At the start of the season, both Michigan basketball squads had hope of making the NCAA tournament. However, there were questions about both programs.
The Michigan basketball team, on the men's side, has a new head coach in Dusty May and the Wolverines are essentially a completely different team with just a few holdovers from last season. The same is essentially true about Kim Barnes Arico's team.
Michigan women's basketball has a couple of veterans back such as Jordan Hobbs, but Michigan women's basketball is starting three freshmen. Yet, as of right now, they are solidly in the NCAA tournament, at least according to the latest bracketology updates from ESPN.
Michigan basketball bracketology updates
The men's team was knocked out of the top 25 this week after their loss to Oklahoma last week. Michigan did bounce back with a win over Purdue Fort Wayne, but the seed has dropped down to a No. 7 seed in the latest projection from Joe Lunardi.
Michigan's best non-conference win was over Xavier. The Wolverines missed golden opportunities to get wins over Wake Forest, Arkansas, and Oklahoma -- leading by double figures in all three games. Yet, the win over Wisconsin on the road was impressive. Michigan will need to win double-digit games in the Big Ten but as long as the Wolverines do that, they should be back in the NCAA tournament.
In the women's bracketology update, Michigan women's basketball is a No. 5 seed. The Wolverines lost to Oklahoma last week as well but knocked off Akron last Friday. Michigan has to play at No. 4 USC and No. 1 UCLA to restart Big Ten play next week, which isn't easy but will provide a golden opportunity to add a season-defining win to the resume.