Bracket Bonanza: Michigan Men Disrespected. Will They Make the Selection Committee Look Foolish?

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This is the best time of year for college basketball. Especially this year. Both Michigan and Michigan State are very good. Michigan just won the Big Ten Conference Tournament. Michigan State won the regular season Big Ten title. But how did they fare in NCAA Tournament bracket selection?

Let’s start with the expected, because the selection committee seems to have had its mind made up before Selection Sunday. Michigan State was rewarded for a stellar regular season. They finished 27-6 overall and 17-3 in Big Ten play. They beat Michigan twice, Wisconsin, Maryland, Purdue, Illinois twice and Oregon twice, all ranked teams. They advanced to the conference tournament semifinal, losing a hard-fought, close game to Wisconsin. The NCAA Tournament selection committee rewarded the Spartans, assigning them a 2-seed in the South Regional division.

Barring a dramatic Cinderella story, look for Michigan State to beat (15) Bryant in the round of 64 and (7) Marquette in the round of 32. Things will get more challenging from there. In the Sweet 16, Michigan State will likely face (3) Iowa State. Get past them, and the Spartans could be facing (5) Michigan in the Elite 8. Trying to beat the Wolverines for a third time in one season would be tough.

At the time of this writing, Michigan has figured out how to limit turnovers. If that continues, they are a Final Four team, defeating Michigan State in the Elite 8.

Michigan’s path to the Final Four starts with University of California San Diego, a 30-win team. The selection committee did not do Michigan any favors in seeding them. Assigning the Wolverines as a 5-seed, after finishing third in the Big Ten regular season and winning the conference tournament, is insulting; but Michigan (25-9, 14-6) can handle it. They showed tremendous heart winning the Big Ten Tournament championship game against Wisconsin (an NCAA Tournament 3-seed!). Both teams looked exhausted, but Michigan showed championship heart and grit by overcoming an 11-point second half deficit to win the game 59-53.

UC San Diego is the Big West Conference regular season and tournament champion. Michigan’s opening game could be a war. In my bracket, I have Michigan playing (13) Yale in the round of 32. Yale won the Ivy League regular season and tournament championships. Don’t sleep on Yale. If Michigan makes it past two conference champions, they are likely to face 1-seed Auburn in the Sweet 16. Auburn is ranked third overall in the country in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25. A win against Auburn advances Michigan to play Michigan State in the Elite 8, a team that has beaten them twice already.

But don’t look for Michigan Coach Dusty May to make excuses. According to Jennifer Hammond of FOX 2 Detroit, via X, when Michigan was assigned a 5-seed after winning the Big Ten Tournament, May said:

“I think we’ll go out there with a little bit of extra edge, but this team’s motivated intrinsically by the right things.”

In my bracket, I have Michigan facing another 1-seed in the Final Four. Florida, ranked fourth in the nation by the AP, just won the South Eastern Conference (SEC) Tournament title. This is where I have Michigan’s run coming to an end.

Anything is possible this time of year, however, and I won’t be surprised if Michigan or Michigan State wins the National Championship.

Both teams have tremendous heart. They both have blue chip talent. Michigan State is deep and runs teams off the court. Michigan has two dominant big men. Both teams have players that have hit game-winning shots. They have magic and team chemistry. They have coaches who have won championships.

As for Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo, look for him to have his team ready for each game as they come. Per SI.com, Izzo said,

“As I told my team, when you stay here 30 years and you’re in 27 or [2]8 NCAA tournaments, you’ve kind of been through everything. And so, I don’t feel comfortable with anything, and I don’t feel afraid of anything. And that’s kind of the place I’m at and where I’m at.”

This should be fun.

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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL NETWORK