Just under a week ago, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Michigan basketball was solidly in, with a mere chance but to increase its lot in NCAA Tournament seeding.
But then the Wolverines squandered a 17-point second-half lead to an Indiana team that was thought to be out of the tournament altogether.
While the maize and blue have still appeared on most bracketologist projections, they’ve fallen out of some. For instance, CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has the Wolverines as one of the first four out, meaning that if his prediction were to come true, Michigan would be sitting at home or in the NIT while others go dancing.
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Most others, however still have Michigan in, but the road looks to be more daunting than before. USA TODAY Sports has the Wolverines as one of the last four in, as a 12-seed, which would mean that the maize and blue would have to play their way into the larger tournament. In Shelby Mast and Scott Gleeson’s projection, Michigan would take on Dayton in the first (play-in) round, and if it could do that, it would take on 5-seed Texas in Buffalo as part of the south region. Advancing could require beating Arkansas, Iowa State or Creighton, or 1-seed Arizona.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has long been a prominent voice in bracketology, and he similarly has the Wolverines as a last four in team, but playing Xavier in order to advance. If Michigan were to win, it would face Houston, then possibly Arkansas, North Carolina, and Baylor — all within the east region, housed in Philadelphia, with the first foray taking place in Milwaukee.
At the moment, Michigan is ranked No. 34 overall in the NCAA’s NET rankings, with a 5-10 quad 1 record, 3-3 in quad 2, 6-1 in quad 3, and 3-0 in quad 4. High quality wins include No. 26 Ohio State, No. 24 San Diego State, No. 14 Iowa, and No. 13 Purdue.
Selection Sunday is on March 13 after the conference championship games.
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