Michigan Basketball: 3 keys to win East Region, reach Final Four

Michigan basketball will be playing in the NCAA Tournament again on Sunday and here’s what the Wolverines need to do to reach the Final Four. 

In a normal year, the NCAA Tournament would have already started the round of the Sweet 16 and we would be watching Michigan basketball on a Friday night, not a Sunday.

But this isn’t a normal year, so we still have more than 48 hours to wait until Sunday afternoon when Michigan basketball will face Florida State in the Sweet 16.

It’s the fourth-straight appearance in the Sweet 16 for U-M, which gives it the second-longest streak in the country behind Gonzaga. Yet, the Seminoles have made the Sweet 16 two of the last three times and are no stranger to deep tournament runs.

As far as Florida State, here’s our first look at Leonard Hamilton and the Noles. But really whether it’s Florida State or Bama or UCLA in the Elite 8, there are three things Michigan basketball must to in order to advance to the Final Four.

Franz Wagner needs to be special

During the last five minutes of the LSU game, Franz Wagner took over. The running, driving hook-scoop shot he banked off the glass was incredible and it set off a run that closed out the Tigers. When Franz buried his 3-pointer, it felt like the dagger.

While his defense has been stellar throughout the tournament, his offense needs to be elite this round. We need the Wagner that went off against Wisconsin. If U-M is going to advance, Franz is going to have to average close to 20 per game. That’s just my feeling.

I’d like to see him be more aggressive with his 3-point shot because when that’s going, he’s extremely hard to defend.

Florida State is long and athletic. It will be interesting to see how they match up, but that doesn’t change the fact that without Isaiah Livers, if Michigan wants to reach the Final Four, Wagner has to be the best player on the court and for longer than the last few minutes.