Two conference tournament champions will face off in the first round of March Madness when the 5 seed Michigan Wolverines take on the 12 seed UC San Diego Tritons. This is one of the more intriguing round of 64 matchups that features two teams who both could have easily been seeded higher.

Michigan comes in after winning three games in Indianapolis to win the Big Ten tournament, but prior to that they were struggling as they ended the regular season with three straight losses. In his first season at the helm for the Wolverines, Dusty May has an older team that likes to play fast. They are headlined by a pair of 7-footers in Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf, and are accompanied by point guard Tre Dolnaldson who has made some clutch plays for Michigan throughout the season. The Wolverines have not looked like the best team all year, but they simply have found ways to win no matter how ugly it is and that is what matters most in this tournament.

UC San Diego is making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament after moving up from Division II in 2020. They are led by Big West player of the year Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones who is averaging 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on the season. While Tait-Jones has been a name commonly thrown around as a potential breakout candidate in March, I am more intrigued with guard Tyler McGhie for the Tritons. McGhie averages 16.4 ppg and is an impressive three-point shooter who is not afraid to let it fly, averaging 8.7 attempts per game from behind the arc. UCSD has not played any power conference teams this season, but they have faced a few impressive mid-majors, including a five-point loss to San Diego St. and wins against Utah State, James Madison, and conference foe UC Irvine.

Whoever comes out on top in this one will advance to the round of 32 where they will take on the winner of Texas A&M and Yale.

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Michigan injury report

UC San Diego vs. Michigan prediction

UC San Diego is a very impressive 12 seed as they rank 36th in KenPom and fifth in the country in average scoring margin. Michigan is playing good basketball right now and just got a massive boost of confidence after their run in the Big Ten tournament. The main talking point surrounding this game has been turnovers as UCSD is one of the best in the country at forcing them at 15.6 a game, and Michigan is known to turn the ball over with their fast style of play.

This will be a popular upset pick in most folks brackets, but it seems those are often the ones that do not come to fruition. The turnovers will happen but in the end I think Michigan’s size down low is too much for the Tritons to handle. Look for UCSD to stay in this one early, but the Wolverines to find their groove shooting late and cruise into the second round.