Bubble Updates: Selection Sunday Morning

Share

Tweet

Print

Email

When I started posting bubble updates three weeks ago, there wasn’t a single bracketologist that listed Michigan in the field of 68. Now the Wolverines are listed as a tournament team by every bracketologist listed on the Bracket Matrix. Here’s a look at the updated versions of all of the bracketology reports that we’ve been linking as well as an early look at some of the teams that Michigan could face in the first round (after the jump).

Michigan will also host a viewing party at Crisler Arena. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the show begins at 6 p.m. Parking is free and John Beilein will address the crowd. CBS and the Big Ten Network are expected to cover the event and MGoBlue will stream it live as well.

The consensus seems to be that Michigan will fall somewhere along the 10 or 11 seed lines, maybe dropping to a 12 or even being bumped up to a 9. Here are your standard bracketology notes and links:

• Joe Lunardi/ESPN: 11 seed vs. West Virginia in Tulsa
• Crashing the Dance: 10 seed
• Jerry Palm:  9 seed vs. Villanova in Tucson
• Bracket Matrix: 10 seed
• SI.com/Andy Glockner: 11 seed vs. Cincinnati in Tulsa
• Rush the Court: 11 seed / Last 4 byes
• Bracketology 101: 10 seed: (Saturday)

The 10-11-12 possibilities mean that Michigan will likely face a 5, 6 or 7 seed in the opening round. Here’s a list of teams that occupy those spots in most brackets (in a very loose seed order, linked to KenPom profiles):

• St. John’s – Experienced and athletic team with the knack for knocking off highly rated squads.
• Georgetown – Senior point guard Chris Wright will play in the NCAA Tournament.
• Arizona – Boast a potential player of the year candidate in Derrick Williams
• West Virginia – A great offensive rebounding team that defends the three.
• Texas A&M – A slow paced team that gets to the free throw line and crashes the offensive glass and defends the three but is not a great shooting team.
• Xavier – A10 co-champs score the ball inside and live at the free throw line.
• Temple – The other A10 champs don’t turn the ball over, make a high percentage of their threes, and keep opponents off the free throw line.
• Cincinnati – Great defensive team that doesn’t shoot the ball that well but is strong on the offensive glass.
• Kansas State – Preseason top 5 team rebounded and finished the regular season on an 8-1 stretch to cement an NCAA bid.
• Vanderbilt – John Jenkins is a deadly efficient scorer, averaging just under 20 points per game while shooting 41% on threes.
• Old Dominion – Would seem like a match-up nightmare for Michigan. Big strong and dominant on the offensive glass.
• UNLV – Often forgotten in the MWC behind media darlings BYU and San Diego State, UNLV can play as well and beat Wisconsin earlier this year.
• Washington – The Huskies love to run and have a number of talented and quick guards. Washington is playing good basketball, having just won the Pac-10 tournament championship.
• Villanova – Villanova is in the midst of a late season swoon for the second consecutive year, losing five straight and 10 of their last 15.

There are obviously a lot of very good teams in this range. What team would you most want to see appear next to Michigan’s name this evening?