines reach the Sweet 16
DES MOINES, IOWA— Michigan’s biggest concern against Florida was facing the Gators’ lockdown defence.
The solution? Beat Florida at its own game.
Michigan is back in the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year after pulling away for a 64-49 win in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in a game that featured a pair of talented Canadian freshmen, the Wolverines’ Ignas Brazdeikis and Florida’s Andrew Nembhard.
“Holding this team to 49 points is incredible,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “That’s how we won the game.”
The 10th-seeded Gators (2016) shot just 29 per cent in the second half and 34.5 per cent for the game as Michigan, the No. 2 seed in the West Region, advanced to the Sweet16 for the fifth time in the last seven years. The Wolverines are the 2018 national runner-up.
Jordan Poole scored 19 points and the Wolverines took charge in the final minutes as Florida became the eighth Michigan opponent to fail to crack 50 points. Charles Matthews said the emphasis on defence began last summer.
“Guys playing one-on-one sun-up to sundown,” he said. “Nobody wanted to get embarrassed and get talked about the next day.”
The matchup of two of the nation’s highest-ranked defences often produced ragtag play. Florida played its usual combination defences and caused confusion — Brazdeikis had an entry pass intended for him sail right past him out of bounds, and the seven-foot-one Jon Teske fumbled the ball down low repeatedly as the Gators swatted at it.
Even so, the Gators couldn’t slow Poole, who made four three-pointers, or overcome their poor shooting.
“I thought they were super disruptive on the defensive end,” said Jalen Hudson, who led the Gators with 11 points. “It was pretty hard for us to get into the lane and really shake them.” Zavier Simpson had nine points, nine rebounds and nine assists, while Teske had eight points to go with 10 rebounds.
Florida kept it close with its three-point shooting in the first half, but Brazdeikis’s threepointer started an 11-0 run to open the second that put Michigan up 43-28. Brazdeikis finished with five points. Nembhard had seven for Florida. “We made some adjustments at halftime,” Matthews said. “We wanted to shut off the water. The coaching staff did a great job and we just followed the plan.” Florida State 60, Murray State 62: Burlington native Mfiondu Kabengele scored 22 points, Terrance Mann added 18 and Florida State slammed Murray State to advance to the West regional semifinal.
Florida State (29-7) is in the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year, the first time FSU has pulled that off since 199293.
Murray State point guard Ja Morant, who posted a tripledouble against Marquette in the first round, dazzled for a half against FSU, going 5 for 5 from three-point range. He finished with 28 points, but the 12th-seeded Racers (28-5) were no match for the Seminoles, who led by 16 at halftime. Kentucky 62, Wofford 56: Kentucky ended Wofford’s season with a stifling defensive effort on Fletcher Magee.
Reid Travis scored 14 points, including two huge free throws with 17.8 seconds left, to help seal the victory for secondseeded Kentucky (29-6). Travis also grabbed 11 rebounds to help hold off the upstart Terriers (30-5).
Two days after setting the NCAA Division I record for career three-pointers, Magee stunningly went 0 of 12 from beyond the arc. He made seven three on Thursday in Wofford’s victory over Seton Hall. Magee finished with eight points on 4-of-17 shooting. LSU 69, Maryland 67: Tremont Waters drove by three defenders and scooped in a banking layup with 1.6 seconds remaining to give third-seeded LSU the victory over sixth-seeded Maryland.
Skylar Mays, who scored 16 points, hit a huge three-pointer with 40 seconds remaining that put the Tigers (28-6) up 67-64.
Jalen Smith answered on the other end, sending the packed crowd into a frenzy and prompting LSU to call timeout. Interim coach Tony Benford called a final play for Waters, and he delivered a trip to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2006. Waters finished with 12 points and five assists. Gonzaga 83, Baylor 71: Next stop on the Brandon Clarke Dunk ’n Swat Festival: The Sweet 16.
The Gonzaga forward had five monster dunks, five blocks, matched a career-high with 36 points and enjoyed the overall kind of night that earns potential NBAers millions, while leading the top-seeded Bulldogs over Baylor.