Michigan Basketball: How the Wolverines reached the Final Four

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 24: The Michigan Wolverines celebrates with the regional championship trophy after defeating the Florida State Seminoles in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament West Regional Final at Staples Center on March 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. The Michigan Wolverines defeated the Florida State Seminoles 58-54. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

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ANN ARBOR, MI – FEBRUARY 16: Zak Irvin /

What were the preseason expectations for this team?

After making it to the Sweet Sixteen last season, Michigan was expected to take a dip. They were losing their top two scorers in Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton, and DJ Wilson had shown enough late in the season to warrant a first-round pick in the NBA Draft.

In our preseason rankings for the Big Ten, the Wolverines were picked to finish in eighth place. Teams like Michigan State and Purdue were bringing back a ton of talent, while young teams such as Iowa, Northwestern and Penn State looked to take another step.

The biggest question was going to be whether this team had enough to get another at-large bid, or would another Big Ten postseason run be needed.

From a team personnel standpoint, was there going to be a clear go-to scorer for Beilein or was it going to be done by committee? Moritz Wagner showed signs in the late part of last season, but inconsistency plagued him. But without Wilson, he was going to be relied on for much more on both ends of the court.

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