Chaundee Brown scored a season-high 21 points off the bench and Michigan, the top seed in the East Region, eliminated LSU 86-78 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Indianapolis on Monday.
Eli Brooks also scored 21 points and had seven assists as Michigan (22-4) reached the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive time. Franz Wagner supplied 15 points and seven rebounds and Hunter Dickinson tossed in 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Cameron Thomas led eighth-seeded LSU (19-10) with 30 points. Javonte Smart contributed 27 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
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Dickinson made a layup early in the second half to give Michigan a two-point lead. LSU reeled off the next eight points, including four by Smart, to gain a 51-45 lead.
The Wolverines responded with a 10-0 run that included 3-pointers from Mike Smith and Brooks and a dunk by Brown.
A 12-3 LSU run put the Tigers back on top, 63-58. That included seven points from Smart and five from Thomas.
Michigan answered with nine unanswered points, seven from Brown, to regain the lead and it never trailed again.
Brown drained a 3-pointer from the wing with just under six minutes left for a 72-64 Wolverines lead.
Wagner knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:56 left to make it 79-70. He added a dunk and layup down the stretch and the Tigers never got closer than six points.
Brooks had 13 first-half points to lift the Wolverines to a 43-42 halftime advantage.
Thomas, who racked up 19 first-half points, scored 10 points in the first six minutes of the game. He got fouled on a 3-point attempt with 8:18 left in the half and made each free throw to give LSU a 27-19 lead.
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A three-point play by Darius Days nudged the Tigers’ lead to nine. Michigan scored the next six points, including a three-point play from Dickinson.
Late in the half, Michigan took the lead by scoring seven unanswered points, including three free throws by Wagner. Thomas scored a basket with two seconds left in the half to pull his team within one.
–Field Level Media