The Michigan Wolverines are in, well kind of. The NCAA March Madness crew revealed their projection of who the overall top 16 seeds would be before the end of the regular season, giving each team what seed they would be projected as in the tournament as well.
The Michigan Wolverines were projected at the No. 14 seed overall and one of three Big Ten teams in the projected field. The Wolverines were a four seed in the bracket field, the only four seed for the Big Ten.
The Top 16 seeds in bracket form 👀#BracketPreview pic.twitter.com/zA3qrDHht3
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 15, 2025
Two other Big Ten teams made the cut with Purdue and Wisconsin also making it into the field. Purdue received a projected 2-seed and Wisconsin received a 3-seed. The surprising thing was that Michigan State, who has led the Big Ten all season long, did not make the field, and was projected most likely as a five-seed.
Some Michigan fans took to social media to show their delight in Michigan's rankings, but also questioned a team ahead of them.
As Michigan gets included on the 4-seed line in the selection committee's reveal, here's a big lesson: the Wolverines have only played TWO Quad 4 games. TWO!
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) February 15, 2025
What's the point? Scheduling people > racking up cupcakes is always the way to go!! Just ask Arizona as well!
Filling the schedule up with teams that will only bolster your NCAA resume rather than cupcake teams seems to be the way to go, especially when you beat those tougher teams. Michigan only having two Quad 4 teams on their schedule will certainly go far with the selection committee and could be a reason they are a four-seed over Michigan State.
Michigan is underrated even as a 4 seed
— RadicalChip31 (@AchterhofReid) February 15, 2025
The Wolverines have shown flashes of greatness this season, especially under a new head coach. This is a testament to Dusty May and his coaching ability, he could lead this team to a deep March Madness run.
I know KenPom has Wisconsin rated highly, but it's a tough sell for them being on the three line and Michigan on the four when they have similar resumes and the Wolverines have the h2h vs. the Badgers in Madison. https://t.co/FIHvkkJDLo
— Sym (@symmering) February 15, 2025
This is a puzzling one as Michigan has consistently been ahead of Wisconsin all season long and the Wolverines have the head-to-head matchup from the season. Clearly, the selection committee saw something from Wisconsin that they haven't seen from Michigan, no one knows what that is though since the Wolverines are ranked higher and have more Quad 1 wins.