Michigan Basketball: Getting to know Colorado State

Thursday, the 11th-seeded Wolverines are set to start their sixth straight NCAA tournament run when they take on the six seed Colorado State Rams. This is the Rams’ first NCAA tournament appearance since 2013 when they made it to the second round as an eight seed.

Michigan Basketball has only played Colorado State three times before in its history — the first meeting being in 1948 and the most recent being in 2002.

The Wolverines currently lead the series as they won the first two matchups, however the Rams won the most recent matchup by four points in overtime.

Colorado State head coach Niko Medved is in his fourth season with the Rams and is having his best season of his coaching career, leading Colorado State to win 83.3 percent of their games thus far this season. Additionally, Medved is participating in his first NCAA tournament in his ninth season as a head coach.

The Rams lost in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament when they played San Diego State.  Colorado State was down by nine at the half and was never able to take the lead back after this. The Rams only shot 50 percent from the line in this game, and area that they normally excel in.

Colorado State has dominated in the Mountain West conference, losing a total of four conference games and placing only behind Boise State in the overall conference rankings. Additionally, the Rams have a scoring margin of + 8.0 points and have outscored their opponents by double digits in 15 of their 25 wins this season.

Colorado State has also had the best accuracy in the Mountain West in all shot forms — shooting 48.5 percent from the field, 35.8 percent from three, and 77.4 percent from the line. This holds up just above Michigan’s statistics of 46.8 percent from the field, 34 percent from beyond the arc, and 74.6 percent from the line.

David Roddy is a matchup nightmare

Junior forward David Roddy is the Rams’ star player, averaging 19.4 points per game and shooting an unbelievable 45.5 percent from three. Roddy is 6’6 and weighs 255 pounds, making him a very difficult player to guard.

Sophomore center Hunter Dickinson will likely be the only Wolverine who will be able to match up with Roddy on a physical level.

Another Colorado State player that the Wolverines need to keep an eye out for is junior guard Isaiah Stevens, who shoots 90.2 percent from the line, the best percentage by any player in both the Mountain West and the Big Ten.

With the Rams going to the line an average of 13 times per game, it is essential that Michigan refrains from fouling Stevens whenever possible.

Michigan basketball has been known to come alive in March, making it to the sweet sixteen in six of their last seven NCAA tournament appearances.

On the other hand, the lack of consistency that has been seen by the Wolverines this season makes it much harder to tell if they will be able to accomplish this feat again.

After a rocky season, the tournament is the prime time for the seniors and any other Michigan players who plan on going pro next year to state their case. Additionally, this would be a great time for head coach Juwan Howard to prove that he can be a long-time elite coach for Michigan.