Michigan dominates Florida State Basketball to advance to Elite Eight

Florida State basketball put on an underwhelming performance against the Michigan Wolverines. Juwan Howard took down his former NBA coach in Leonard Hamilton to move on to the Elite Eight.

This one-sided nature of this game came as a surprise. It further proved that the Michigan Wolverines are dangerous and seemingly the only threat to Gonzaga’s national title hopes.

Raiquan Gray and Frank Wagner got the first points of the game. There was an emphasis for both sides to get the ball inside and play solid defense. Five minutes into the first half, the Wolverines had a 7-4 lead.

From there, both teams looked to run the floor in transition. That excellent sequence of basketball began with a Brandon Johns Jr. steal and dunk. On the Wolverines’ next possession, Mike Smith ran the length of the floor after securing a defensive rebound and turned the ball over. It led to an Anthony Polite steal and tip shot by Scottie Barnes.

Both teams weren’t shooting the ball well early, but Michigan gained a 17-8 lead thanks to two three-pointers from Smith and Chaundee Brown Jr.

Florida State missed three straight perimeter shots at this point and had five turnovers.

The Wolverines were getting easy access to the paint through dribble penetration and did a great job of collapsing on ball handlers when they drove to the basket.

A Barnes dribble-drive slam cut the Seminoles’ deficit to seven points briefly, but Hunter Dickinson increased the Wolverines lead to nine with his first points of the game. The Wolverines led 23-14 at the 6:43 mark in the first half.

Under four minutes to go until halftime, the Wolverines held the Seminoles scoreless in the last three minutes before Balsa Koprivica scored. The Seminoles’ perimeter shooting was non-existent, and their defense was struggling to keep up with the Wolverines in the half-court. Dickinson executed a textbook pick and roll play that gave him a game-high seven points and four rebounds. Johns Jr., Wagner, and Smith were also in the scoring column.

The Wolverines went into the halftime break up 32-21 behind 15 points and 10 rebounds from Johns Jr. and Dickinson. Florida State’s offense had little to no rhythm. They also scored 16 points off 10 Seminole turnovers.

Michigan’s offense was superb in the first half. Leonard Hamilton needed to make necessary adjustments in the locker room if Florida State basketball was going to get back in this game.

Hamilton told Tracie Wolfson that the team self-destructed with the turnovers and needed to do a better job of knocking down their perimeter shots and getting to the free-throw line.

Johns Jr. continued to impose his will on the Florida State basketball defense as he scored the Wolverines’ first points of the second half and almost put someone on a poster with a missed two-hand slam.

He had a season-high 12 points and five rebounds after getting an inside shot to go.

Anthony Polite knocked down the Seminoles’ first three-pointer of the game, which cut their deficit to five before Smith completed an and-one opportunity for the Wolverines to give them a 44-36 lead. That was as close as the Seminoles would get to gaining control of this game.

The Wolverines got everything they wanted in the paint. Austin Davis and Johns Jr. scored three baskets to continue the Wolverines run of nine consecutive baskets down there.

Walker went down for a moment after stepping on the back of Davis’s heel but thankfully got to the sideline under his own power. He would later come back into the game, but it didn’t matter.

The Michigan Wolverines were the better team Sunday night and advanced to the Elite Eight with a 78-56 victory.

They have their frontcourt to thank for this win. Johns Jr. and Dickinson combined for 28 points and 14 rebounds.

This was a dominant performance all around for the Wolverines and a significant letdown for Florida State basketball, who sees their season come to an end.

The Michigan Wolverines move on to play the winner of UCLA-Alabama on Tuesday.