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- Created: March 16th, 2016
- sports betting
Wolverines vs Golden Hurricanes | First Four
By Don Phillips
2016 NCAA Tournament | First Four
No. 11 Michigan Wolverines (22-12; 10-8 B1G) vs. No. 11 Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (20-11; 12-6 American)
9:10 PM ET, Wednesday, March 16, 2016
University of Dayton Arena (13,435) Dayton, Ohio
TV Broadcast: truTV
TV Crew: Carter Blackburn (p-by-p), Mike Gminski (analyst) & Jaime Maggio (sideline)
U-M Radio: Detroit: WWJ (950 AM) | Ann Arbor: WWWW (102.9 FM)
U-M Radio Crew: Matt Shepard (p-by-p) & Terry Mills (analyst)
National Radio: Westwood One
National Radio Crew: Craig Way (p-by-p) and Kevin Grevey (analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius: 84 | XM: 84
Social Media: Facebook: “Michigan Basketball” | Twitter & Instagram: “umichbball”
Michigan has a 22-12 overall record and a 10-8 mark in B1G play. The Wolverines earned the No. 8 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Wolverines are currently 57th in the RPI and have a Strength of Schedule (SOS) rating of 43rd according to the NCAA (March 13).
With the win over Northwestern (Feb. 24), Michigan reached the 20 win plateau for the 27th time in U-M history and for the sixth time in U-M coach John Beilein’s nine year tenure.
In addition to U-M reaching 20 overall wins, the Wolverines won their 10th B1G game against the Wildcats. It is the fourth time in the last five seasons U-M has reached double-digit wins in conference play.
Michigan has had seven different starting lineups this season, however, the Wolverines have settled on their current lineup over the final 19 games — Derrick Walton Jr., Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Duncan Robinson, Zak Irvin and Mark Donnal.
Michigan continues to use a four-man rotation down low in the frontcourt. Mark Donnal has moved into the starting five while Ricky Doyle, Moe Wagner and D.J. Wilson all come off the bench.
Michigan averages 74.3 points per game. It is the second highest total during U-M coach John Beilein’s tenure after his 2012-13 Final Four squad averaged 75.2 per game.
U-M has nine games of 80-plus points, including two 100-plus games — vs. Charlotte (102) and Youngstown State (105). U-M is 50-1 under Beilein when the Wolverines score 80-plus points.
Michigan is allowing opponents to score 67.5 points per game, which ranks 70th nationally. U-M has held four opponents to 50 or fewer points — Delaware State (33; Dec. 12), Northern Michigan (44; Nov. 13), Youngstown State (46; Dec. 10) and Charlotte (47, Nov. 26).
Michigan is shooting 46.6 percent from the floor, which ranks 50th nationally. It is just below the highest average during Beilein’s tenure after his 2012-13 Final Four squad shot 48.4 percent. U-M has shot 50 percent or better 12 times. The Wolverines have two games of 60 percent — 61.5 percent (40-for-65) against Youngstown State (Dec. 19) and 61.9 percent (39-for-63) vs. Charlotte (Nov. 26).
Michigan is shooting 38.4 percent from long range, which ranks 30th nationally. It is just short of the highest average during Beilein’s tenure after his 2012-13 Final Four squad shot 40.4 percent.
Tulsa has averaged 74.0 points per game through 31 games this season. That is the highest scoring average in 14 years since the 2001-02 team averaged 80.0 points per game. The Hurricanes have totaled 2,294 points in 31 games.
Tulsa has played the 60th toughest schedule in the country, according to NCAA statistics. The Hurricanes have a team RPI of 58 and they are 4-5 vs. RPI top-50 and 8-8 vs. RPI top-100. TU has wins over RPI 13 SMU (road), RPI 32 UConn, RPI 47 Wichita State and RPI 48 Cincinnati. They also own the only non-conference top-25 victory in The American, with its 77-67 win over No. 9 Wichita State on Nov.17.
According to Ken Pomeroy (KenPom.com), Tulsa has an adjusted defensive efficiency of 99.7 (points per 100 possessions), ranking 84th in the nation. They also have an adjusted offensive efficiency of 110.8 points per 100 possessions, ranking 53rd in the nation. The offensive efficiency is an improvement over 2014-15, when the Hurricane had an AdjO of 99.4 that ranked 234th, and sported an AdjD of 93.6 that ranked 19th.
Selection: Tulsa