Florida State will be making its first Elite Eight appearance in almost five decades and is looking to advance to the Final Four for the first time since 1972. This preview details reasons why they could win and also how they could lose. Ethridge allowed one inherited baserunner to score, making it a 4-2 game, but the Aggies didn’t muster much after that. They rank 3 in the nation in defensive efficiency after never finishing higher than 37 previously.
Advertisement
The only problem? They damaged the Aggies letters above the scoreboard.
“I think Coach Beilein is a Hall of Fame coach”, said Hamilton.
“If anything, I think it’s going to be a fun game for the fans to watch and maybe a nightmare for me”, Central Michigan coach Sue Guevara said. The Rebels are 21-2 this season as they play game two of a three game set in College Station Friday night. On Thursday, Michigan routed Texas A&M, 99-72. The Aggies had annihilated 2 seed North Carolina to get to Los Angeles.
In the NCAA Tournament, it’s always hard to predict what will happen. Coming out of the under-four-minute media timeout, Robinson struck again on a corner triple for a 29-point U-M lead before A&M scored the final points to make it a 52-28 score at the half.
Offensively, it took MI a couple games to get going, but it drilled 14 3-pointers Thursday. The smart money here takes the points with Florida State.
Mann led the team in scoring during the season and is averaging 10 points per game during the 2018 NCAA Tournament. They allow 36% shooting from downtown, which ranks 231 nationally, which is unsafe against a MI team that made 14 3-pointers in the Sweet 16. Florida St. played against 8-seed Missouri, 1-seed Xavier, and 4-seed Gonzaga. Florida State didn’t have any players on the all-ACC first, second or third teams; Terance Mann finished ninth in honorable mention.
They’re a young team, but already pretty powerful.
-Florida State isn’t a great free throw shooting team. They’re not running anything tomorrow that we haven’t seen before.
Get the ball out of the guards’ hands – It’s undeniable at this point that Florida State’s tournament run is largely dependent on the play of the guards. FSU, as a six-point underdog, led by nine at the half and 13 early in the second half. I do feel confident though, that MI won’t have such an easy time against Florida State like it did with A&M.
1 – One final game for Robert Williams. Even with the current run, they’re only 6-4 in their past 10 games.
“This senior right here played his tail off in every single way”, MI coach John Beilein said. Jordan Wood (2-1, 7.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) earned the win, while Drew Zimmerman recorded the final five outs to secure his second save. “Outside of 6’1″ guard CJ Walker, their other four starters are at least 6’6″, including their 7’4” center.
“I’m feeling not so good right now, but I’m glad we made it to the Sweet 16”.
-Florida State uses its height to its advantage. But they’re just a good team.
With wins over top-seeded Xavier and national championship finalist Gonzaga already, Florida State is on the brink of an improbable achievement. But their ability to spread the court with shooters, move the ball from side to side and knock down shots makes them almost impossible to beat when everything is clicking. Opponents simply don’t get many shots at “easy” points.
Graves was asked if he had any advice for the No. 11 seed based off his past success as a lower seed.
Advertisement
There was a time when opponents had a definite formula for stopping the MI men’s basketball team.
