NCAA Basketball: Ranking the Sweet 16 teams in 2022 NCAA Tournament

13. Michigan (#11 seed)

Despite everything that has happened in the past month, Michigan is in the Sweet Sixteen. Juwan Howard’s altercation against Wisconsin seems like a distant memory, even after the team struggled for consistency during his 5-game suspension. The Wolverines were just three games above .500 before the NCAA Tournament, but still got their Big Dance invite, thanks in part to a slew of nice wins during Big Ten play. They settled for the 11-seed and have already proved that they belonged in the field.

First, the Wolverines took care of 6-seed Colorado State 75-63, erasing an early 15-point deficit and using their interior offense in a major way. Hunter Dickinson had 21 points and Eli Brooks had 16 as they outlasted the Rams. They continued to make a mess of their portion of the South region, outing 3-seed Tennessee in a thrilling 76-68 affair. The Wolverines’ defense limited Tennessee’s outside shooting and got big games from the usual suspects, with 27 points from Dickinson and 23 from Brooks.

Throw in names like Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate and you can see that this is a talented Wolverines squad that just might be gelling at the right time. Many were ready to write off the Wolverines a week ago, but are now one of just two Big Ten teams to survive the opening weekend of the Big Dance.

Looking ahead, Michigan has to keep bringing their A-game, but they’ve been battle-tested in the Big Ten, so that shouldn’t be a problem. Still, the Villanova squad they’re about to face looks incredibly tough and it might take more than just Dickinson and Brooks to get the job done offensively.