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Michigan Basketball: Where Wolverines sit in latest bracketology

By Chris Peterson

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 03: Head Basketball Coach Juwan Howard draws up a play for (l-r) Franz Wagner #21, Eli Brooks #55, Mike Smith #12, Chaundee Brown Jr. #15, and Hunter Dickinson #1 of the Michigan Wolverines during the first half of a college basketball game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Crisler Arena on January 3, 2021 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - JANUARY 03: Head Basketball Coach Juwan Howard draws up a play for (l-r) Franz Wagner #21, Eli Brooks #55, Mike Smith #12, Chaundee Brown Jr. #15, and Hunter Dickinson #1 of the Michigan Wolverines during the first half of a college basketball game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Crisler Arena on January 3, 2021 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images) /
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Michigan basketball is among 11 teams in the Big Ten projected to make the NCAA tournament according to the latest bracket projection.

Yet, the Wolverines are the only team in the conference that are being projected as a top seed right now according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi as Michigan is a No. 1 and Iowa is a No. 2 seed.

As as the Big Ten is concerned, Michigan would have three teams from the conference within its region if you believe Lunardi’s projection and with 11 teams in the field, it’s going to be hard for Big Ten teams to avoid each other.

This is the second straight bracketology projection that has the Wolverines (13-1) listed as a top seed, which isn’t a surprise given that the only result since the last bracket was a dominant win over Purdue.

Last week, in two wins over Purdue and Maryland, the Wolverines didn’t even trail, so despite one loss, Michigan basketball has played as well as just about anybody.

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Michigan hasn’t played Iowa yet, but if you look at Lunardi’s bracket you will see why the Wolverines resume is so strong because it’s filled with teams U-M has already beaten.

One of those teams is Wisconsin which is listed as a No. 3 seed. Iowa is a two. Ohio State is a three seed like Wisconsin and Illinois, another Big Ten title contender is a four seed.

Minnesota and Purdue are both in the field as No. 6 seeds, while Indiana (No. 10 seed), Rutgers (No. 11), Michigan State (No. 11) and Maryland (No. 11) are also in the field.

And even though Michigan doesn’t get credit for playing a difficult non-conference schedule, one of the teams it beat, Toledo has been playing well and is also in the field right now.

To keep track, that’s two wins over Maryland, as well as wins over Toledo, Wisconsin, Purdue, and Minnesota, which means that nearly half of Michigan’s wins are over teams projected in the field.

Certainly, this two-week pause has raised a number of questions going forward, but with Michigan having already played enough games to reach the NCAA tournament, being part of March Madness isn’t one of the things we need to worry about.

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