Michigan will control the pace and turn this game into a half court battle. The Wolverines' defense ranks seventh in the nation in points per possession. LSU's defense ranks 123rd in efficiency. But I believe the Tigers have more of a Top 40 defense. They roll up big leads that produce a lot of opposing points in garbage time. LSU has held its last five opponents to 42 percent or less shooting from the field.

No. 8 LSU vs. No. 1 Michigan from East Region. I went against my gut and picked Iowa in the early game today vs. Oregon ... and got burned bad there. I've seen enough of the vastly overrated Big Ten in this tournament to now pick LSU against the Wolverines, who were outscored in the second half of their Round 1 matchup vs. Texas Southern. While U-M didn't miss injured senior leader Isaiah Livers (13.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg) in that game, it sure will here. The Tigers are 5-0-1 ATS in their past six and their lone SU loss in that span was by a single point to an excellent Alabama team.

The Big Ten’s shockingly downgraded play has left few teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament. Top seed Michigan will aim to keep alive the conference's hopes against an LSU team that’s won five of its last six contests. Without Isaiah Livers (foot), the Wolverines will showcase their depth and pedigree versus the Tigers' poor defense. Grab Michigan.

I was pleased with the way Michigan came together in its first NCAA Tournament game while coping with the foot injury that has sidelined Isaiah Livers. The defense was still the same, holding opponents to 36 percent shooting and the offense was on par, shooting 48 percent and making 9-of-26 from 3-point range (35 percent). They looked like the usual Wolverines to me, and then got bonuses with Brandon Johns Jr. and Eli Brooks contributing more than usual. The Wolverines are going to be just fine and get the cover against LSU.