SportsCollege Sports

Actions

Michigan earns #3 seed in NCAA Tournament, will play #14 seed Montana

Michigan earns #3 seed in NCAA Tournament, will play #14 seed Montana
Posted at 6:39 PM, Mar 11, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-11 20:43:49-04

(WXYZ) -- Michigan will be the #3 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament, and will play #14 seed Montana Thursday in Wichita, Kansas. Tip-off is scheduled for approximately 9:50 p.m. Eastern Time.

The Wolverines enter the tournament 28-7 and winners of the Big Ten Tournament.

 

Michigan
   Ann Arbor, 28-7.
   Nickname: Wolverines. Coach: John Beilein.
   Conference: Big Ten. Bid: Automatic.
   Region: West. Seed: No. 3.
   Tournament History: 54-26, 7 Final Fours and 1 National Championship in 27 appearances.
   Last appearance: 2017, lost to Oregon in the Sweet 16.
   Season Stats
   Scoring: 74.5 points per game, 47.1 fg pct, 36.9 3-pt pct, 65.9 ft pct.
   Top Scorers: Moritz Wagner 14.5; Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman 12.6; Charles Matthews 12.6.
   Rebounds: Wagner 7.1; Matthews 5.4; Avg team margin (plus-0.7).
   Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.6231): Zavier Simpson (3.6/1.3), 127 assists.
   Last 10 Games: 9-1.
   Best Win: 75-66 vs. Purdue on March 4.
   Worst Loss: 61-52 at Northwestern on Feb. 6.
   The Skinny: For the second consecutive season, Michigan has come on strong heading into the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines, who won five in a row prior to beginning their run to the 2017 Sweet Sixteen, beat No. 2 Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals and No. 8 Purdue in the championship game, extending their win streak to nine games.

Montana
   Missoula, 26-7.
   Nickname: Grizzlies. Coach: Travis DeCuire.
   Conference: Big Sky. Bid: Automatic.
   Region: West. Seed: No. 14.
   Tournament History: 2-11 in 10 appearances.
   Last appearance: 2013, lost to Syracuse in the first round.
   Season Stats
   Team Scoring: 78.1 points per game, 47.1 fg pct, 34.3 3-pt pct, 70.6 ft pct.
   Top Scorers: Ahmaad Rorie 17.2; Michael Oguine 15.8; Jamar Akoh 13.1.
   Rebounds: Akoh 6.7; Oguine 5.5; Avg team margin (plus-4.8).
   Assist/Turnover Ratio (1.03): Rori (3.7/2.0), 123 assists.
   Last 10 Games: 8-2.
   Best Win: 88-79 at Northern Colorado on Feb. 1.
   Worst Loss: 71-68 at Georgia State on Dec. 9.
   The Skinny: The Grizzlies scored 53 points after the break -- its second-highest scoring half this season -- to overcome an 11-point halftime deficit and beat Eastern Washington in the championship game of the Big Sky Tournament. It is Montana's first NCAA Tournament appearance since back-to-back trips to the Big Dance in 2012-13.
 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.