Michigan Basketball: Where latest bracketology has Wolverines

Michigan basketball will look to improve its resume tonight in Maryland, but in the current bracketology projections, the Wolverines are in a good spot.

In terms of starts, Michigan basketball couldn’t have done better in its first seven games than going 7-0. There have been a couple of close wins, but for the most part, the Wolverines have looked the part of Big Ten contender.

To be fair, the Wolverines have only played two league games and they weren’t exactly against the powerhouse teams in the conference, although Penn State is solid and Nebraska is improving.

Michigan beat Nebraska on the road, which was the first road win the year for the Wolverines and that was important with a road game at Maryland New Year’s Eve.

When you look at the latest bracketology projections for the NCAA tournament from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, Maryland isn’t one of the 11 teams from the Big Ten projected in the field.

The Terps opened Big Ten play with two losses, but turned heads with an upset win over Wisconsin earlier this week. The Terps do rank 38th according to the Kenpom rankings, so it won’t be a cakewalk.

Breaking down where Michigan stands in bracketology

Going back to bracketology, Michigan is one of those 11 teams from the Big Ten currently in the field and the Wolverines, who are also the only undefeated team in the league, are currently projected as a No. 4 seed by Lunardi.

If these predictions proved to be true, Michigan would play Georgia State right now as the 13th seed. And seeding line is about what you would expect for U-M at this point in the season.

Michigan does look like a Big Ten title contender, especially with the emergence of freshman sensation Hunter Dickinson, as well as transfers Chaundee Brown and Mike Smith.

Those were the three biggest additions for Michigan this offseason and all three have honestly met or exceeded expectations. How often does that happen anymore?

Yet, the Wolverines have a lot to prove and their schedule is ridiculously hard. Not a single team on the schedule right now ranks lower than 54th according to the Kenpom rankings and that team is Northwestern. A few spots ahead is Michigan State and so according to the rankings right now, those would be the easiest games on the slate.

That’s how hard this schedule is. It starts tonight in Maryland, only to follow with games Sunday and Wednesday against Northwestern and Minnesota, although they are both at home.

It’s inevitable that Michigan will rack up some losses, but if the Wolverines could win 10 or 11 of those games, they would surely hang onto that high seed all that way into March.