The Big Ten is the final conference tournament game before Selection Sunday every year, and this year was more of the same. The Wisconsin Badgers and their high-powered offense made the finals to face the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan won the game and turned from the league's worst team to the conference champion. Michigan won the automatic bid for the Big Ten and was the last automatic bid into the tournament.
The Wolverines are making their 32nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament. It was the first appearance in the tournament since the 2021-2022 season. The Wolverines are another team that has a ton of history and is no stranger to winning games in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines have won one National Championship and have been to 8 Final Fours. Michigan entered the Tournament with a 25-9 overall record and finished 14-6 in the Big Ten.
Michigan earned a 5 seed, and they should be upset with that seeding. They won the Big Ten and finished second in the league and earned a 5 seed. The Wolverines were seeded lower than most of the teams they beat. The 5 seed gives Michigan a much tougher game than they could have had with a higher seed. Here are some reasons why the Wolverines will win a game.
Twin Towers
Head Coach Dusty May found two gems in the transfer portal. Both are 7’0” tall, and both of them can score, rebound, and shoot. Vlad Goldin was a transfer from Florida Atlantic who followed his coach to Michigan. The other 7’0” is Danny Wolf, who is a transfer from Yale. He was the Ivy League Player of the Year last year and was big in the Bulldogs, beating Auburn in the tournament. Area 51 as the Michigan media aptly calls these do are the everything-guys for Michigan. They lead the team in rebounding, scoring, blocked shots, free throws attempted, and made and field goal percentage. They each do different things. Wolf is more of the three-point shooter and rebounder, and Goldin is the pick-and-roll savant who gets most of his points on short rolls to the basket. Each of them has made a key play in every one of Michigan’s wins and they are going to be the ones who are the catalysts for a deep March run.
Battle Tested
The Wolverines, under coach May, went out and scheduled hard in year 1 to challenge themselves early and often. Those challenges prepared Michigan to make their run to the top of the Big Ten and to win the conference tournament. Michigan beat Xavier and TCU in the non-conference and lost close games to Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Wake Forest. Those non-conference games were early when this roster was still gelling. It worked because the Wolverines are at their best when they are playing the best teams in the Big Ten and beat Purdue twice, Ohio State twice, Michigan State, UCLA, Wisconsin twice, Maryland Twice, and Oregon. They are okay with physical games and are a physical team themselves. Be ready for a fight when you play the Wolverines.
Close Games
This is probably the most important factor of all. The Wolverines know how to win close games and know how to win. Sure, there are games in the NCAA Tournament that turn out to be blowouts, but the Wolverines don’t seem to play blowouts. You can rest assured that no matter what happens, the game is going to come down to the final minutes, and if that is the case, it is a huge advantage for Michigan. Entering the first round, Michigan is 12-4 in two-possession games and had a stretch starting January 19th, 2025, where they won 8 straight games by two possessions or less. They make clutch plays and have made huge shots all year. Sure, there is some luck involved, but Michigan knows how to win tight games. That is going to be something to monitor as the game rolls on. Their confidence is always high, and they know they are going to win.
Michigan is underseeded; their opponent isn’t going to think that and is still going to try and go out to beat them. The Wolverines must put it behind them and go play basketball or they will get upset in the first round. If the game is close Michigan is going to win.