Bracket Watch: Selection Sunday 2026

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After some buzzer-beating heroics in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals for the second straight year, the Wolverines take the court to defend their Big Ten Tournament title on Selection Sunday.

But while today will feel similar to last year for fans of the maize and blue — getting comfy on the couch, tuning in to the title game on CBS, then sticking around to catch the Selection Show — the TV-watching schedule is where the similarities end.

Heading into last season, the Wolverines were climbing their way back from rock bottom with a new coaching staff, a new roster, and a new identity. Last year turned out to be a resounding success, especially given where Michigan came from. But the route back to Big Ten and national relevance was circuitous, and the season was a roller coaster. For much of league play, the Wolverines were hovering somewhere between the 6 seed line and the 3 seed line, and the bracketology community struggled mightily to pin down exactly where they would end up in the final bracket.

This year has been different. The major predictive models all pegged Michigan as a top-10-ish outfit before the season began, and U-M has been even better. Anchored by Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Aday Mara, Michigan has shattered even the most optimistic of predictions. The Wolverines have amassed more wins above bubble than any team in recorded history. They have never been any lower than fourth overall in my bracketology projections. Not a single bracketologist will get Michigan’s seed wrong this year — no one has taken the Wolverines off the 1 seed line since Thanksgiving.

If last season’s Selection Show marked the moment when Michigan officially rose from the ashes, this year’s Show marks the moment when Michigan officially steps into the arena to try to put together an NCAA Tournament run.

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