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Jalen Rose says 'don't lose ya' money' picking this popular March Madness Cinderella

Jalen Rose thinks this blue chip program won't fall to a popular March Madness CInderella. Any guesses which team he's thinking of?
ByIan Levy|
Jan 7, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Peacock analyst Jalen Rose during the game between the Michigan Wolverines and the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Jan 7, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Peacock analyst Jalen Rose during the game between the Michigan Wolverines and the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

When it comes to March Madness and filling out your bracket, everyone is looking for an edge. For some fans, that means diving deep into the numbers and with stats sites like KenPom. For others, it's tracking down the picks of experts and insiders like Jay Bilas and Andy Katz to see which teams they're hyping.

Jalen Rose is mostly known for his NBA analysis (and playing career) but he's calling Tournament games for TruTV this year and, speaking with FanSided on behalf of Fanatics FanCash Drop, he made sure to share one of his favorite picks.

"A lot of people are actually picking ... just for my bettors out there ... UC San Diego as a Cinderella. Let me tell ya', don't lose your money. Don't lose your money. Michigan Wolverines are going to take care of business in the first round and I think they have what it takes to win a couple of games.

Is anyone surprised Jalen Rose is picking Michigan?

Rose, of course, was a member of the legendary Fab Five teams at Michigan. He played three seasons for the Wolverines before leaving for the NBA, earning an All-American selection and helping lead his team to two national finals.

As an alumni and well-known Michigan booster, you have to take his pick here with a big grain of salt. The Athletic's NCAA Tournament projection model has Michigan's first-round matchup with UC San Diego as, essentially, a toss-up — giving Michigan a 54 percent change of winning. KenPom has Michigan (No. 25) ranked ahead of UC San Diego (No. 37) but marks the Tritons as dramatically underseeded, the second-best double-digit seed behind UNC and ranked above teams like Memphis (a No. 5 seed), Oklahoma (a No. 9 seed) and Arkansas (a No. 10 seed).

If you put more stock in expert picks — Michael Cohen and John Fanta of Fox Sports, and Matt Norlander of CBS Sports have all picked UC San Diego. A No. 12 seed has beaten a No. 5 in 33 of the last 39 tournaments and No. 12 seeds hold a respectable .353 winning percentage, historically in these matchups.

Rose is right — Michigan looks better on paper, but that's why they play the games.

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