NCAA Tournament: Michigan rides stingy defense to Final Four

LOS ANGELES — The place, Southern California, Staples Center, where the Lakers, Clippers and hockey Kings all play, seemed like Ann Arbor West.

A crowd that started the game chanting “Let’s go, Blue!” ended up singing “Hail to the Victors,” the Michigan fight song, because the Blue, Michigan, is going to the Final Four.

Florida State likes to think of its defense as the “Junkyard Dogs,” but it was the Wolverines, without a label, who played the roughest, most smothering defense in a 58-54 victory over the Seminoles on Saturday night in the NCAA West Regional final.

Squeezed inside and harassed outside, Florida State was held to seven field goals in 30 attempts (23 percent) in the second half. The Seminoles shot 32 percent for the game.

“I thought we lost to a team that showed they were a little more poised than us,” said Leonard Hamilton, the Seminoles’ coach of 16 years. “I thought at the beginning of the game, we were very, very anxious because of the importance of the moment.

“In the second half, it was kind of nip and tuck, and they got on a little . . . We couldn’t seem to get into a good offensive rhythm tonight.”

That was because of Michigan (32-7).

“We had open shots but couldn’t make them,” Wolverines coach John Beilein said. “But we won because of our defense.”

Michigan returns to the Final Four for the first time since 2013 and will meet this season’s Cinderella, Loyola-Chicago.

On Saturday night, the Wolverines had to contend with only Phil Cofer, who scored 16 points, and Ike Obiagu, who had three blocks for the Seminoles. Next game, they’ll have to deal with Sister Jean, Loyola’s adviser and mascot.

Charles Matthews led Michigan with 17 points.

The Wolverines started quickly, taking a 10-4 lead, and the thinking was that they would run away with the game, as they did in their West semifinal against Texas A&M. But Florida State played stubbornly and went in front 26-24 with 4:41 to play in the first half.

Michigan went on an 11-0 run early in the second half and built a 10-point lead on Duncan Robinson’s layup with 14:31 to go in the game. The Seminoles (23-12) rallied three times to get it down to a three-point deficit, the last with 4:15 to go, but Robinson capped a 7-0 flurry with a three from the corner to make it 54-44 with 2:24 left.

But Michigan had some troubles at the foul line and FSU whittled it down to a two-point deficit at 56-54 on Cofer’s tip-in with 22 seconds to go.

Robinson immediately was fouled and hit both free throws with 21 seconds left.

PJ Savoy missed a wild heave with 11 seconds left and the Seminoles allowed the clock to run out without fouling.

Neither team accomplished much from beyond the three-point arc: Florida State shot 4-for-17, Michigan 4-for-22.

“We defended them as well as we could,” Hamilton said. “But there were about three or four occasions where they knocked down some threes and that extended the lead.”

Hamilton said it’s not always the team with the most talent, although Michigan certainly is talented.

“Sometimes not even the team that’s best-coached, that’s capable of going out on that one particular night and play exceptionally well,’’ he said. “That’s what makes the NCAA Tournament so unique.”