BREAKING: The Spartans And The Buckeyes Take A Seat, The Wolverines Advance

It was a really, really good start to the tournament for Michigan fans.

Though it was a rough start to the NCAA tournament for the Big Ten overall, the No. 1 seed Michigan Wolverines had no problems taking care of business - easily disposing of No. 16 Texas Southern by a score of 82-66.

Michigan was a tournament favorite for most of the regular season, but some seemed to cool on the Wolverines and their chances of capturing a title after losing veteran forward Isaiah Livers to injury. The biggest question surrounding Michigan heading into the tournament was whether or not they could recapture the magic they produced during much of the regular season and discover who they are without Livers in the lineup. After Saturday’s game, it appears as though Michigan took a crucial step toward that effort.

It wouldn’t be enough for Michigan to simply beat Texas Southern.  Instead, the Wolverines would need to put together a statement win and remind everyone within the tournament why they’re a No. 1 seed. They did that and then some against the Tigers.

The Wolverines were led by senior guard Mike Smith with 18 points. The Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Hunter Dickinson added 16 points while both Brandon Johns and Eli Brooks added 11 points each.

Michigan will now move on to the second round of the tournament where they’ll face No. 8 LSU on Monday. The Tigers defeated No. 9 St. Bonaventure by a score of 76-61, led by freshman guard Cameron Thomas who finished the afternoon with 27 points, four assists and three rebounds.

For the rest of the Big Ten, the start to the tournament was rather ugly.

No. 1 Illinois No. 9 Wisconsin and No. 10 Rutgers advanced to the second round, but three other Big Ten teams failed to advance.  After taking issue with a first-four draw, Tom Izzo’s No. 11 Michigan State Spartans fell to No. 11 UCLA in overtime by a score of 86-80 on Thursday. On Friday, the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes somehow managed to lose in overtime to No. 15 Oral Roberts by a score of 75-72. No. 4 Purdue would also drop their first-round matchup to No. 13 North Texas by a score of 78-69.