Field Level Media
Mar 22, 2018
Michigan guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman had 24 points, seven assists and five rebounds and Moe Wagner had 21 points when the hot-shooting Wolverines advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight with a lopsided 99-72 victory over Texas A&M in the West Regional at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Charles Matthews scored 18 points, Zavier Simpson had 11 points and Duncan Robinson had 10 for the third-seeded (31-7), who made 14 3-pointers to extend their winning streak to 12 games.
Abdur-Rahkman had four threes, Wagner had three, Robinson had two and four other Wolverines had one apiece as Michigan rolled to a 24-point lead at the end of the first half en route to its third regional final in the last six years, its first since 2014.
Tyler Davis had 24 points and eight rebounds, Robert Williams had 12 points and Admon Gilder had 10 for the Aggies (22-13), who were attempting to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
The Wolverines will meet Florida State in the West Regional final here Saturday. Michigan's 12-game winning streak is their longest since they won their first 16 in 2013, the last time they reached the Final Four.
The Wolverines, who averaged nine made threes a game this season, hit 10-of-16 threes in the first half and led by 29, 52-23, on Robinson's 3-pointer with 2:16 left in the first half. They made 13-of-46 3-pointers in their previous NCAA tournament victories over Montana and Houston.
Wagner hit three short shots and Abdur-Rahkman added a 3-pointer when the Wolverines jumped to a 12-4 lead, and Ibi Watson's 3-pointer from the left corner capped a 7-0 run for a 19-6 lead. Robinson, Simpson, Wagner and Matthews made 3-pointers to extend the run to 23-6 and up the lead to 33-12 before the Aggies were forced to call another timeout.
Michigan shot 57.1 percent and also scored 15 points off 10 Texas A&M turnovers for a 52-28 halftime lead, its seventh 50-point half of the season. The Wolverines, who had one first-half turnover, had a season-high 58 points in the second half of a 102-64 victory over Chaminade on Nov. 21.
--Field Level Media