10:03 pm | March 22, 2019 | Go to Source | Author: gatorsports
After Thursday’s 70-61 win over Nevada in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Florida Gators will face Michigan at 5:15 p.m. Saturday on CBS, in the second round. Both teams are in the Round of 32 for the third consecutive year.
The Wolverines (29-6) put their disappointing loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament title game in their rearview mirror with an easy win over the Montana Grizzlies on Thursday night. Now it’s on to what figures to be a challenging game against a defensive-oriented No. 10 seed in Florida (20-15). The Wolverines beat the Gators in the Elite Eight on their way to the 2013 national championship game.
Ann Arbor, 29-6.
Nickname: Wolverines. Coach: John Beilein.
Conference: Big Ten. Bid: At Large.
Region: West. Seed: No. 2.
Tournament History: 60-27, 8 Final Fours and 1 National Championship in 28 appearances.
Last appearance: 2018, lost to Villanova in the National Championship.
Season Stats Entering Tourney
Scoring: 70.7 points per game, 45.1 fg pct, 35.1 3-pt pct, 69.5 ft pct.
Top Scorers: Ignas Brazdeikas 14.9; Jordan Poole 12.8; Charles Matthews 12.3.
Rebounds: Jon Teske 6.8; Brazdeikas 5.2; Avg team margin (plus-0.5).
Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.56): Zavier Simpson (6.5/1.9), 214 assists.
Best Win: 84-67 at home to North Carolina on Nov. 28.
Worst Loss: 69-75 at Penn State on Feb. 12.
The Skinny: Minus their three defeats against Michigan State since Feb. 24., the Wolverines enter thetournament having won 11 out of their last 13 games. Last year’s NCAA runner-up will begin this year’s tournament a seed higher and facing the same opening-round opponent when it takes on Montana. If the top seeds hold serve, Michigan could square off against No. 1-seed Gonzaga in an Elite Eight matchup in the West Region. The good news for the Wolverines is the Spartans are in the East.
First round Thursday:
Michigan coach John Beilein didn’t need to worry after all.
Four days after his Wolverines’ disappointing loss in the Big Ten Tournament championship game, they did exactly what they were supposed to against 15th-seeded Montana in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
They got off to a fast start, led by double digits quickly and went on to a 74-55 win Thursday night.
“Monday we were down. Tuesday’s practice was just OK,” Beilein said. “I thought when we got here, we had a really good practice yesterday. We got another chance. Sometimes teams lose a championship game and don’t get a chance to play again. Our kids are smart. They knew what to do and we bounced back.”
Charles Matthews had 22 points and 10 rebounds in his best performance since coming back from injury. Ignas Brazdeikis added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Jon Teske had 11 points and nine boards for the Wolverines, who led by as many as 27 points in the second half.
“I love the way we came out,” Beilein said. “We had a little blip to start the second half and then we came back from that, too.”
| WEST REGIONAL |
|---|
| First Round |
| Thursday, March 21 |
| At The XL Center |
| Hartford, Conn. |
Florida State 76, Vermont 69
Murray State 83, Marquette 64
| At Wells Fargo Arena |
|---|
| Des Moines, Iowa |
Florida 70, Nevada 61
Michigan 74, Montana 55
| At Vivint Smart Home Arena |
|---|
| Salt Lake City |
Gonzaga 87, Fairleigh Dickinson 49
Baylor 78, Syracuse 69
| Friday, March 22 |
|---|
| At BOK Center |
| Tulsa, Okla. |
Texas Tech (26-6) vs. Northern Kentucky (26-8), 1:30 p.m.
Buffalo (31-3) vs. Arizona State (23-10), 4 p.m.
| Second Round |
|---|
| Saturday, March 23 |
| At The XL Center |
| Hartford, Conn. |
Florida State (28-7) vs. Murray State (28-4)
| At Wells Fargo Arena |
|---|
| Des Moines, Iowa |
Michigan (29-6) vs. Florida (20-15), 5;15 p.m., CBS
| At Vivint Smart Home Arena |
|---|
| Salt Lake City |
Gonzaga (31-3) vs. Baylor (20-13)
| Sunday, March 24 |
|---|
| At BOK Center |
| Tulsa, Okla. |
Texas Tech-Northern Kentucky winner vs. Buffalo-Arizona State winner
| At Honda Center |
|---|
| Anaheim, Calif. |
| Regional Semifinals |
| Thursday, March 28 |
Gonzaga-Baylor winner vs. Florida State-Murray State winner
Michigan-Florida winner vs. Texas Tech-Northern Kentucky_Buffalo-Arizona State winner
| Regional Championship |
|---|
| Saturday, March 30 |
Semifinal winners
| FINAL FOUR |
|---|
| At U.S. Bank Stadium |
| Minneapolis |
| National Semifinals |
| Saturday, April 6 |
East champion vs. West champion
South champion vs. Midwest champion
| National Championship |
|---|
| Monday, April 8 |
Semifinal winners
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