Michigan vs. Tulsa: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2016

The final game of the NCAA tournament's First Four was plagued by shoddy execution, but it certainly didn't lack for drama.  

Although neither Tulsa nor Michigan could find buy a bucket from distance, the Wolverines took a two-point lead behind a rare three-pointer from Zak Irvin with 55 seconds remaining to creep past the Golden Hurricane, 67-62, Wednesday night at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. 

No. 11 seed Michigan improved to 11-5 in NCAA tournament games all-time under head coach John Beilein, according to ESPN Stats & Info, and will now square off against No. 6 seed Notre Dame on Friday in East Regional play. 

Irvin and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman paced Michigan with 16 points apiece, but truth be told, the win defied the odds based on the way the Wolverines repeatedly misfired from three. They shot 6-of-25 (24 percent) from deep, and Tulsa was even worse with just three of 15 (20 percent) triples. 

And while the Golden Hurricane finished with a single player (Shaquille Harrison, 23 points) in double figures, Michigan boasted four scorers with at least 10 points. 

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Aesthetically speaking, Wednesday's First Four finale left plenty to be desired. 

Michigan and Tulsa shot 34.4 and 37.5 percent, respectively, over the first 20 minutes, and scoreless stretches plagued both sides.

After Michigan went six minutes, 13 seconds without a point in the first half, Tulsa followed suit and failed to find twine over the course of a six-minute, 35-second period that facilitated an 11-0 Wolverines run. 

The Maize and Blue closed out the first half on a 19-4 run despite missing six of their nine threes during that stretch, but that success proved to be fleeting. 

By the time the second half rolled around, it was clear the Wolverines were experiencing some serious regression on defense, while threes continued to clang off iron on the other end. 

Tulsa burst out of the locker room on a 12-4 run and proceeded to pour in points at rates that made its first-half output look weak by comparison, according to the Tulsa World's Kelly Hines: 

And while Michigan searched for a spark, Tulsa was buoyed by aggression on the glass following a lethargic first half:

But in a game full of punches and counterpunches, Michigan ultimately landed the final haymaker as Irvin came up large with a trip to the first round hanging in the balance.  

With one win under their belt, the Wolverines will get ready to travel to Brooklyn, New York, for a clash with an Irish team that's lost three of its last five games—including a 78-47 drubbing at the hands of North Carolina in the ACC tournament.

Notre Dame will undeniably be the fresher team by virtue of the weeklong break it will have enjoyed by the time Friday's game tips off, but if Michigan can ride the momentum from Wednesday's win and progress to the mean from beyond the arc, it could threaten to pull off a first-round upset. 

Postgame Reaction

Once the result was final, Michigan Athletics on Twitter relayed video of the Maize and Blue celebrating by singing a familiar tune: 

"We had a lot of support here," Irvin said of Dayton, according to the program's official Twitter account. "Felt like a home game."

Regarding Irvin's late-game heroics, Michigan guard Derrick Walton Jr. provided some insight into why the junior was fearless with the game on the line, per MLive.com's Brendan F. Quinn:  

"Michigan had more breaks than us," Tulsa coach Frank Haith said, according to Hines. "There were a couple of plays there you can point out where there was a loose ball and it bounces to the big kid and he dunks it. And then we have one (a loose ball) and it just doesn't go our way."

"They've got nothing to be ashamed of," Haith added of his team's seniors, per Hines. "They've had great careers.... They can walk out here with their heads held high."