Chaundee Brown Jr. Knows What It Takes To Keep Advancing

With Isaiah Livers watching from the sidelines, guys like Eli Brooks and Chaundee Brown Jr. really needed to step up and that's exactly what happened against LSU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Both seniors poured in 21 points in a winning effort setting the Wolverines on a crash course with the Florida State Seminoles in the Sweet 16.

After the game, head coach Juwan Howard praised Brown in particular for doing all of the things he's done all season.

"Well, what he was doing does not show up in a box score," Howard said. "I know sometimes in basketball, we get caught up into the numbers. But as a coach, you look at film, you also look at live-game action, seeing what a guy is doing to help impact the game of winning.

"Chaundee has been rock steady all season long. He understands, all his teammates do, that when one guy may have it going one night, or two or three guys may have it going one night offensively, but that doesn't mean that we stop playing. We still have to compete on both ends of the floor.

"Tonight Chaundee had it going. There are guys like Mike who last game had 18, today had 5. Keep in mind, I'm not the one focused on or caring about the points. My focus is how you impact winning. Mike impacted winning today on so many things that he did that does not show up in a box score.

"That's how Chaundee has been all season long for us. He's been doing a lot of special things to help us win."

As a senior, Brooks also knows what it takes to win games in the tournament and has been seeing everything necessary out of Brown.

"I mean, you know what you're going to get with Chaundee every single day," Brooks said. "He brings a lot of energy. It was good to see him make some shots because that smile goes a long way for the team. His energy, his presence, it helps the team. It brings the defense to a higher level."

After the game, Brooks sounded a lot like Brown does in the video above. Both guys know that they're time is potentially running out at U-M and that every minute of every game counts in a big way. Brooks and Brown are two big reasons why the team is so confident even if experts think that Michigan is on borrowed time without Livers.

"I think we showed what we thought in the room that we have. Next man up, that's our mentality," Brooks said. "We knew we had enough in the locker room to get to the Sweet 16. Just keep buying in. People are going to step up."