Dusty May discusses benefit of double-bye, chances in Big Ten tournament

Michigan men’s basketball is entering the Big Ten tournament as the No. 3 seed this week. The Wolverines ended the regular season on a three-game losing streak, but they get a chance to reset in the postseason. 

The tournament begins on Wednesday (March 12), with Michigan set to play its first game on Friday (March 14) against USC, Rutgers or Purdue.

Dusty May shares outlook on Big Ten tournament

The Wolverines went 7-1 in February with wins over Rutgers (twice), Purdue, Oregon, Indiana, Ohio State and Nebraska, and a loss to Michigan State. However, each win came by four points or less, and Michigan seemed to be regressing.

New: Michigan basketball allows 50 first-half points in season finale loss to Michigan State

The downward trend has continued in March with the Wolverines starting 0-3 in the most important month of the season. Head coach Dusty May said his team will be tough to prepare for in tournaments.

“I do think the way our roster’s constructed that we’re a challenge to match up (with) in a short turn,” May said at a press conference Monday. “But, Purdue and Rutgers, you’ve got to figure – whatever Vegas would say – you probably have at least an 80 percent chance of facing one of those teams. 

“We played both of them twice and we played both of them recently, so we’ll be very familiar.”

Michigan finished third in the Big Ten with a record of 14-6 (22-9 overall), behind Maryland and Michigan State, respectively. The Terrapins also had a 14-6 conference record, but they won the tiebreaker with a victory in Ann Arbor on March 5.

The No. 3 seed means a double-bye, and May said the Wolverines can use the extra time to reassess. 

“Us securing the double-bye is obviously a positive on numerous fronts,” May said. “First and foremost, we had our compact schedule at the end of the year, where we really didn’t have a chance to practice. There was a lot of games in a short period of time – everyone had one, I’m not complaining about it – but we had ours at the end.

“If we didn’t secure the double-bye, we wouldn’t have this day to kind of regroup and self-evaluate and reflect, where now we do, so hopefully this will give us a chance to identify some things that we need to tweak, fix or whatnot, and keep it moving.”

More: Michigan softball wins 10 of 11 games at The Raleigh Times, throws perfect game on final day

USC and Rutgers go at it in the first round Wednesday, with the winner advancing to play Purdue Thursday. The winner of the second round matchup will play Michigan Friday night.

Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics and Big Ten content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms