The UConn Huskies will take on the Michigan Wolverines in a first round matchup at the Battle 4 Atlantis on Wednesday night. UConn comes in 3-0 and ranked 18th in the nation while Michigan comes in 2-1 and unranked.
Michigan started off the season ranked in the AP preseason poll but they lost to Xavier and fell out of the top 25. UConn on the other hand has not been tested yet this season so this should be a good measuring stick game for both sides. Neither of these storied programs made the NCAA Tournament last season but they have re-loaded and should be back in the fold again this year.
UConn has won in blowout fashion in all three of their games so far and have scored the ball with ease. The Huskies are led by senior, Seton Hall transfer, Sterling Gibbs who is averaging 15.7 points on 52 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent shooting from three.
Gibbs may be their leading scorer so far but UConn has a bunch of talented guys that they can throw at you including last years AAC Rookie of the Year Daniel Hamilton, who has struggled so far this year, and Rodney Purvis who has gotten off to a hot start to this season.
A key player in this one for the Huskies is seven foot junior Amida Brimah. In their loss to Xavier Michigan was killed on the glass so it is very possible that Brimah could have his way with their frontline. Brimah has not gotten off to a good rebounding start (5.3 per game) but his length could give them trouble on the defensive end as he is averaging more than four blocks per game.
As for Michigan they won their first two games with ease as well before running into a very good Xavier team. This Wolverines team is very guard oriented so they might struggle with bigger teams but their guards are very talented.
Michigan is led by senior guard Caris Lavert who broke his foot last season but seems to be back to 100 percent now. Lavert is averaging 19.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game while making 50 percent of his field goals and threes so far and UConn will have to figure out a way to contain him.
The Wolverines have shot the ball extremely well from the perimeter to start this season as they are making 44 percent of their threes. Michigan's top four scorers, Lavert, Derrick Walton Jr., Duncan Robinson and Aubrey Dawkins, all shoot the ball extremely well from three and how UConn does defending the three point line will have a major impact on the outcome of this game.
This is the first meeting between these schools since 2010 when Michigan beat UConn by five at home. Overall Michigan has won two of the last three meetings between these two programs but are the underdogs in this one at a neutral site. The winner of this game will take on the winner of Syracuse Vs. Charlotte in the semifinals.
The game is scheduled to tip off at 9:30 P.M. Eastern time and to watch the live broadcast go here. For the UConn radio broadcast go here and for the Michigan radio broadcast go here.
