3/29/2021

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

» No. 1 seed Michigan will play No. 11 seed UCLA on Tuesday night (March 30) for a spot in the NCAA Final Four.
» Since 2013, U-M has advanced to four (out of eight) NCAA Elite Eights — one of four teams to do so.
» The Wolverines are looking to advance to their third Final Four since 2013.
» Michigan advanced to the East Region final with wins over Texas Southern, LSU and Florida State.

UP NEXT: NCAA Regional Final
Tuesday, March 30 — vs. UCLA (Indianapolis, Ind.), 9:57 p.m.
• TV: TBS | Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio (Westwood One)
• NCAA Bracket: Interactive | Printable PDF
• Satellite Radio: Sirius: Sirius: 84 | XM: 84 | Internet: 84
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

• Interactive Visual Season Experience
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

The fourth-ranked and No. 1 East Region seed University of Michigan men’s basketball team (23-4) will face No. 11 seed UCLA (21-9) for a spot in the NCAA Final Four on Tuesday (March 30) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. The game is scheduled for a 9:57 p.m. tip on TBS, with Brian Anderson (p-by-p), Jimmy Jackson (analyst) and Allie LaForce (sideline) on the call.

How Michigan Advanced

• No. 1 seed Michigan advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight for the fourth time in the last eight NCAA Tournaments with a 76-58 win over No. 4 seed Florida State in the Sweet 16 on Sunday (March 28) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. U-M opened with an 82-66 first-round victory over Texas Southern in on March 20 at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind., and topped LSU, 86-78, in the second round on March 22 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
• Four Wolverines scored in double figures against Florida State, with Brandon Johns Jr. and Hunter Dickinson leading the way with 14 points each. Both went 5-for-10 from the field, while Dickinson added eight rebounds.
• Franz Wagner posted his fourth career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with a team-high five assists. Chaundee Brown Jr. came off the bench to add 12 points.
• U-M went 29-for-59 (49.2 percent) from the field against the Seminoles, including 18-for-26 (69.2 percent) in the second half. The Wolverines scored 50 points in the paint and made just three three-pointers.
• In the LSU game, Eli Brooks and Brown each scored 21 points, a season high for both. Brooks was 7-for-11 from the field, including a career-high-tying five three-pointers, and tied his career high with seven assists.
• Coming off the bench, Brown posted his first 20+ point game as a Wolverine and 14th of his career. He finished 6-for-9 with three three-pointers and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
• Wagner added 15 points (nine in the second half), while Dickinson recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
• In the first round against Texas Southern, Mike Smith scored a team-high 18 points, leading four Wolverines in double figures. Dickinson added 16 points, while Johns and Brooks each scored 11 points.
• Wagner finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds to go along with a career-high six assists. Zeb Jackson was 2-for-4 from three-point range against Texas Southern, the first triples of his U-M career.

A Look at No. 11 seed UCLA

• UCLA comes into the Elite Eight with a 21-9 overall record and went 13-6 in Pac-12 Conference play.
• Five players are scoring in double figures for UCLA, led by 15.1 points per game from Johnny Juzang. Also averagin in double digits are Jaime Jaquez Jr. (12.2), Jules Bernard (10.4), Typer Campbell (10.1) and Cody Riley (10.0). Campbell has a 2.87 assist/turnover ratio, 16th nationally, and is averaging 5.4 assists per game, 28th nationally.
• UCLA is shooting 37.4 percent from three-point range, second-best in the Pac-12 and 31st nationally. The Bruins are averaging just 10.8 turnovers per game, tops in the Pac-12 and 20th in the country.
• Mick Cronin is in his second season as head coach at UCLA. Cronin had previously been the head coach at Cincinnati (2006-19) and Murray State (2003-06).
• UCLA began its NCAA Tournament run in the First Four, defeating No. 11 seed Michigan State, 86-80 in overtime, at Mackey Arena (March 18).
• The Bruins then defeated No. 6 seed BYU in the first round (March 20) at Hinkle Fieldhouse, 73-62. In the second round, UCLA defeated No. 14 seed Abilene Christian, 67-47, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (March 22).
• UCLA reached the Elite Eight by topping No. 2 seed Alabama in the Sweet 16, 88-78 in overtime, at Hinkle Fieldhouse (March 28).

What’s Possibly to Come

• The winner of the Michigan/UCLA Elite Eight contest will be the champion of the East Region and advance to the Final Four to meet the West Region champion, either Gonzaga or USC.
• Gonzaga, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, has a perfect 29-0 overall record and advanced to the Elite Eight with an 83-65 win over No. 5 seed Creighton. 
• USC, the No. 6 seed in the West Region, has a 25-7 overall record and went 15-5 in the Pac-12. The Trojans reached the Elite Eight with an 82-68 victory over No. 7 seed Oregon.

