Michigan Basketball: Breaking down Wolverines path to Sweet 16

Round of 64: Montana

In the Wolverines first game of the tournament, Michigan basketball will face the same team it did to open the 2018 tournament and that’s the Montana Grizzlies, champion of the Big Sky Conference.

A lot of Montana fans were angered by their selection of a 15 seed and the team was a little disappointed too judging by their comments to the media, however, the Griz are excited about heading back to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year.

Montana is a well-balanced team that ranks outside the top 100 in both offensive and defensive efficiency according to Kenpom, which ranks them as the 137th best team, while Michigan basketball comes in ranked 5th, with the No. 2 defense in the country.

If the Griz are going to win, Ahmaad Rorie, Sayeed Pridgett and Jamar Akoh, who all average more than 15 points a game, will need to be great. Montana might also need a big 3-point shooting effort from former Washington transfer Donaven Dorsey.

Knocking down 3-pointers and forcing turnovers are two strengths of Montana, but Michigan limits teams to 28 percent from deep and turned it over the second-fewest times of any team in the NCAA, so unless Montana can win in those two areas, it’s hard to see an upset.