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NCAA Tournament: No. 6 Colorado State Faces No. 11 Michigan
Selection Sunday handed a good matchup for this Rams squad.
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Who are the Wolverines?
Colorado State was surely disappointed to lose in the semi-finals of the Mountain West tournament, but their spirits were lifted Sunday afternoon thanks to the NCAA selection committee. The Rams were given a six seed and will face the Michigan Wolverines from the Big Ten Conference.
What to Know About Michigan:
RECORD: 17-14 That record doesn’t look great on the surface and Michigan had an up and down season, but this is a solid squad. Michigan has one Quad 3 loss, a confusing loss to UCF, and went 8-13 in Quad 1 & 2 games. Michigan also got a few upsets along the way, including a 24 point beatdown of then #4 ranked Purdue.
KenPom: 33rd
Michigan has a very similar rating to Colorado State (31st). Adjusted offensive efficiency, adjusted defensive efficiency, and adjusted tempo are very similar rankings. The only large difference comes in terms of luck. Michigan is ranked 238th in KenPom’s luck ranking, while the Rams are 6th.
Best Wins: San Diego State, Purdue, Ohio State
The Wolverines only have one non-conference win against an NCAA tournament team and that was San Diego State, a team Colorado State struggled against. Their other big wins were that beat down of then #4 Purdue and regular season finale win over #23 Ohio State.
Key Players:
The 7’1″, 260lbs sophomore center presents a challenge for the Rams. The one thing Colorado State truly lacks is size inside. They’ve done a good job compensating this year, but 18.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game to go along with a 56.3 FG% is a dangerous matchup. Especially when he’s not afraid to take a three point shot either.
One of two senior guards for the Wolverines, Brooks is Michigan’s second leading scorer at 12.3 points per game. He’s also their main deep threat, shooting 38.9% from three ranking second among regular contributors. He also chips in a little bit everywhere with 3.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
The other senior guard for the Wolverines is their floor general and third leading scorer. Jones averages 10.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. He’s been on a rol1 to end the year for Michigan, averaging 16.2 points per game to lift them into bubble contention.
A match-up between two teams with similar metrics but different philosophies. This will be a challenge for the Rams because Michigan starts three players 6’8″ and taller. The thing that might work in CSU’s favor is that Michigan doesn’t like to go to their bench. The winner gets the winner of 3 vs. 14 game between Tennessee and Longwood.
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