The Michigan Wolverines are officially off to their fourth Elite Eight since 2013 after today’s dominating performance against the Florida State Seminoles.
And it seems appropriate that the Wagner family connection once again played a huge role in Michigan’s success.
Franz Wagner scored 13 points with 10 rebounds in the win, following in the footsteps of his older brother and Wolverines basketball legend Moritz Wagner.
“For myself, I always try to attack the basket and be aggressive but all of that only happens when we are able to share the ball,” he stated afterwards.
And did they ever. The Wolverines scored 50 points within the paint and forced 14 Seminoles turnovers. Of course, the Wolverines are also playing to make up for lost time, as their season was cut short last year thanks to the outbreak of COVID-19.
“Having to test every day and last year being cut short…we wanted it that much more because of that I think,” Wagner said.
Wagner also gave props to Mike Smith and Brandon Johns, both whom made several key plays for the Wolverines while also chipping in offensively.
“He’s been counted out his whole life,” he said of Smith. “This is nothing new for him. I think he showed that chip on his shoulder is always there. I’m very confident with him at the point guard with every matchup that we have.”
“He’s so talented,” he continued while speaking of Johns. “We always tell him that he can be the best player out there every time he steps on the court. We have huge confidence in Brandon.”
