The Michigan Wolverines took care of business on Saturday night, beating the Florida State Seminoles 58-54 in the Elite Eight round of March Madness. The Wolverines closed as a four-point favorite and ended up pushing. Meanwhile, the total stayed way under the closing number of 144.5.
The Wolverines will now move on to face the No. 11 Loyola-Chicago Ramblers in the Final Four. The betting lines have been posted for this matchup as the oddsmakers at BetDSI Sportsbook have listed the Wolverines as a 6.5-point favorite. The total has opened up at 126.5.
Michigan once again advanced thanks to their strong defense. They held Florida State to just 32.0% from the field and 23.5% from three. They didn’t shoot all that great themselves – connecting on just 38.8% from the field and 18.2% from three – but they still managed to squeak by. Their shooting percentages cooled off significantly compared to their previous game. Against Texas A&M, they shot the lights out, scoring 99 points. The Wolverines were led by Charles Matthews, who scored 17 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Moritz Wagner added 12 points, six rebounds and two steals. As for Florida State, their were led by 16 points and 11 rebounds from Phil Cofer. However, Terance Mann, who led the way for the Seminoles in the Sweet 16, had just four points in this contest.
The Wolverines entered March Madness at 10/1 to win the tournament. So far, those futures bets are looking pretty good as they’ve now advanced to the Final Four. As for Florida State, they were posted at 280/1 and they obviously had a nice run but couldn’t take it any further. The Wolverines will now move on to face the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers, who have been the Cinderella of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. We’ll see if Sister Jean and the Ramblers have any more magic left in them or if the Wolverines will finally solve the mid-major from Chicago.
