March Madness 2022: Predicting every First Round upset in the NCAA Tournament

6. Potential March Madness upsets – South Region: No. 11 Michigan vs. No. 6 Colorado State

One of the big debates on Selection Sunday centered around where Michigan should have been placed in the field. Many experts were shocked that the Wolverines were safely in the field despite a 17-14 record and a loss to surging Indiana in their first Big Ten Tournament game but this draw actually plays into the favor of Michigan.

The 6-11 matchup has produced eight wins for the 11-seed in the previous four NCAA Tournaments, including the aforementioned UCLA and Syracuse last year. The Wolverines are battle-tested by playing a ridiculous schedule that included 15 Quadrant 1 games, setting up Juwan Howard’s team well for March Madness success.

Their opponent is also one of the weaker 6-seeds in Colorado State, which relies more on its defense to keep games close. That skill-set will play in favor of Michigan, which has plenty of offensive firepower and a dynamic big man in sophomore Hunter Dickinson who can get buckets down low.

The Wolverines have also followed an interesting pattern of late, alternating wins and losses for their past dozen games. That trend suggests that Michigan is due for a win here and they could easily back that up by starting the whole tournament (Michigan-Colorado State is the first game of the day on Thursday) with an upset.