Before the loss to Minnesota last week, Michigan basketball was projected as a top-16 overall seed for the 2025 NCAA tournament.
However, losing to a winless team in the Big Ten, even on the road last week, hurt the resume and in the latest bracketology projections from ESPN's Joe Lunardi, the Wolverines are now a No. 5 seed.
There are a couple of factors at play. The loss to Minnesota is one. But the road win over UCLA doesn't look as impressive as it did a couple of weeks ago. The Bruins are a No. 9 seed in the latest projection.
Michigan basketball needed overtime to defeat Northwestern but will get a chance for a quadrant-1 victory on Friday at Purdue. Both teams have one Big Ten loss, so this will be a critical game in terms of the Big Ten championship.
Purdue is currently projected as a No. 2 seed according to Lunardi. Michigan State and Oregon are both No. 3 seeds. Illinois is a No. 4, followed by Michigan basketball and Wisconsin as No. 5 seeds.
That's six of the top 20 seeds in the tournament. Nebraska, Indiana, UCLA, and Maryland are also projected to make the field with Iowa listed as one of the last four teams out.
Michigan women's basketball bracketology
The 23rd-ranked Michigan women's basketball team isn't getting quite the same respect from the projections as the top-25 poll.
Michigan is a No. 7 seed in the latest bracketology projection from Charlie Creme of ESPN. The 13-5 Wolveriners have won three games in a row and are 4-3 in the Big Ten. U-M hasn't beaten any ranked teams yet, but all five losses have come against teams ranked in the top 10.
Led by freshman standouts Syla Swords and Olivia Olson, the Wolverines have won their last three games by an average of 16 points. Michigan women's basketball will play at No. 22 Minnesota on Wednesday at 8 PM EST on BTN+.