NCAA men's tournament: No. 11 Michigan rides big second half to win over No. 6 Colorado State
It didn't take long for a double-digit seed to win in the first round of the 2022 men's NCAA tournament.
No. 11 Michigan took down No. 6 Colorado State, 75-63, in Thursday's first game of the day. While the result is an upset according to the tournament seedings, it wasn't one according to oddsmakers. Michigan entered the game as a 1.5-point favorite over the Rams.
The result was very good for most bettors too. The game was the most-bet game of the day at BetMGM — sports betting is legal in Michigan and Colorado — and Michigan -1.5 was the most popular pick of bettors placing wagers on Thursday's NCAA tournament games.
It wasn't hard to figure out why Michigan was a favorite. The Wolverines made it to the Elite Eight in 2021, had a higher ranking than the Rams in Ken Pomeroy's rankings and also had more top wins than the Rams from the Mountain West. Yahoo users liked Michigan to win too. Nearly 58% of entries in Yahoo's Fantasy Tourney Pick'Em had the Wolverines beating the Rams.
Michigan started slowly and was plagued by turnovers in the first half. The Wolverines trailed by seven at halftime thanks to all the giveaways.
But Michigan got hot in the second half and took advantage of a huge free-throw discrepancy. The Wolverines went to the line 22 times and made 19 of those attempts. Colorado State shot just seven free throws as it committed eight more fouls than Michigan.
Center Hunter Dickinson had 21 points as Colorado State couldn't slow him down. Michigan's starters scored all but four of the team's points and three of the team's shot attempts as guards Eli Brooks and Frankie Collins combined for 30 points. The Wolverines have won at least one game in their past six NCAA tournament appearances.
Michigan will play the winner of No. 2 Tennessee and No. 14 Longwood in the South region's second round on Saturday.
