Michigan basketball: 3 Keys to a victory over Colorado State

Looking ahead to Michigan Basketball’s first-round NCAA Tournament opponent, here are three keys to beating Colorado State. 

Hmm. The more I’ve looked at Colorado State, the more I notice how similar they are to Michigan basketball.

It’s almost like Michigan and Georgia in football. It’s like that Spider-Man meme where both point to one another at the same time.

The Colorado State Rams have a strong resume, beating teams like St. Mary’s, Creighton, San Diego State (a common opponent), Wyoming, and the regular-season Mountain West champs, Boise State, twice.

In terms of statistics, Colorado State led the Mountain West in points per game, averaging 74.3, as they are 20th overall in offensive efficiency.

The Rams field goal percentage is good too, as they have a 48.5% field goal percentage. In terms of 3-point percentage, as a team, they are at 35.8%, which is very solid. Lastly, as a team, they shoot 77.4% from the free-throw line which is very good.

On defense, they are 71st in the country, giving up 65.7ppg. They are 180th in the country at defensive rebounds, collecting 25.27 per game. They turn the ball over 10.1 times per game (which is 16th in the country), and average 6.3 steals per game (which is 205th in the country).

Up next is the first key to winning the game.