DES MOINES, Iowa _ Montana moved the ball around the floor with precision and purpose, working for an open shot that probably came without much trouble this year in the Big Sky.
Michigan, who isn't from the Big Sky, still covered every inch of it. The result was another contested miss. A minute later, Montana forward Bobby Moorhead picked up a loose ball and sped to the rim for a sure-fire dunk. He botched it. Michigan picked it up and converted its own layup about four seconds later.
Michigan-Montana Part II ended a lot like the original did, as the No. 2-seeded Wolverines clamped down defensively Thursday and pushed through for a 74-55 opening-round victory over the No. 15 Grizzlies in West Region action at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.
Michigan (29-6) will now play No. 10-seeded Florida (20-15) on Saturday for a chance to advance to the program's third straight Sweet 16.
On Thursday, as has been the case for most of the year, Michigan's defense took center stage early and often as the Grizzlies struggled to get any sort of clean look over the first 20 minutes. Every jumper was contested. Every layup. Montana _ one of the best deep-shooting teams in America in terms of percentage _ started the game 1 of 11 from 3-point range and was shooting below 30 percent from the floor midway through the second half.
The Grizzlies did open the second half with five quick points, cutting Michigan's double-digit lead down to nine, but Jordan Poole immediately answered with a triple that sparked a quick 9-0 Michigan run to extend the lead back out to 18 points.
And Michigan never looked back. In fact, it was barely a game at all as Michigan completely overmatched a Montana team that's been forced to play small for a month as its 6-foot-8 center, Jamar Akoh, has been sidelined with an injury. Akoh was out again Thursday and Michigan took full advantage.
After working himself back into game shape during the Big Ten Tournament, Charles Matthews _ much like he did last season against the Grizzlies in Wichita with a double-double _ had his best day in some time, notching 22 points and 11 rebounds. Plenty of Matthews' work came near the rim, though his outside shot started to drop again as well.
Michigan point guard Zavier Simpson had an uncharacteristic four turnovers during the first half, but still made his impact felt.
Simpson got his hook shot going midway through the second, minutes after throwing up a hook-lob for a Jon Teske dunk. He finished the game with four points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.
With an assist on a Matthews triple in the second half, Simpson passed Trey Burke for No. 8 on the school's all-time assists list. He also set a school record for the number of games with 10 assists or more in a single season (he now has eight). He's currently tied with Eric Turner for No. 7 on the all-time list with 421 assists.
Michigan had a massive size advantage over Montana on Thursday and took advantage of it constantly.
Teske, a 7-foot center, spent most of the game being checked by 6-foot-5 forwards. Teske had 11 points and nine rebounds on the game. Matthews cleaned up inside more than once, as did Ignas Brazdeikis _ who finished his day with 14 points and seven boards.
The Wolverines out-rebounded Montana 39-30 and finished with 30 points in the paint.
Michigan moves on to face a Florida team that looked like it was on its way to a blowout victory over No. 7-seeded Nevada earlier in the night before barely hanging on late.
The Gators, like Michigan, rely on their defense to carry the day. Florida held Nevada to 34.5 percent shooting from the floor and forced 14 turnovers in a 70-61 victory.
If Michigan wins, John Beilein will have his third straight Sweet 16 and the program's fifth in the last seven years.
Beilein is currently tied with Steve Fisher for the all-time Michigan record with four Sweet 16 appearances.
