Michigan basketball has three more regular-season games remaining in the 2025-26 season, and then it’s onto the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament. With a road game against Illinois on Friday night, the Wolverines can clinch the outright Big Ten regular-season title, which would help that much more with the maize and blue’s hope that it can rebound from the loss to Duke, and potentially get the No. 1 overall seed in March Madness.
The Blue Devils currently have the No. 1 overall spot in the NET rankings, which is the primary catalyst for the tournament seedings, but Michigan had the No. 1 spot even after losing to Duke. A win against the Illini would go a long way to reclaiming No. 1 overall.
USA TODAY Sports put out its latest bracketology, however, and it has Michigan basketball as the third No. 1 seed, going to Buffalo in the Midwest region to play Long Island and then the winner of St. Louis and St. Mary’s.
Other teams within the region include 3-seed Gonzaga (which Michigan already beat by 40 points), 4-seed Alabama, 5-seed North Carolina, 6-seed Louisville, 7-seed Villanova (which Michigan beat by 28 points), 10-seed UCLA (which Michigan beat at home last week), and venerable 2-seed Iowa State.
The Wolverines would start in Buffalo in this simulation, but would then travel to Chicago for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight if they get past the rounds of 64 and 32.
Duke has the No. 1 overall seed in the bracket, while UConn has the second 1-seed.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan basketball’s March Madness No. 1 seed path revealed
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
