Michigan basketball had every opportunity in the world to secure its spot in the NCAA Tournament and rest easy on Selection Sunday, and with a late-season winning streak, it appeared the Wolverines were en route to making it to the big dance. However, the maize and blue lost their last two regular-season games and were quickly ousted from the Big Ten Tournament, ensuring that March Madness proper wasn’t an option.
And that was accurate, as when the names were called, the Michigan Wolverines were not one of them.
So, where does that leave the team in Ann Arbor? The good news is there’s still something to play for, as the NIT, the lesser tournament, was still an option.
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Michigan ended up making the NIT and enters as a 3-seed meaning that the Wolverines will be hosting in the early rounds, assuming they win. The first opponent is Toledo. The NIT semifinals is in Las Vegas, which is also where the NIT Championship is to be held.
While it might not be an ideal outcome given the promise of the season, considering how poorly the Wolverines played in stretches, it’s at least a consolation that they have any games available to play at all, thus giving extra experience for a young team.
(Ed. note: this article has been updated to address an error.)
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