Michigan Basketball ranked 4th in AP, No. 1 seed in bracketology

Michigan basketball might not be playing this week or next week, but on the strength of two solid wins last week, the Wolverines have moved up to fourth in the latest AP college basketball poll.

The Wolverines were ranked seventh last week and part of that had to due with the first loss of their season back at Minnesota two days before last week’s poll was released.

Michigan basketball responded with a win over Maryland and then another solid victory over Purdue, on the road last Friday.

Both teams were ranked in the top 50 of the Kenpom rankings and Purdue was sitting just two games behind Michigan in the loss column in the Big Ten standings.

Yet, the Wolverines won both games with ease and actually didn’t trail for a second to either team. The score was only tied once at 2-2, so it’s pretty safe to say Michigan was dominant.

According to Kenpom, Michigan is the No. 3 team in the country, behind only Gonzaga and Baylor. U-M and the Bears are the only teams in the country with adjusted offenses and defense that rank in the top 10. Michigan is ranked sixth defensively and seventh on offense.

Bracketology update

In terms of bracketology, Joe Lunardi of ESPN is expected to release a new version tomorrow, but the Wolverines should remain a No. 1 seed. Michigan was put on that line before the win over Purdue and now that’s one of the better wins on the resume.

Jerry Palm of CBS Sports also has Michigan as a No. 1 seed and his bracket was just updated this morning.

Of course, the big question hanging over Michigan basketball is how the next two weeks will impact the Wolverines?

Michigan won’t be able to play as all university athletic programs are on a two-week pause. U-M does have enough games to play in the NCAA tournament and it’s possible it could help Michigan in the Big Ten race, but will it impact seeding and what not?

The first question is whether the four games missed against Indiana, Northwestern, Penn State and Michigan State will be rescheduled. As I wrote on Sunday, it’s not going to be easy. That’s also the second time the Penn State game has been postponed.

We all know this season was going to be unlike any other and it’s proving true for Michigan. It’s just too bad because this team was on a roll and hopefully, it can continue it after the pause.