The Michigan Wolverines have enjoyed a brilliant regular season and head coach Dusty May saw his team answer nearly every question as it won the Big Ten regular-season title in dominant fashion. It did not play at the same level in the conference tournament as the Wolverines were handled fairly easily in the championship game by the Purdue Boilermakers, and that could create a seed of doubt in the Wolverines that was not present during the majority of the season.
Michigan earned a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and they will play the winner of the First Four game between Howard and UMBC. There is no reason to think that Michigan is going to have any trouble with this first-round game, but that is not the issue. Once the Wolverines get to the second round and beyond, there is a significant chance that this team could see its season come to a sudden end. The belief here is that May and his players will be left wondering what happened and there will be more than a few tears shed in the Michigan locker room.
No problems in the first round for Michigan
That won't happen in the first round. The only thing that could bother Michigan in the first round is an unexpected case of nerves against the winner of Howard and UMBC. Howard should be a clear winner in this game, but the Wolverines should be able to handle the Bison without any kind of issue. Michigan is a very business-like team and emotions are not expected to come into play until they get involved in the final minutes of a close game.
Yaxel Lendeborg is as solid an all-around player as the Wolverines have had in recent memory. He led the team with an average of 14.6 points per game while connecting on 50.9 percent of his shots from the field. He will also look for his teammates and he is handing out 3.2 assists per game.
However, it is his ability to play defense and influence opponents' shots that regularly often makes a difference. He will block 1.3 shots per game, and he can influence far more than that. Instead of shooting, opponents have to pass the ball to avoid getting their shots swatted away.
Center Aday Mara is also a big factor in that area as he leads the Wolverines with 2.6 blocks per game while averaging 11.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
Upset alert in second round and beyond
Once the Wolverines get to the second round they are likely to get a major challenge. They will face the winner of the game between eighth-seeded Georgia and ninth-seeded Saint Louis. Georgia is a high-scoring team that can go up and down the floor, and if Michigan is not sharp from the start of the game, the Bulldogs are capable of going on a streak and building a solid lead.
At that point, Lexemborg, Mara, Morez Johnson, Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney will take over and try to stop the Georgia thrust with their defensive skills and all-around ability. Guards Cadeau and McKenney may be the keys to any comeback if Michigan falls behind because they can harass their opponents and create steals and offensive opportunities for their teammates.
Georgia has four players who can hurt the Wolverines with their scoring, including guards Jeremiah Wilkinson, Blue Cain and Marcus Millender along with forward Kanon Catchings.
Wilkinson is an explosive scorer who is averaging 17.0 points and shooting 35.0 percent from beyond the arc. Cain is second on the team with an average of 13.3 points and a 47.2 shooting percentage from the field, while Millender is contributing 11.9 points per game and is connecting on 39.3 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
A Georgia matchup for the Wolverines could prove very dangerous and the Bulldogs may be the opponent that sends Michigan home after a major upset.
Sweet 16 looks dangerous for Wolverines
Even if Michigan gets through the opening weekend of the tournament, the Sweet 16 round has a chance to be the team's undoing.
The Wolverines are likely to face the winner of the game between fourth-seeded Alabama and fifth-seeded Texas Tech. Both teams are capable of playing a demanding 40-minute game against May's team, and the likelihood is that the Red Raiders will emerge as the opponent that Michigan will face.
The 22-10 Red Raiders are an angry team coming into the tournament, having lost their last three games against TCU, BYU and Iowa State. However, they will right the ship in the first two games of the tournament.
Forward JT Toppin was the Texas Tech leading scorerbut he tore his ACL and is done for the season. Look for Christian Anderson, Donovan Atwell and LeJuan Watts to pick up the slack in Toppin's absence.
Anderson is averaging 18.9 points and 7.6 assists per game while connection 42.5 percent of his shots from 3-point range. Atwell is averaging 13.5 points and connection 45.4 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
The Wolverines may be a No. 1 seed, but they will see their NCAA tournament run come to an end in the second or third round.
