Michigan
18-14,11-9Big Ten
#24 Colorado State
25-6,14-4Mountain West
Second-Half Rally Delivers First-Round Upset Win for Michigan over Colorado State
3/17/2022 3:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
» No. 11 seed Michigan upset No. 6 seed Colorado State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 75-63.
» The Wolverines recovered from an early 15-point deficit in the first half and took a lead they would not relinquish midway through the second half.
» Hunter Dickinson led the way with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and was joined in double digits by Eli Brooks with 16, Frankie Collins with a career-best 14 and Caleb Houstan with 13.
» Michigan will play No. 3 seed Tennessee, an 88-56 first-round winner over No. 14 seed Longwood, for its second-round game at 5:15 p.m. Saturday (March 19).
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Led by Hunter Dickinson with 21 points on an efficient 8-of-10 shooting among four players with double-digit totals, the No. 11 seed University of Michigan men's basketball team overcame a first-half deficit on Thursday (March 17) to rally past No. 6 seed Colorado State, 75-63, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The victory was Michigan's 22nd in the tournament since 2013, more than any other team in the nation during that timeframe. The Wolverines will face No. 3 seed Tennessee, an 88-56 first-round winner over No. 14 seed Longwood, in the second round at 5:15 p.m. Saturday (March 19) on CBS.
Dickinson added six rebounds and four blocks to his 21 points -- seven of which came in the final seven minutes of the game to preserve Michigan's comeback from a sluggish first half -- while Eli Brooks scored 16. Frankie Collins was a first-half spark plug with a career-high 14, and Caleb Houstan chipped in 13, including multiple pivotal three-pointers as Michigan closed in on and overtook the lead.
After trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half as the Rams nailed eight three-pointers and capitalized on nine Michigan turnovers, while the Wolverines did not hit a shot from deep until the second half, Michigan came alive in the second half. The Wolverines shot 57 percent from the field, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, while stifling the Rams on defense to a mere 27 percent from the field and 4-of-15 from deep. Michigan outscored Colorado State 46-27 in the second half.
Of Brooks' 16 points, 12 points came in the second frame, starting with the go-ahead bucket. After the Wolverines took their first lead of the game, 45-44, on a Brooks jumper with less than 13 minutes remaining in the second half, the Wolverines connected on 9-of-15 shots from the field with a streak of five-in-a-row, while CSU struggled to connect on six of its last 19 attempts, including no makes from the field in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the contest.
Brooks was the team's second-leading rebounder with seven boards, and led all Wolverines with six assists to go with two steals in 40 minutes of play. Moussa Diabate was the leading rebounder with nine to go along with seven points
In the NCAA Tournament's opening game and with U-M (18-14, 11-9 B1G) without starting point guard DeVante' Jones (concussion), Colorado State (25-6, 14-4 Mountain West) drained four early three-pointers to take a 14-9 lead at the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, the Wolverines continued to focus on Dickinson down low, as he had six early points. As CSU corralled three 50/50 balls, the Rams maintained their five point edge, 16-11.
With eight turnovers and an 0-for-5 line from deep, the Wolverines could not crack the deficit. A 10-0 CSU run during a near four-and-a-half minute U-M scoring drought gave the Rams a 15-point cushion, but U-M countered with a 6-0 run, sparked by an and-one and an immediate steal and dunk from Collins. Williams followed with a pair of free throws to draw U-M to within eight, 28-20.
However, draining their seventh and eighth three-pointers of the half, the Rams not only stopped the Maize and Blue run but went back up 12 points, 34-22. A pair of jumpers from Dickinson and a layup from Collins highlighted a closing Wolverine run, as they trailed by seven, 36-29 at the half.
Michigan kept up the momentum in the second half as it opened up with a 16-8 run with five different scorers to take its first lead of the game on a Brooks jumper, 45-44, with just under 13 minutes left to play. After going 0-for-7 in the first half from three, the Wolverines hit two of three attempts during that run with triples from Collins and Houstan.
The Rams responded with a 5-0 run of their own to reclaim the lead, 45-49, but a Brooks jumper and two more threes from Houstan on back-to-back trips up the court put Michigan back in front with a 8-0 streak, 53-49, with just under 10 minutes to go.
CSU threatened with a three-pointer to pull within one point, 53-52, but the Wolverines started to established firmer control over their lead with a 7-2 run that was punctuated by an and-one from Dickinson to take a six-point edge, 60-54, with just over six minutes on the clock.
The big man continued to make the difference for the Wolverines in the final four minutes as he got a high-low pass from Diabate for an easy layup and converted on a pair of free throws two possessions later to give Michigan its biggest lead of the game to that point at eight points, 66-58. Diabate hit two from the charity stripe to expand the lead to 10, 68-58.
Colorado State looked to have an opportunity to get back in the game after a fast break layup and a subsequent offensive foul call that went against the Wolverines, but Michigan responded with a jumper from Brooks to pull the lead back to 10 points, 70-60, with 1:41 left to play.
The Rams cut it back to eight points, 70-62, on a pair of free throws, but Brooks answered with a two-for-two trip to the line to maintain the 10-point advantage. As the two teams traded free throws in the final minute, Colorado State only hit one of two on its next opportunity while the freshman Kobe Bufkin converted on two shots to give Michigan an 11-point edge, 74-63. Diabate would add another free throw to close out the game.
