MI and Texas A&M haven’t been stylish in this NCAA Tournament, but they have been successful. They have played West Virginia in the Armed Forces Classic in Germany, UC Santa Barbara and Penn State in the Legends Classic at Barclay Center in Brooklyn, and USC at Galen Center in Los Angeles.
“I never lost track and my confidence definitely didn’t drop in my guys”, Davis said.
Our baseball team has probably had as much success at Florida State as anyone, but nobody would call us a baseball school. Our volleyball team is good. “I don’t even think it was close, either”. The winners play Saturday to earn a place in the Final Four next weekend in San Antonio. They’re all smiles with the 11th-seeded Ramblers holding a 9-point lead over Nevada with just under 12 minutes remaining. But given the way the bracket is breaking, and how hot they are, MI has to be thinking of making a run to the championship game. Teammate Zavier Simpson was 0 for 4.
While Hamilton shrugs off the chances of another performance like the Wolverines had last round, the ninth-seeded Seminoles have also far surpassed their Tournament expectations with wins over No. 1 seed Xavier and No. 4 seed Gonzaga. It’s been an impressive showing from the Seminoles, who were.500 in ACC play.
The Wolverines shot 61.9 percent from the floor and went 14 of 24 (58.3 percent) from 3-point range.
PURDUE: Coach Matt Painter has all but ruled out center Isaac Haas for the Sweet 16 after Haas fractured his right elbow in the first-round NCAA tournament win.
They effectively ran Texas A&M out of the gym in the first half, scoring 52 points on 20-of-35 from the floor, including 10-of-16 from behind the arc. Florida State’s only other Final Four trip came in 1972.
DOGS IN THEM: Michigan is aware of the dilemma it faces with Florida State’s pressing, shot-blocking “junkyard defense”, which has deserved its colorful name. That’s one of the key things of our junkyard defense. And though MI is favored by three points, Texas A&M is undoubtedly risky. Tech had two great tests in 14-seed SFA and 6-seed Florida. In the second half, the Wolverines improved to 68 percent from the floor. Wagner promptly struck twice, once for a 3-pointer, and the only uncertainty was whether the Wolverines would reach triple digits.
Florida State has to feel confident coming into this one.
Prediction: Florida State is peaking at the flawless time, and just had back-to-back huge wins over big-time opponents.
Mann scored 18 points Thursday against Gonzaga, and Angola and C.J. Walker each scored 9 as the Seminoles exercised their length, athleticism and aggressiveness.
When unranked Texas A&M opened its season with a 23-point victory over then No. 11 West Virginia at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, many were surprised A&M had defeated “Press-Virginia” so lopsidedly. Beilein expects more of the same Saturday.