Michigan Basketball: Wolverines 5th in AP poll, projected as No. 1 seed

After a good weekend for Michigan basketball, the Wolverines held steady at No. 5 in the AP Poll, while also getting projected as a No. 1 seed.

The Michigan basketball team had a pretty good weekend. Not only did the Wolverines beat Indiana Friday night on the road, but they also saw Michigan State lose Saturday.

Now, I doubt that the Michigan basketball team was really too worried about what Michigan State was doing. At least I hope not. The Wolverines have enough to worry about with Ohio State coming to Crisler Tuesday night.

However, Michigan basketball fans certainly delighted in watching the Spartans lose at Purdue Sunday for a couple different reasons. For one, it tied things up between the Wolverines and Spartans in the Big Ten Standings at least in the loss column. Michigan State is 9-1, Michigan is 8-1.

While that was the most significant thing, the loss by Michigan State also helped Michigan hold onto its No. 5 ranking in the AP poll and in the latest bracket projection by Jerry Palm of CBS, the Wolverines are a No. 1 seed compared to Michigan State, which is a No. 2.

The other top seeds are Duke, Tennessee, and Virginia. That all seems pretty accurate if the tournament were being held this weekend and in the end, the Big Ten will probably only get one No. 1 seed, which might go the Big Ten regular-season champion.

Even though Purdue has only two losses and is right in the mix in the Big Ten race, the Boilermakers don’t have the resume of a No. 1 seed, which is something both Michigan and Michigan State do thanks to impressive work during the non-conference schedule.

What makes this title chase so interesting is that the Wolverines and Spartans will meet twice in the final four games of the regular season. If both teams can remain within striking distance at that point, whoever comes out on top at the end of that stretch will be in line to earn that No. 1 seed.

For some reason, most experts seem to Michigan State the nod as being the better team, but the Wolverines have the best record among major conference teams and their only loss was a Wisconsin team that is better than most realize.

Up to this point, according to the bracket released by Palm, Michigan has also beaten six teams currently in the NCAA field: North Carolina, Villanova, Purdue, Indiana (2) and Minnesota.

Two of those wins came on the road and with two games looming against Maryland and Michigan State, as well as other matchups with Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, Michigan will have plenty of chances to add quality wins and if it can win the Big Ten, a No. 1 seed should follow.