LOS ANGELES_Duncan Robinson took a pass in the corner, rose for a three-pointer that fell through the basket and whirled around to momentarily watch his teammates commence Michigan's celebration in earnest.
The long-range shot gave the Wolverines a 10-point cushion over Florida State on Saturday night at Staples Center, seemingly more than enough with a little more than two minutes to play.
They ended up needing every bit of it.
A flurry of missed free throws ignited a furious Seminoles rally that allowed P.J. Savoy to take what would have been a tying three-pointer with 58 seconds left.
It bounced off the rim, and Michigan soon was able to finally exhale after a 58-54 victory in the West Regional final on Saturday night at Staples Center.
The third-seeded Wolverines will play 11th-seeded Loyola Chicago, the Cinderella of this NCAA tournament, on March 31 in a national semifinal at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Michigan (32-7) will make its eighth trip to the Final Four and first since 2013 after setting a school record for victories. Loyola Chicago will be making its first trip since 1963.
Michigan took a road never previously traveled to the Final Four, beating teams seeded Nos. 14, 6, 7 and 9. The average seeding of 9.0 is the second-highest ever among Final Four participants, trailing only the 9.8 average that Michigan faced in 1993 on the way to losing to North Carolina in the championship game.
The Wolverines got there after missing four of eight free throws over the final 1:38. But Robinson made two with 20 seconds left that extended his team's lead to four.
After one final Florida State miss, Robinson grabbed the rebound and dribbled out the final seconds before hurling the ball into the air in celebration as his teammates leaped for joy.
Charles Matthews scored 17 points as one of only two players to reach double figures for the Wolverines, who won despite making only 38.8 percent of their shots and 18.2 percent of their three-pointers.
Phil Cofer had 16 points for the Seminoles (23-12), whose offense sputtered even more while making only 32 percent of their shots.
Florida State's so-called junkyard dog defense disrupted Michigan continually throughout a taut first half. When the Seminoles turned the ball over near their own basket, setting up what looked like an easy basket for Michigan, two defenders immediately converged on the Wolverines' Zavier Simpson before Florida State's Ike Obiagu blocked his shot.
It was the first of three first-half blocks for the big man who made a habit of trailing Michigan players into the lane and extending a long arm at the final moment to swipe the ball away from the basket.
The Seminoles' waves of substitutions that sometimes walked onto the court five at a time seemed to tire their Michigan counterparts and thwart the Wolverines' usually peppy ball movement. Michigan shot only 33.3 percent in the first half and missed three free throws in the final 1:47 as the shooters lingered at the line for an extra beat, savoring every available moment of rest.
Michigan certainly had the fans on its side. A loud "Let's go Blue!" chant rang out inside the arena about 8{minutes before tipoff from a crowd that skewed heavily in favor of the Wolverines.
The fans were quieted after Michigan's early five-point lead dissipated, the Wolverines eventually falling behind by as many as four during a back-and-forth first half that ended with Michigan ahead 27-26.
They were roaring again early in the second half when Michigan alumni Desmond Howard and Rudy Tomjanovich were shown on the videoboard.
Michigan-Florida State sounded like fodder for a battle between college football powers who last met in the 2016 Orange Bowl. Just don't call them football schools within earshot of Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton.
"That's one of the most ridiculous phrases that I've heard _ football school, basketball school," Hamilton said Friday before going on to note the well-rounded nature of Florida State's athletic department.
The teams combined Saturday for what could have passed as a football score.
