NCAA Tournament: 11-Seed Michigan Wolverines Rally to Down Colorado State

Trailing by as many as 15, the 11th seeded Michigan Wolverines were sparked by an unlikely source in their opening-round matchup of the NCAA tournament.

Freshman Frankie Collins notched a season-high 14 points as the Wolverines rallied to beat the sixth-ranked Colorado State Rams 75-63.

Collins, who entered the contest averaging less than ten minutes per game, was thrust into the starting lineup after starting point guard DeVante Jones was ruled out with a concussion.

The freshman poured in seven straight first-half points to bring Michigan within eight – the Wolverines ultimately headed into the break down six.

The freshman then capped off a 6-0 early second-half run with a steal and dunk as Juwan Howard‘s squad trailed by three.

Later in the half, Caleb Houstan buried back-to-back triples to give the Wolverines the lead – one they would not relinquish.

Surprisingly favored coming into the matchup, Michigan easily covered the -2 spread. The Wolverines’ performance continued a strong trend, as 11 seeds are now 10-2 against the number when favored over the sixth seed.

Michigan now awaits the winner of the South Region’s first-round meeting between third-seeded Tennessee and 14th seeded Longwood.

You can still wager on Tennessee/Longwood as FanDuel Sportsbook has the live lines.