Michigan received an at-large berth into the 2026 NCAA tournament following a loss to Purdue in the Big Ten tournament championship game.
The loss didn't impact Michigan's seed. Duke was No. 1 overall. Michigan basketball remained one of the four No. 1 seeds for the four regions, joining Duke, Arizona, and Florida, the defending national champions.
The Wolverines will start their NCAA tournament journey in Buffalo, starting on Thursday night. Tip-off time is set for 7:10 p.m. with the game set for CBS.
Michigan doesn't know the opponent. It wil be Howard (23-10) of the MEAC or UMBC (24-8) out of the America East. Either team that ends up seeded 16th shouldn't cause problems for the Wolverines, yet Virginia didn't anticipate problems as a No. 1 seed until they were out of the tournament. The Cavs lost by 20. Purdue went down as a No. 1 seed back in 2023, so two times in five years.
If the Wolverines win that game on Thursday, they would play again on Saturday against No. 8 Georgia (22-10) or the ninth-seeded team in the East Region, Saint Louis (29-5).
Michigan's Final Four Path
The Midwest Regional will be March 27th and 29th in Chicago, where the Wolverines played for the Big Ten tournament. Alabama or Texas Tech seems like the most likely opponent for the Sweet 16, which could match Michigan up against some dynamic guards.
Then, Iowa State could be looming in the Elite 8, along with Virginia or Tennessee. There are five teams total in the bracket, with teams that rank in the top 40 of total offense, and the top 25 in total defense via Kenpom, metrics always shared by the national champion.
Iowa State could pose the most serious threat, but in March, anything can happen.