Michigan was aware of the day’s earlier carnage.
Fourth-seeded and 18th-ranked Georgia Tech was out of the tournament, as was fifth-seeded and 21st-ranked New Mexico. But, did the top-seeded and third-ranked Wolverines need to worry?
Not one bit.
The Wolverines barely broke a sweat Friday night at the McKale Center in their 84-53 pasting of 16th-seeded Coastal Carolina. The victory moved Michigan (27-4) into the second round against UCLA, which defeated Iowa State 81-70 Friday night.
“Upsets don’t just occur,” said Michigan’s Chris Webber, who scored 11 points. “Games are won and lost.”
During Thursday’s practice, the Wolverines did a few drills but mostly made a mockery of the hour-long session. A dunk contest and half-court shots filled the time.
While they might not have practiced hard for Coastal Carolina, the Wolverines certainly made sure they were mentally prepared.
Said Juwan Howard, who scored 16 points: “The first round is the toughest of all because everyone comes pumped to play. We can’t take anyone lightly.”
Maybe not. But, it helps when the opponent is in awe of you.
“It was great to play against them because we’ve been watching them on TV,” said Coastal Carolina forward Marcus Koy. “They’re as good as their reputation.”
And good enough to make Coastal (22-10) shoot a brutal 27 percent, 12 percent on three-pointers. Meanwhile, the Wolverines torched the Chanticleers at the other end with a 51 percent mark from the field. They also outrebounded Coastal 48-35. Unlike the earlier games Friday at McKale, this held true to the seeding.
“Right now, I’m tired,” said Coastal Carolina forward Tony Dunkin, who finished with a team-high 17 points. “I feel like a beaten soldier.”
Michigan coach Steve Fisher put sophomore guard Ray Jackson on Dunkin, the Big South’s all-time leading scorer who was averaging 23.9 points a game. Dunkin had trouble getting free around the perimeter. However, Jackson didn’t and scored a career-high 19 points.
While Dunkin will head back to South Carolina a bit more worn, the Wolverines got plenty of rest Friday night.
Joining them in Sunday’s second-round games will be a pair of unfamiliar teams. George Washington, the 12th seed, disposed of New Mexico in Friday’s opener. Then, in arguably Friday’s NCAA tournament shocker, 13th-seeded Southern defeated Georgia Tech. George Washington and Southern play Sunday for a potential chance at Michigan in the West Regional semifinals in Seattle next weekend.
Thursday night, second-seeded Arizona was knocked out of the field by No. 15 Santa Clara. Vanderbilt, seeded third, is the only other top-five seed in the West still playing. The Commodores play sixth-seeded Illinois Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Michigan earned the West’s No. 1 seed because of the region’s inability to provide one for itself. The Wolverines apparently are intent on proving they deserved the nod.
“I take everything as incentive, like when people say we play lackadaisical or that Arizona and Georgia Tech are going to play for the (West) championship,” Webber said. “(People) don’t believe in us. I’m just glad we won.”
Six days after UCLA’s Ed O’Bannon scored only three points on 1-for-11 shooting on Arizona’s home court in a loss that ended UCLA’s regular season, he came back to dominate Iowa State with 20 points on layups, dunks and silky jumpers. He hit nine of 10 shots, including both three-point tries, and grabbed 13 rebounds.
The 6-8 O’Bannon wasn’t a one-man show for the Bruins, who got 19 points from guard Tyus Edney and 14 each from burly center Richard Petruska and forward Mitchell Butler.
