The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1361683
20 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2021 cally have been preparing for two years as we have been preparing for two years — you know everybody's name; you know everybody's tenden- cies. I think there's going to be some freshness." That was clear in an 82-66 victory over Texas Southern, a game in which the Wolverines came out firing and led from start to finish. They weren't perfect and lost their concentration down the stretch, but in an upset- heavy weekend in which the Big Ten struggled mightily, Michigan was safe. U-M was favored over a talented LSU squad in the round of 32 game, but not everyone was convinced. Junior forward Brandon Johns (11 points vs. TSU) was playing with more confidence, but senior guard Chaundee Brown Jr. was held score- less in the previous outing and strug- gling, notching only three points in the previous two games. A call from his mom helped ignite Brown in a 21-point performance — the most he scored in a game at U-M — during an 86-78, come-from- behind win over the Tigers. He was the difference, hitting big shot after big shot and finding the smile every- one in the locker room had missed. "I know I prayed and dreamed about being on this stage right here," he said in the postgame. "My mom was telling me before the game, 'You prayed and dreamed of being in this position, so you've just got to make it happen now.' "I feel like I did that, and we did that as a team tonight." LSU guards Cam Thomas (30 points) and Javonte Smart (27) were as good as advertised, but Brown, se- nior guard Eli Brooks (21) and sopho- more guard Franz Wagner (15) made the winning plays down the stretch. When Loyola (Chicago) stunned Il- linois, controlling its game from start to finish, the Wolverines were the only Big Ten team in the Sweet 16. That ended the chatter from Cham- paign-Urbana. SWEET AND SOUR In the blink of an eye, Michigan went from afterthought to Final Four favor- ite once again after dispatching No. 4 seed Florida State. Much was made of FSU's size advantage — they averaged 6-8 in their starting five — but the Wol- verines dominated throughout in earn- ing their fourth Elite Eight appearance in the last eight seasons. Only Gonzaga could claim the same. Johns and Dickinson scored 14 each, Wagner 13 and Brown 12 in the win in which U-M dominated inside. Sev- enteen of their 18 second-half buckets came in the paint, and 15 were assisted. "Heard it all week," Howard said after the 76-58 win when FSU's size advantage was brought up. "Yup. Sure did." When No. 11 seed UCLA, a play-in winner over Michigan State, upset No. 2 Alabama, many Michigan fans were making Final Four plans. But the Bruins were on a roll, and they played hard. Meanwhile, Michi- gan suffered from arguably its worst game of the year, managing only 49 points in a two-point loss that ended with Wagner missing two triples and senior point guard Mike Smith another in the final 11 seconds that could have won it. U-M fell only a game short of what many felt was its ceiling without Liv- ers, but it was unfulfilling. Wagner and Smith combined to go 2 for 17 in what was probably the last game in a Michi- gan uniform for both. Wagner was 1 for 10 and shot an air- ball that would have put U-M up with 10 seconds remaining. "Franz is one of the reasons why we're here in this position," Howard said in his defense. "I always have trust in all my players, and it's never one guy's fault because he doesn't shoot the ball well. Together as a team — you win together, and you lose to- gether." Two days later, Howard accepted Senior guard Chaundee Brown Jr. scored just three combined points in the Wolverines' last Big Ten Tournament contest and NCAA opener, then exploded for 21 — the most he had ever scored in a Michigan uniform — in the second-round win over LSU. PHOTO BY JAMIE SCHWABEROW