After a heartbreaking loss in the Big Ten Tournament, where Michigan basketball squandered a 17-point second-half lead to Indiana, Thursday marked a new season in the commencement of the NCAA Tournament. Though the 11-seed against 6-seed Colorado State, the Wolverines were favored, but the maize and blue were also to be shorthanded with DeVante’ Jones having suffered a concussion on Monday.
The Wolverines started out flat against the Rams, turning the ball over with impunity, and struggling to make field goals from the floor. The weird good news? The deficit at halftime was just seven.
In the second half, Michigan looked much better, digging into the deficit, and finally taking the lead for the first time in the game with 12:52 left. But CSU wasn’t going to go quietly into the night, scoring five to answer, taking a four-point lead a minute later.
But the Wolverines weren’t going to stay quiet, as they went on a run of their own, scoring eight unanswered to take back the lead, 53-49, with 9:47 remaining.
As much as CSU kept coming back, so too, did Michigan. The Wolverines figured out the offense, taking a 60-54 lead with six minutes remaining. The lead ballooned to 10, but the maize and blue held on to survive and advance, 75-63.
Here are our five takeaways.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbzardvge799bm2 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://wolverineswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]