LOS ANGELES – Would it be an all-Cinderella bracket in San Antonio? Could ninth-seed Florida State make its first Final Four since 1972 and dispatch the Michigan Wolverines in the Elite Eight at Staples Center?
In a game that looked like the best versions of each school’s football teams playing goal-line defense, the Seminoles (23-12) could not. But not for lack of trying. You can’t play defense any harder than the Seminoles did in holding a Michigan team coming off a 99-point game Thursday to just 58.
But that was enough as the Seminoles, in dropping a 58-54 season-ender, could not get the ball to drop at the end. No matter how hard they played on the other end, very few shots rolled in and dropped down when they most needed them as Florida State finished the game shooting 31.4 percent on 16 of 51.
And so the 32-7 Wolverines will move on to face Loyola in San Antonio Saturday in the national semifinal game. But Florida State could not have played harder. Neither team could have. But a pair of second-half 10-point deficits were too much to overcome even though the Seminoles closed it from 48-38 to 56-54 with 20.9 seconds left.
Phil Cofer’s 16 points led Florida State with PJ Savoy’s 12 the only other double figure totals as the Seminoles did stay close with 18-of-20 free throw shooting. But four for 17 (23.5 percent) from behind the three-point line was too much to overcome even if Michigan (4 of 22, 18.2 percent) was worse. The Wolverines hit 19 of 49 for 38.8 percent from the field.
Guard Charles Matthews, the West Regional MVP, led Michigan with 17, 7-foot center Moritz Wagner added 12.
