Know Your Enemy: Michigan's Two Potential First Round Opponents

The Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers will square off against the Texas Southern Tigers this Thursday, March 18th at 5:10 pm EST on TRU tv. With the vast majority of Wolverine faithful being relatively unaware of both programs, here's everything you need to know.

No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers

Location: Emmitsburg, Maryland
Conference: Northeast Conference
Head coach: Dan Engelstad (3rd season)
Tournament appearances: 6
2020-21 record: 12-10 (first in NEC)

3:22 2H | Mount 65, Bryant 55

Dame doing his thing late in the game. Chong Qui with 17 points in the second half. Mount up by 10 at the final media timeout.

WATCH ON ESPN2: https://t.co/R8d45tJe0m pic.twitter.com/EPt6cYbiYG
— Mount Men’s Basketball (@MountHoops) March 10, 2021

The Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers defeated the Bryant Bulldogs last week by a score of 73-68 to claim the Northeast Conference Tournament championship. With the win, the Mountaineers clinched an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017.

Mount St. Mary’s is led by junior point guard Damian Chong Qui, who leads the Mountaineers in both points (15.1) and assists (5.5) per game. Chong Qui is quick with the ball in his hands and isn’t afraid to pull up from anywhere on the floor. He’s also extremely confident heading into the tournament. “On Selection Sunday, I don’t care who they put us against,” Chong Qui said Friday. “I like my guys over anybody. I know we’re going to fight – no matter who we’re playing against.”

The Mountaineers also have some tall and athletic pieces at the forward position. Mezie Offurum is a 6-8, 230 pound forward who can run the floor and posterize unsuspecting defenders. He’s also solid on the defensive end, leading the Mountaineers in steals per game with 1.5. Nana Opoku is a 6-9 forward who’s the second leading scorer on the team, averaging just over 10 points per game and leading the Mountaineers in blocks per game with two. Malik Jefferson is another 6-9 forward for the Mountaineers who does most of his damage on the glass, pulling in a team high 8 rebounds per game while also adding an average of just over 8 points per game.

No. 16 Texas Southern Tigers

Location: Houston, Texas
Conference: SWAC
Head coach: Johnny Jones (3rd season)
Tournament appearances: 9
2020-21 record: 16-8 (first in SWAC)

MIKE WEATHERS IS ICE COLD 🥶@TexasSouthern @TXSOTigers // #GoTigers #BeLegendary pic.twitter.com/FUt8AaLIXP
— Texas Southern Basketball (@TSUMensHoops) March 12, 2021

The Texas Southern Tigers defeated Prairie View A&M by a score of 80-61 to claim the Southwest Athletic Conference tournament championship - also punching their ticket to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018.

The Tigers are led by senior point guard Michael Weathers who averages a team high 16.5 points per game. Additionally, Weathers leads the Tigers in both assists per game (3.6) and steals per game (2.2). Weathers is also responsible for hitting a game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation against Jackson State in the conference tournament semifinal, a shot that helped the Tigers advance to the championship game and ultimately into the NCAA tournament.

Texas Southern’s second leading scorer is 6-9 junior forward John Walker III. Walker III averages 12 points and 5.4 rebounds per game - both of which are second best on the team. Junior forward Joirdon Karl Nicholas serves as the problem in the middle, leading the Tigers in both rebounds (7.0) and blocks (1.2) per game.