Quick NCAA Notables

• The Wolverines have reached the Sweet 16 in four consecutive tournaments (2017, ’18, ’19, ’21). Michigan is one of just two programs, along with Gonzaga, to reach four straight Sweet 16s. In fact, since 2013, the Maize and Blue has reached to the Sweet 16 six times, tied for the most in the country with the Zags.
• U-M has reached the Elite Eight four times since 2013, tied for the most in the country with Duke, Gonzaga and Kentucky.
• Since 2013, Michigan has 21 NCAA Tournament wins, more than any other program. Gonzaga has 20 NCAA Tournament wins since 2013, while Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and Villanova each have 18.
• Juwan Howard is the only person to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament as both a coach and player. As a player with U-M, he and the rest of the Fab Five were the No. 1 seed in the West Region in the 1993 tournament. After guiding his Wolverines to the Big Ten regular-season title, his U-M squad earned the No. 1 seed in the East Region.
• Michigan had three programs reach their respective NCAA Sweet 16s: men’s basketball (fourth straight), women’s basketball (first ever advancement) and ice hockey (38th NCAA trip).

Some NCAA Statistics for the Maize and Blue

• After U-M held Texas Southern to 1-of-12 (8.3%) shooting from three-point range, LSU went 6-for-21 (28.6%) and Florida State was 5-of-20 (25%).
• Michigan is shooting 50.3% in the NCAA Tournament with Chaundee Brown Jr. shooting 68.8 percent and Hunter Dickinson shooting 62.5 percent.
• The Wolverines are holding opponents to just 38.3 percent shooting from the floor in the tournament and 22.6 percent from the three-point line.
• After opening the season with 80+ points in nine of its first 10 games, Michigan had just two more in its next 14. In the NCAA Tournament, U-M had back-to-back 80+ games with 82 vs. Texas Southern and 86 vs. LSU. The Wolverines had 76 in the win over Florida State.
• Michigan is averaging 20.0 assists per game after 19 (on 26 FG) vs. Texas Southern, 22 (on 28 FG) vs. LSU and 19 (on 29 FG) vs. Florida State. Eli Brooks leads with 16, while Mike Smith has 15.
• Six players are scoring in double figures, led by 14.0 points per game from Hunter Dickinson, who is shooting 62.5 percent from the field (15-of-24) and 75 percent from the free-throw line (12-of-16). Dickinson is also averaging 7.0 rebounds per contest.
• Brooks is averaging 12.7 points per game with a team-best eight three-pointers and a team-high 16 assists.
• Franz Wagner is averaging 12.3 points per game and is shooting 78.6 percent from the free-throw line (11-of-14). Wagner is averaging a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game.
• Chaundee Brown Jr. is averaging 11.0 points per game, shooting 68.8 percent from the field, 55.6 percent from three and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
• Brandon Johns Jr. is averaging 10.7 points per game and is shooting 72.2 percent from the free-throw line (13-of-18).
• Mike Smith is averaging 10.3 points per game and has 15 assists. Smith is playing a team-high 35.1 minutes per game.

All Part of the Plan: First-Timers Lead Maize and Blue

• Transfers Mike Smith (Columbia) and Chaundee Brown Jr. (Wake Forest) have made the most of their first trips to the Big Dance and are one win away from advancing to the Final Four.
• Smith’s season-high-tying 18 points were instrumental in U-M’s opening NCAA win vs. Texas Southern. He added five assists and four rebounds. He contributed six assists vs. LSU and had eight points and four assist vs. Florida State. In three NCAA Tournament games, Smith is averaging 10.3 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game.
• After being held scoreless vs. Texas Southern, Brown posted his first 20+ point effort at U-M in the NCAA second-round win over LSU. Coming off the bench, he drained three three-pointers, had a massive dunk, and hit two key jumpers as he helped the Wolverines advance to their fourth straight NCAA Sweet 16. He followed with two more triples and 12 points in the Sweet 16 win over Florida State. Brown is averaging 11.0 points per game in the tournament, shooting 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the field.

Hail From Home

Game days may look different this season, but the tradition of cheering on Michigan men’s basketball continues. Hail From Home is our way to virtually bring the excitement of game day to fans. Throughout the season, fans can look forward to a variety of digital engagements including a game day check-in with monthly prizes, fan cutouts at Crisler Center, game day playlists, Crisler scoreboard messages, special theme games, and more. » Hail from Home

COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS