Wolverines meet Seminoles with Final Four berth on the line

LOS ANGELES » Leonard Hamilton is well aware of the perception that Florida State is a football school. The coach also knows that the moniker is often applied to Michigan, the Seminoles’ opponent Saturday night in a most unlikely NCAA Tournament regional final.

After a lifetime of coaching hoops, the 69-year-old Hamilton can’t understand why anyone would think about football in March when his players and coach John Beilein’s squad have earned the right to play the biggest game of their lives at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

“I think that’s one of the most ridiculous phrases I’ve heard: football school,” Hamilton said Friday. “I mean, gosh, (Michigan has) been to the Final Four on a consistent basis . ... Our baseball team has probably had as much success at Florida State as anyone, but nobody would call us a baseball school. Our soccer team does an outstanding job. Our volleyball team is good. I just think that’s a cliché, and that’s a phrase we need to eliminate.”

One of these don’t-call-themfootball-schools will be eliminated in LA in the culmination of two wacky weeks out West.

Separated by conference and geography, third-seeded Michigan (31-7) and ninth-seeded Florida State (23-11) didn’t know much at all about each other until this improbable NCAA Tournament left them as the only two teams standing in the West Region.

With 48 hours to cram for this final, the Wolverines and Seminoles have learned a few things about each other that sound oddly familiar.

“They have some similar characteristics that we have,” Michigan’s Charles Matthews said. “We have long players on this team, guys that like to get out in transition, and athletes as well. I feel like it’s going to be a fun game. They’re a very well-prepared team, and so are we.”

The Wolverines also realize what’s different and dangerous about the surprising Seminoles, who have upset three consecutive higher-seeded opponents to make an unlikely run to the third Elite Eight in school history.

With wins over top-seeded Xavier and national championship finalist Gonzaga already, Florida State is on the brink of an improbable achievement. The Seminoles went only 9-9 in ACC play and lost in the first round of the conference tournament, but after sweating out Selection Sunday, they’ve surged to the brink of the second Final Four in school history by hitting their stride just in time.

Michigan’s presence in the Elite Eight is less of a surprise, since the Wolverines have made it three times in the last six years. Beilein’s team has won 12 straight games since Feb. 6, streaking to the brink of their first Final Four since 2013.

But after middling performances in their first two NCAA Tournament games, the Wolverines showed they’re ready for the big time with a 99-72 thrashing of Texas A&M on Thursday, overshadowing their typically proficient defense with the school’s highest-scoring NCAA Tournament performance since 1992.

If the Wolverines can come up with a fitting sequel, they’ll end Florida State’s best postseason run since 1993.