2022 NCAA Tournament First Round: No. 6 Colorado State Rams vs. No. 11 Michigan Wolverines
How to Watch:
- Date: Thursday, March 17
- Time: 12:15 p.m. ET
- Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN
- TV: CBS
- Live Stream: NCAA.com
Tale of the Tape:
| No. 6 CSU | STAT | No. 11 MICH |
| Mountain West | Conference | Big Ten |
| 25-5 | Record | 17-14 |
| 73.7 (118th) | Points Per Game | 73.0 (134th) |
| 65.7 | Points Allowed Per Game | 69.9 |
| 0.6227 (14th) | RPI | 0.5768 (49th) |
| 84th | Strength of Schedule | 5th |
| At-Large Bid | Bid | At-Large Bid |
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Colorado State leaders:
- David Roddy, G, JR: 19.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 2.8 APG, 45.5% 3PT
- Isaiah Stevens, G, JR: 14.9 points, 3.1 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.2 SPG
Wolverines leaders:
- Hunter Dickinson, C, SO. – 18.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.4 BPG
- Eli Brooks, G, SR. – 12.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.2 SPG, 38.9% 3PT
Odds, Lines, and Past Performance:
- MICH Moneyline: -120
- CSU Moneyline: +100
- Spread: MICH -1
- Over/Under: 137.5
- ATS Record: MICH 13-18, CSU 14-15
- Over/Under Record: MICH 19-12, CSU 10-19
Odds courtesy of Draftkings. For the latest odds, click here.
The Pick:
- If you read our upset bets article, you saw that the Wolverines are one of the most likely teams to secure an upset based on national predictions. That’s likely because the Wolverines are an incredibly high-profile team with a tremendous amount of raw talent that could never seem to find a consistent identity.
- The Wolverine’s tournament run will likely rest on the shoulders of Hunter Dickinson. The Rams just don’t have the size to match up as their two biggest players, Dischon Thomas (6’9″) and James Moors (6’10”), each play under 16 minutes a game on average. If Dickinson can stay out of foul trouble, then Michigan will likely run their offense through him, which is good news since they have been a poor three-point shooting team this year, which will prevent them from winning in a shootout.
- Both teams like to play slow, with the Rams coming in with the 280th adjusted tempo and the Wolverines with the 218th. A slower game could benefit the lower-seed here since the Rams are not a really strong rebounding team, while the Wolverines allow the 14th-fewest rebounds to opponents and have a size advantage, as mentioned above.
- The Rams’ 86th-rated defense, according to KenPom, will be tested by the Wolverines’ 19th-rated offense. However, the Wolverines will now be without starting point guard DeVante Jones, who is out for the game while still in concussion protocol. It’s a sad beat for Jones, who transferred to Michigan for his senior year just to play in games like this, and a bad beat for the Wolverines as Jones leads the team in assists and was playing good basketball of late.
