Michigan Basketball: Breaking down Wolverines path to Final Four

The brackets are out and Michigan basketball’s path to April inside Lucas Oil stadium is not absurd, but the road will be filled with rigid roadblocks.

As all expected Michigan basketball earned a No.1 seed on Selection Sunday. It was just a question of which region it would turn out to be.

In the end, the East region turned out to be that answer. Now that we know what lies ahead of the Wolverines and the tall task of being the last one standing when all the dust settles in Indianapolis.

Michigan basketball will open with either Mount Saint Mary’s or Texas Southern. Texas Southern has won nine straight entering the matchup with Mount Saint Mary’s. As for the Mountaineers, they were victorious as the visitor in four wins in a row for them. Both finished third in their respective regular-season standings.

Moving on to the round of 32 is a hair-raising tilt with LSU or St. Bonaventure.

The Bonnies put forth a strong campaign by winning 16 of their 20 outings, while LSU came within a point of gaining the automatic bid from the SEC conference. LSU could be a nerve-wracking skirmish waiting to happen on name alone.

The Tigers possess a gem of a freshman in Cameron Thomas. He averages about 23 per night. They also feature three other starters who score in double digits on the year and can light up the scoreboard equating to around 80 points a contest. The Bonnies are a little more balanced with their five who take the floor at the tip.

In the Sweet 16, Michigan basketball could duel with a smattering of different squads. The most likely scenario is Florida State or Colorado. In 2018, the Wolverines surpassed a Leonard Hamilton Florida State group in the elite eight on their way to play for the national championship. The Buffaloes are directed by Mr. do everything for them McKinley Wright.

On the bottom half of the region, Alabama is a club on the rise under Nate Oats. The Tide strolled through the SEC but doesn’t have any standout victories outside the conference.

Texas is the three and also shouldn’t strike too much fear in the maize and blue because the Wolverines own a seemingly better resume than the Longhorns.

Besides a risky clash with LSU in round two, Michigan has a viable path to the Final Four.

Suppose the Wolverines can reach that summit, then Gonzaga will presumably be waiting for them provided both survive that far. Juwan Howard’s 2019-20 cast of characters pounced on the Zags to take home the crown in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas.

Regardless of how things sort themselves out, this next month is going to be a dream come true to watch as the madness returns.

Michigan should feel optimistic about its prospects even without Isaiah Livers, but a similar development to what occurred in 2018 would be ideal for Michigan to reluctantly last till the clock hits zero on April 5th.