Michigan Basketball: Previewing must-win match-ups for Wolverines

Conference tournament

At Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Michigan Wolverines will have a couple of must-win contests, but a conference championship shouldn’t be necessary for Michigan basketball to earn a lower seed in the 2020 NCAA Division I basketball tournament.

They can’t fall asleep either. Going by the current AP Poll rankings, Michigan is the third-best team in the conference and would, therefore, earn a double by sitting in the same position they did one year ago.

UM went on to the championship game while two seed Purdue fell in their first match against Minnesota. As a result, Purdue dropped to a three seed in the NCAA tournament while Michigan earned a two seed.

Matt’s musings

Michigan was uniquely suited as an underdog up until the moment this squad shocked the college basketball nation with back-to-back wins over North Carolina and Gonzaga. Now, the Wolverines have a target on their back, and so far, Only Illinois has collected their bounty.

The Wolverines, who had so few expectations prior to the season kicking off, have brought back the bandwagon fans and have several necessary wins to keep the schooner at maximum capacity. That includes beating conference opponents who are much more talented than those on the current roster, at least on paper.

Coach Juwan Howard has pulled off the impossible early on, but there’s an entire season ahead.