The Michigan men’s basketball team didn’t have to sweat long on Selection Sunday, as it was announced as the No. 11 seed in the South region.
Michigan will play No. 6 Colorado State of the Mountain West Conference in the Round of 64.
How to Watch Michigan vs. Colorado State
Michigan and Colorado State will play at 12:15 p.m. Thursday in Indianapolis, Ind. The first Round of 64 game in the NCAA Tournament will air on CBS.
Despite being the lower seed, Michigan is an early favorite in the game, listed at . That could change, however, following Wednesday’s news that Michigan guard DeVante Jones would miss the game with a concussion.
Colorado State leans on guard play
Colorado State finished second in the Mountain West, and was ranked No. 23 by the Associated Press. The Rams finished 25-5 on the year and 14-4 in league play, including a pair of wins against Mountain West regular-season and tournament champion Boise State.
The Rams average 73.7 points per game and allow 65.7. They’re led by junior guard David Roddy, who averages 19.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-5 Roddy is a matchup nightmare, and shoots 45.5% from 3-point range.
Junior guard Isaiah Stevens is the only Colorado State player averaging in double figures, as he’s scored 14.9 points per game. He also leads the team in assists with 4.8 per game.
Colorado State is a mediocre 3-point shooting team, making 35.7% of their shots behind the arc, but it is among the best teams in the country when it comes to 2-point field goals, making 56.3% of its shots.
The Rams were 13-4 against Quadrant 1 and 2 teams this season.
Michigan looks for consistency
Michigan is far more balanced than Colorado State, but it does run through sophomore big man Hunter Dickinson. The 7-foot-1 center is averaging 18.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
The Wolverines have three other players who average double figures in scoring — Eli Brooks (12.3), DeVante’ Jones (10.7) and Caleb Houstan (10.5).
They struggled all season to find consistency behind the arc, shooting 34% from 3-point range, but played nearly half of their games against Quad 1 teams, going 5-10. They were 3-3 against Quad 2 teams, 17-14 overall and 11-9 in the Big Ten.
