No. 3 Seed Wolverines to Face No. 6-Seeded Houston for Shot at Sweet 16

» Michigan is making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearances under head coach John Beilein.
» The Wolverines advanced to the second round following a 61-47 victory over No. 14 seed Montana. U-M has advanced out of its first NCAA game in five straight postseason tournaments.
» Michigan is one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 10 straight games -- seven of which have come away from home.
» U-M will be looking to advance to its fourth NCAA Sweet 16 in the last six years.

The No. 3-seeded University of Michigan men's basketball team (29-7) will square off with No. 6 seed Houston (27-7) in the NCAA Tournament's West Regional second round in Wichita, Kansas. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 8:50 p.m. CT, with the game broadcast on TBS.

A LOOK AT NO. 6 SEED HOUSTON
• Houston has a 27-7 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round with a 67-65 win over San Diego State on Thursday. The Cougars went 14-4 in the American Athletic Conference and finished tied for second in the regular season.
• Three players score in double figures for the Cougars, led by 19.2 points per game from Rob Gray. Corey Davis Jr. adds 13.4 points per game while Devin Davis scores 10.7 points per contest.
• Houston ranks eighth in the country in field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 39.6 percent shooting from the field.
• Kelvin Sampson is in his fourth season as head coach at Houston. He also has coached Washington State (1987-94), Oklahoma (1994-2006) and Indiana (2006-08) and has taken all four schools to the NCAA Tournament.

MICHIGAN IN THE 2018 NCAA TOURNAMENT
• Michigan advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament with a 61-47 first-round win over Montana. U-M overcame a slow start as Montana scored the first 10 points of the contest.
• Charles Matthews scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman added 11 points.
• All 11 rebounds for Matthews came on the defensive end, the fourth-most defensive rebounds by a Wolverine in an NCAA Tournament game. Loy Vaught holds the record with 16 defensive rebounds in the first round against Illinois State in 1990.
• The double-double for Matthews was his fourth of the season; he also recorded point/rebound double-doubles against Chaminade (Nov. 21) and Minnesota (Feb. 2) and had a point/assist double-double against UC Riverside (Nov. 26).
• Michigan has had a player record a double-double in the NCAA Tournament first round for two consecutive seasons. Last year, Derrick Walton Jr. scored 26 points with 11 assists against Oklahoma State in the First Round (March 16, 2017).
• Matthews recorded the first point/rebound double-double by a Wolverine in the NCAA Tournament since Jordan Morgan posted 15 points and 10 rebounds in the Round of 32 in the 2014 Tournament (March 22, 2014).
• The victory gave U-M its fifth consecutive win in opening-round games of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan is 7-1 in opening tournament games under John Beilein, with the lone loss coming against Ohio in the first round in 2012.

MICHIGAN WEST REGIONAL TIDBITS
• Michigan has been placed in the West Region for the sixth (fifth*) time in school history, and the first time since 2011. U-M was also in the West Region in 1975, '88, '90, '93* and 2011.
• Michigan is a No. 3 seed for the sixth (fifth*) time in program history. U-M has been on the No. 3 seed line more than any other seed. The Wolverines also were a No. 3 seed in 1998, '89, '90, '94 and '98*.
• Michigan is playing in Wichita, Kansas, in the NCAA Tournament for the second time.
• U-M was a No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region in 1994* where they defeated No. 14 Pepperdine, 78-74 in overtime, and No. 6 Texas, 84-79, to advance to the Sweet 16. U-M then defeated No. 10 Maryland, 78-71, in the Regional Semifinals in Dallas, Texas, before falling to No. 1 Arkansas, 76-68, in the regional final.
• Michigan's matchup on Thursday was its first all-time meeting against Montana.
• Michigan is 2-1 all-time against Houston. The Cougars won the most recent meeting, 91-65, on Jan. 2, 1968.

SOME BEILEIN NOTABLES FOR THE WEST REGIONAL
• This season marks the first time a John Beilein-coached team has been a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• John Beilein is coaching a team in the West Region for the second time in his career. Beilein guided No. 8 seed Michigan in the West Region in 2011, as it defeated No. 9 Tennessee before the Wolverines fell to No. 1 Duke. In 2005, Beilein's No. 7 seed West Virginia defeated No. 10 Creighton and No. 2 Wake Forest and advanced to the Regional Finals in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Mountaineers defeated No. 6 Texas Tech before it was defeated by No. 4 Louisville in the Elite Eight.
• John Beilein has faced Montana once previously in his career, a 73-56 victory over the Grizzlies on Nov. 23, 2006 in the first round of the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Florida.
• John Beilein has not faced Houston in his coaching career.

WITH A VICTORY
• With a win over No. 6 seed Houston, the Wolverines would advance to the West Regional Final in Los Angeles, California, and the Staples Center. It would mark U-M's fourth Sweet 16 appearance in the last six years.
• The Sweet 16 game is scheduled for Thursday, March 22 and if U-M advances from there the Elite Eight will be Saturday, March 24.