Michigan basketball could sneak into NCAA tournament contention

On Sunday, Michigan basketball (13-10, 7-5 Big Ten) took down the Ohio State Buckeyes (11-12, 3-9 Big Ten) at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI. The victory improved the Wolverines’ record to 13-10 on the season and put Michigan once step closer to fighting its way into the NCAA tournament picture.

Michigan basketball still has time to sneak in

Right now, the Wolverines still have some time to accumulate wins and sneak into the NCAA tournament picture. For the first time since early January — when Michigan knocked off Maryland and Penn State in consecutive games — the Wolverines have strung together back-to-back wins and are trending in the right direction.

Michigan’s next opponent will be the struggling Nebraska Cornhuskers (11-13, 4-9 Big Ten), who are coming off an impressive victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions (14-9, 5-7 Big Ten). Still, Nebraska is a very beatable team and should be a victory for the Wolverines. If Michigan basketball can secure a win against the Cornhuskers, the Wolverines will improve to 8-5 in Big Ten play and 14-10 overall.

Wolverines need to take it one game at a time

Beating Nebraska would look nice on Michigan’s resume, but the real test will come in the next game when the Wolverines host No. 18 Indiana (16-7, 7-5 Big Ten), who just upset the nation’s top-ranked team (Purdue) at Assembly Hall.

Michigan basketball has eight games remaining on its 2022-23 regular season schedule. Four of these games are Quad 1 (Indiana x2, Rutgers, and Illinois), and two are Quad 2 (Michigan State and Wisconsin). If Michigan basketball can string together some impressive wins (or grab a few wins and do damage in the Big Ten tournament), the Wolverines should be in great shape to make the Big Dance this March.

Only time will tell, but Michigan’s recent wins have the Wolverines trending in the right direction as we enter the season’s final stages.

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