Let's Set Odds: Is Michigan Going to Be in March Madness?

It appears that the University Michigan men’s basketball team will not be following the example of their football team by making a run in the playoffs this season. The Wolverines were ranked sixth in the AP poll in the preseason and rose to No. 4 at one point early on. But it wasn’t long before things started to go south and, eventually, off the rails completely. 

The Wolverines still have a chance to make it to the 2022 NCAA Tournament but the path to the postseason will not be an easy one. ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi tweeted his updated predictions for March Madness and Michigan is listed under the last four byes section. Lunardi predicts that Michigan will be among nine Big Ten teams to earn a berth during Selection Sunday. That would lead all other conferences with the Big East (seven) and Big 12 (six) coming in second and third.

While WynnBET Sportsbook has yet to post odds for the Wolverines to make the tournament or not, we can take the information we have to formulate a solid guess on the potential line. 

Will the Michigan Wolverines Make it Into the NCAA Tournament? 

Yes +120

One thing that this team has going for them is solid veteran leadership and many on the roster were a part of the Elite Eight run last year. Hunter Dickinson is the man in Ann Arbor right now and decided to stay and make a run this year instead of declaring for the draft. In hindsight that might have been a bad move, but he is the best this team has to offer and can take over a game if he gets hot. 

The Wolverines have three games left to make an impression on the committee members. The good news is that they have the perfect three teams to do it with. Each of their final three games is against conference opponents that outrank Michigan.

This means that any win the Wolverines manage will be upset and give them a much better chance at a berth than if they were beating up on weak teams down the stretch. While playing better teams comes with its own problems, Michigan needs to beat good teams to break through this bubble. 

No -150

As a long-standing Michigan sports fan, it pains me to say that I lack the faith that the Wolverines can pull it together and earn a tournament berth. They just have so much going against them right now and we're not playing all that well before the sky starts falling.

Their remaining three games are kind of a double-edged sword considering that the Wolverines can make up a lot of ground in the eyes of the committee but will be hard-pressed to walk away with a single win, let alone three. The Wolverines close out their season against unranked Michigan State and No. 24 Iowa at home before closing the season out at No. 23 Ohio State. The Wolverines are just 9-8 straight up against conference opponents and an awful 1-6 against ranked opponents. 

Another major issue plaguing this team is the fact that its head coach, Juwan Howard, was suspended for the rest of the season after a scuffle with Wisconsin’s assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft. 

The Wolverines are now trying and pull themselves up by their Nikes and rally around Phil Martell to get it done. I just don’t see Michigan coming away with two wins against these three teams, two of which have already beaten the Wolverines this year. The odds are certainly not in the Wolverines’ favor here.