After needing a near-miracle to make it out of the NCAA tournament’s opening weekend, Michigan spent Thursday night reminding everyone why they were a trendy Final Four pick heading into the Big Dance.
Michigan looks Final Four good right now
The Wolverines got hot from the outside early and never looked back.
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
The Wolverines shot 61.9 percent from the field and connected on 14 of 24 three-point attempts on their way to a 99-72 demolition of Texas A&M in a West Regional semifinal from Los Angeles. Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman led five Michigan players in double figures with 24 points. Moe Wagner chipped in 21.
Even freshman walk-on CJ Baird got in on the fun.
Michigan put the game away in the first half. The Wolverines hit 10 of 16 shots from beyond the arc, averaged an absurd 1.53 points per possession, and had just one turnover to Texas A&M’s 10.
The offensive explosion by Michigan comes on the heels of an opening weekend where the Wolverines didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard. The team plodded its way to an ugly 61-47 first round win over Montana. The Wolverines were then outplayed for the majority of the night against Houston before a 28-foot buzzer-beater by Jordan Poole lifted John Beilein’s team into the Sweet 16.
On the flip side, Texas A&M entered Thursday night coming off its most impressive performance of the season. The seventh-seeded Aggies dominated 2-seed North Carolina in an 86-65 second round romp that left many wondering whether or not Billy Kennedy’s ultra-talented roster was coming alive at the perfect time.
That 21-point euphoria turned into 25-point depression in a hurry.
For what it’s worth, the largest point swing from one game to the next in the history of the NCAA tournament is 71 points by VCU in 2013. The Rams destroyed Akron by 46 points in round one before being soundly defeated, appropriately enough, by Michigan in a 25-point round two blowout.
Thursday’s win was Michigan’s 12th in a row. The Wolverines haven’t been beaten since a 61-52 loss at Northwestern on Feb. 6. One more win will put the maize and blue into the Final Four for the second time under Beilein. It’ll also bring them one step closer to that ever-elusive second national championship.
See More:
