Jalen Rose provides unique reason for picking Michigan to win it all: 'Call an archaeologist'

The NCAA Tournament is about to begin, but before it does, millions of people around the globe will make their picks for a champion. Former player turned analyst Jalen Rose among them.

And Rose’s prediction will make his supporters happy. He’s sticking with his old school, Michigan.

“The Big Ten champions, No. 1, are a five-seed?” Jalen Rose asked on the air of TruTV ahead of the first play-in game. “What are we doing here, first and foremost? Second, I know y’all saw Tre Donaldson go coast-to-coast and finish with the left. I know y’all was watching. Remind me of Tyus Edney and UCLA. Gave me all confidence in my Wolverines.”

Michigan went 25-9 overall and finished second in the Big Ten in the regular-season standings. The team then won the conference tournament, securing an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

That said, the Wolverines are a five-seed. They’re in the dreaded 5-12 matchup, set to take on UC San Diego on Thursday night.

Jalen Rose continued to provide reasons why he picked the Wolverines to win and win big come the Big Dance. He outlined them.

“When you watch the Wolverines play, call an archaeologist,” Rose said. “You don’t normally see two seven-footers actually perform in the way they do. You see (Danny) Wolf dribble, passing and shooting, making people around him better. You see (Vladislav) Goldin doing old-school post-ups on the block, doing actual jump hooks over both shoulders. Teams that aren’t in our conference aren’t used to seeing that.”

Is that enough to push Michigan past six opponents to cut down the nets at the end of the day? Well, at least if you’re Jalen Rose.

“I mean where my scissors? Why not?” Jalen Rose said. “Why not? I just gave you the balance. We’ve got it on the perimeter and we have it on the interior, and Dusty May on the sideline is a terrific coach.”