Will the Michigan Wolverines be Dancing Come Selection Sunday?

March 13, 2009 By 2 Comments

After their impressive win over the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big 10 tournament, the Michigan Wolverines now have a 20-12 record with impressive wins over Duke, Illinois and UCLA on the season. They finished conference play prior to the tournament with a 9-9 record in a conference that will possibly send the most teams, eight, to the NCAA Tournament.Michigan Wolverines basketball John Beilen

Not only should thier record be taken into consideration by the selection committee, but their strength of schedule verses Division I opponents is #8 and their RPI is #43. Michigan’s win over Iowa should solidify their placement into the tournament as either a #12 or #13 seed. Michigan’s only black eye on this season was their inability to win on the road, posting a dismal 3-8 road record.

If all goes as it should this Sunday, my hat goes off to Coach John Beilein and the Athletic Director for bringing Coach Beilein in. I can’t remember the last time the Wolverines had something to look forward to in March other than the upcoming football season. Congratulations Wolverines on a great season so far and make some noise in the tournament!

Go Blue!!!

Kurt Fraschetti

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Filed Under: Big Ten Basketball Tagged With: John Beilein, March Madness, Michigan Wolverines, ncaa tournament
  • http://www.midwestsportsfans.com JRod

    I think Michigan should, and will be, in the NCAA Tournament. I am still salty about the IU-Michigan game in Bloomington though. IU played so well and then somehow gave up a 20-point lead to a team that can’t win on the road.

    Still, now that IU’s season is over, I become a Big Ten fan. Hopefully the conference gets a lot of teams in and a couple of them make deep runs. The Big Ten bashing is getting a little old, and this is the only way to shut everyone up.

  • ren

    I think Indiana will be just fine next season–look at Illinois. They had a down year last year, and now they have finished #2 in the conference and are back in the NCAA Tourney. The situations were different, but Indiana has shown all season long they have talent. Had they been in the Pac-10, SEC and downward they’d have more wins…but the Big Ten was #2 RPI this season.

    As a Michigan fan, I am pretty aware of Michigan’s shortcomings. The underlying basis of their inability to win on the road is how long they need to prepare for games under Beilein’s system. In general, when Michigan has at least three days of practice, they have won their games, including their road games. The last game against Minn is an example, and so is beating Northwestern at NU. This is also how they beat Duke and UCLA, having about a week in between both games, if I recall. This is why their Big Ten Tourney loss to Illinois is no surprise to me, and also why WHEN they play in the NCAA Tournament this season they won’t last long if they’re playing difficult higher-seeded teams.