If the Michigan men’s basketball team wants its NCAA Tournament preference, to play its opening games in Philadelphia, the Wolverines will need a loss from current No. 1 Duke.
Joe Lunardi, who handles ESPN’s bracketology for the men’s NCAA Tournament, has Michigan as a No. 1 seed in Buffalo. The Wolverines (29-2) wrapped up the Big Ten championship on Sunday with a 90-80 win over Michigan State and now head to the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan State, according to Lunardi, is a No. 2 seed.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi says Morez Johnson Jr. (21) and Michigan will need some help to land the No. 1 overall seek, and has Jaxon Kohler (0) and Michigan State as a No. 2 seed.
It was revealed a few weeks ago during a mock NCAA Tournament selection that Michigan indicated a preference to start the Tournament in Philadelphia to play a Friday/Sunday schedule versus a Thursday/Saturday site like Buffalo. The tournament’s No. 1 overall seed gets to make its choice of early-round site.
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One of Michigan’s two losses this season was to Duke on a neutral court. Duke is No. 1, followed by No. 2 Arizona and then Michigan. Lunardi, during an ESPN videoconference Monday, likes the Wolverines’ chances, but they need Duke to lose if they want to play in Philadelphia.
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“I actually think Michigan’s resume is a sliver better than Duke’s, and maybe two slivers better than Arizona,” Lunardi said. “But they’re only slivers, and Michigan did lose to them head to head on a neutral court, which comes into play when it’s that tight.
“They won a huge Quad-1 game yesterday (against MSU) without (guard L.J.) Cason (who suffered a season-ending torn ACL), and I think that keeps them in the hunt for No. 1 overall. But whether 1, 2 or 3 overall, they’re either going to win their games in the regionals and go to the Final Four or not, because their regional is going to be almost certainly Chicago. The path that they take, whether it goes through Buffalo or Philly, probably only matters to the bus driver.”
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The Spartans (25-6) are ahead of Illinois in Lunardi’s seedings because of their 85-82 overtime win against the Fighting Illini at the Breslin Center on Feb. 7.
“I think I could coin flip Michigan State and Illinois, but I gave it to Michigan State for the time being,” Lunardi said. “I don’t know if they’re bracketed to play in the semifinals (of the Big Ten Tournament) on Saturday, but if they are and the committee’s still working on late Saturday afternoon at seeding, or when they (finalize) the seeds on Sunday morning, if they were to play, and whether it’s either 7 or 8 vs. 8 or 9 (overall seed), it might come down to that result. But have they got enough to be there (at No. 2) now? Absolutely.”
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Joe Lunardi weighs in on Michigan, Michigan State seeding for March Madness
