Michigan Basketball: 3 Predictions for NCAA opener vs Texas Southern

Michigan basketball is hours away from opening its NCAA Tournament against Texas Southern and here are three predictions for the Wolverines. 

Day two of the NCAA Tournament is starting in just a few hours and the Michigan basketball team will be among the teams playing on Saturday.

The Wolverines are the top seed in the East Region and will face Texas Southern at 3 PM EST as the two teams battle in the round of 64.

Friday was the first full day of action and it wasn’t a great day for the Big Ten as Ohio State and Purdue each were eliminated early. Illinois, Rutgers and Wisconsin all won though.

Hopefully, the loss by the Buckeyes got the attention of the Wolverines, because if you aren’t ready to go in this tournament, it can be over in the blink of an eye.

We broke down how Michigan basketball can avoid an upset and here’s our final three predictions for the Wolverines and Tigers.

Michigan wins strength vs strength battle

Texas Southern doesn’t shoot very many 3-pointers and the Tigers offensive strategy mirrors what Michigan wants to do defensively, which is limit 3-pointers and force tough 2-point attempts.

Obviously, the Tigers don’t want to take tough shots all day, they will try to attack the basket and also crash the boards.

Winning the rebounding battle is going to be essential for the Wolverines to kill any hopes of an upset, but this 2-point battle when U-M is on defense will also really define the game.

Michigan’s length should give Texas Southern problems and in the end, Michigan’s defense will make it really tough on the Tigers, who are going to have a tough time scoring.