Michigan Basketball: Gut reactions from NCAA Tournament win over CSU

Michigan basketball rallied from 15 points down to upset Colorado State on Thursday and win yet another NCAA Tournament game. 

For the second time this month, the Michigan basketball team won a defining game without one of its best players.

The first win came at Ohio State without Hunter Dickinson and on Thursday, Michigan basketball pulled off a similar feat as the Wolverines knocked off sixth-seeded Colorado State 75-63.

Michigan’s win at Ohio State clinched their spot in the field. Thursday’s made sure that the Wolverines will stick around for the weekend, as they will face the winner of Tennessee and Longwood on Saturday in the round of 32.

But after falling behind by 15 points and allowing Colorado State to make 8 3-pointers in the first half, it wasn’t clear that Michigan would move on.

However, freshman Frankie Collins saved the day. He sparked a run at the end of the first half and knocked down a huge 3-pointer early in the second that helped turn the tide.

Huner Dickinson dominated in the paint throughout but after Caleb Houstan hit two triples in the second half, one that put Michigan in front by four, the Wolverines never looked back.

Eli Brooks also made a number of key plays and while it wasn’t his best shooting performance, he did an admirable job of carrying the scoring load of DeVante Jones, while still playing spectacular defense and making what seemed like a hundred key plays that added up.

The Wolverines shot just 28 percent from 3-point range but made up for it at the free throw line making 19-of-22 while the Rams were 5-of-7. Colorado State made 12 treys and Michigan just four so that was a 24-point edge, but Michigan had a 44-22 advantage on 2-pointers, which along with the free-throw differential balanced out the 3-point shooting.

Plus when it was all said and done, Colorado State made just 34 percent of their 3-pointers. Either way, holding the Rams to 27 in the second half was quite an accomplishment.

It was a huge win for the Wolverines and Juwan Howard. The question is now whether or not DeVante Jones will be able to play on Saturday? First though, here are some gut reactions to the Wolverines win over Colorado State.

Gut Reactions

• Frankie Collins saved the day.
• Eli Brooks was a warrior.
• Hunter won the matchup battle with David Roddy.
• Moussa Diabate had some rough moments but played a stellar second half.
• This team is different when Caleb Houstan is hitting 3s.
• Three freshmen — Collins, Moussa, and Caleb were huge.
• Credit the defense too. It was outstanding down the stretch.
• Juwan Howard can coach. Stop saying he can’t.
• Michigan loves March — that’s eight straight tournaments with an opening-round win — 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022.
• This team can absolutely make the Sweet 16.
• It’s a perfect time to win two in a row.
• GO BLUE!