Mar 22, 2018; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Michigan Wolverines forward Moritz Wagner (13) and guard Jordan Poole (2) and guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman (12) and guard Duncan Robinson (22) celebrate at the end of the game against the Texas A&M Aggies in the semifinals of the West regional of the 2018 NCAA Tournament at STAPLES Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

While most of you were probably focused on Loyola’s thrilling win over Nevada on CBS, Michigan just absolutely housed Texas A&M. It was never really close.

The game finished up 99-72, and if it’s possible for a 27-point win to have actually felt like more of a blowout, this was it. Michigan is on a bit of a tear, having won the Big Ten tournament; they haven’t lost since a loss at Northwestern on February 6th, and now hold a winning streak of a dozen games.

The Wolverines won tonight by shooting the lights out at the Staples Center. Michigan made 14 threes (on just 24 attempts), good for 58%. They made 39/63 shots from the field overall, and hit 7/8 free throws for good measure. (How efficient was Michigan? They only turned it over 7 times amidst all those made shots. Good luck.) That kind of shooting is tough to match for anyone, and Texas A&M is actually more of a defensive team. When your team strength is defense and you give up 99, it’s not a recipe for success.

The Aggies didn’t come close, either; they shot just 3-15 from behind the arc, and though they made a respectable amount of shots inside the arc, it was over early; Michigan led 44-18 at one point late in the first half, and that margin stayed more or less constant throughout the rest of the contest.

Michigan looks to be a very dangerous team at this point, despite being just a 3-seed; the Big Ten was supposed to be down this year, sending just four teams to the tournament. The SEC got eight schools in, but Michigan just worked one of their remaining teams, and if a short-handed Purdue beats Texas Tech tomorrow, the Big Ten could make up a quarter of the Elite 8.

Not bad for a down season. But given the way the bracket is breaking, and how hot they are, Michigan has to be thinking of making a run to the championship game. Though first they’ll have to take on the winner of Florida State-Gonzaga.

About Jay Rigdon

Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.