Michigan vs Clemson: NCAA Tournament Predictions & Picks
Written March 17, 2009 by Jordan Haimowitz
The Clemson Tigers from the ACC received an at large bid. The Tigers are a dynamic offensive team who average 79 points per game. They use a full court defensive press so often to fluster their opponent. They give up 68 points per game against while causing tons of turnovers. The best player Clemson has is big time forward Trevor Booker who averages 15 points and 10 rebounds per game. Booker is athletic, strong and a match up problem for anybody on Michigan. The vocal leader of this team is young sophomore guard Terrence Oglesby who is a lights out three point shooter averaging 13.5 points per game. Two other big time contributors they have are guard K.C Rivers who puts in 14 points and 6 rebounds a game as well as Demontez Stitt who collects 9 points and 4 assists per game. They have tons of depth as well. Clemson is a team that when they play their best ball, they can beat anybody, proving this point earlier in the year when they thumped Duke 74-47. Their opponent The Michigan Wolverines have a future NBA player in Manny Harris. Clemson is lucky to have when of the conference’s top defenders K.C. Rivers to stick on him. Clemson matches up real well here. If they play well, this game won’t be a problem for them. Clemson is favored by 5 points in this match up over Michigan.
The Michigan Wolverines from the BIG-10 conference received an at large bid. This is a great accomplishment for this team as they have not been here or have had success recently. The Wolverines will be faced with the challenge to stop Clemson’s high flying offense. They certainly have the defensive squad to get the job done. Michigan has only given up an average of 63 points per game this year which is fantastic. Now, they have little margin for error as they only score 67 per game themselves. Manny Harris must perform at a high level in order for The Wolverines to win this game. The x-factor to me aside from harris’ performance, will be the play of big man DeShawn Sims. The 6′8 forward averages 15 points and 7 rebounds per game. He cause players nightmares due to his outside shooting ability. Trevor Booker of Clemson will look to shut him down. That will be the key match up. Trevor Booker vs DeShawn Sims. Most people are not a believer of Michigan due to the fact they had a 10-10 conference record in a watered down BIG-10. I would argue otherwise, they have collected good wins vs UCLA on a neutral site, vs Duke, vs Purdue and they swept the home and away with Minnesota. If they allow Clemson to get into transition it will be one long and disappointing day for The Wolverines.
Haimo’s Hot Notes: Clemson is a dangerous team. They have quality on court leadership and their talent is superior to Michigan. If they are able to rattle The Wolverines early with their pressure, score easy points and turn this game into a frantic track meet, Michigan will stand no chance. If Manny Harris plays his best game and Sims is able to win the battle between him and Booker, Michigan will be in this game and have a chance to win it SU. I wouldn’t count on that. Clemson is very angry about their early ACC tournament exit against Georgia tech. They will come out and jump on Michigan early. Booker will play well and Rivers will be great. Expect this difference maker to be Terrence Oglesby and his three point shooting. These two teams have not met since 1998, so there will be no studying of the tape against one another. Clemson is more athletic, stronger, quicker, they average more rebounds per game and are just, well, flat out better. Take Clemson lay the five and make it a done deal. Clemson will pull away in this game I believe.
Clemson is 12-13-1 ATS this year
Michigan is 15-11-1 ATS this year
Betting Line: Clemson -5
Jordan’s Pick: Take Clemson -5
Well, that caps off my four picks for the South first round games. Make sure to check all my articles with and without picks. I have broken down each first round match up in the South Region for you’re benefit. I sure hope you will take my advice and cash in on these games and you know I will. For everybody who took games that I laid off on, I hope the preview gave you insight and information that made you confident in that or helped you lay off. Remember, any requests you have for me to write on a certain game, just let me know and I’ll be happy to get on it. To recap my plays for the South first round, they are as follows:
Clemson -5
Documented Record To Date:
9-7 OVERALL
5-1 BEST BETS
Get more out of your college basketball betting in this year’s tournament with NCAA basketball picks from more of our top ranked handicappers. They’ll help you beat the odds throughout March Madness this year.
If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:
- NCAA Tournament Predictions: Oklahoma vs Michigan
- Michigan Basketball Predictions 2009-10
- Duke at Clemson: College Basketball Odds, Picks, & Predictions
- Clemson at North Carolina: Basketball Picks & Predictions
- March Madness: Saturday’s NCAA Tournament Picks
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