3 Thoughts on Michigan Basketball’s NCAA Tournament draw

Michigan basketball received an NCAA Tournament berth despite all the worry and here’s a look at the draw for the Wolverines, who will open against Colorado State. 

Ever since Michigan basketball’s loss to Indiana on Thursday in the Big Ten Tournament, there has been growing concern that the Wolverines weren’t going to make the NCAA Tournament.

But as it turns out, Michigan made it with room to spare. The Wolverines got a No. 11 seed and avoided playing in the First Four. Instead, Michigan will play in Indianapolis once again and the opponent will be sixth-seeded Colorado State in the South Region.

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Michigan basketball, despite its 17-14 record, is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight time and second year in a row under Juwan Howard.

While the Wolverines have been up and down lately, they have played one of the toughest schedules in all of college basketball and finished Big Ten play 10-6 (not including postseason).

They also have beaten a bunch of teams in the field such as Iowa, Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan State, San Diego State, Indiana, and Rutgers. That’s seven wins against tournament teams.

Here are three thoughts on Michigan basketball’s draw and potential to advance.

Seed was justified

As many analysts said, if Michigan basketball was left out, the Wolverines wouldn’t have had anyone to blame but themselves. A few bad losses and blown leads left Michigan with 14 losses. Yet, the strength of their wins and NET ranking, which was in the top 40 got them in the field without having to take part in a play-in game.

The draw of Colorado State also looks favorable at first glance. The Rams are talented and won’t be easy to defeat but as we look to that matchup, it’s not a bad one at all for Michigan basketball.