Bracketology rundown: Where Michigan basketball stands

Michigan men’s basketball sits at 14-10 on the season and is looking to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume during the stretch run. The good news is that they are trending in the right direction entering the final six regular season games.

Michigan’s win over Iowa on Thursday night was a pleasant surprise and added a solid road win to the resume. Pundits nationally are starting to buy into the Wolverines as a potential postseason threat.

Bracket Matrix updated following the win over Iowa and set Michigan at an 11-seed, appearing in 77 of 119 brackets. This is up from the 49 appearances they had made prior to the victory in Iowa City. The Wolverines appeared as one of the last four teams in by Joe Lunardi in his latest projection for ESPN. This would put them into a First Four play-in matchup with the Memphis Tigers.

Where bracketologists have Michigan

Bracket Matrix: 11-seed (10.49, appearing in 77 of 119 brackets)

ESPN: 11-seed

The Athletic: 10-seed

Bally Sports: 11-seed

Evan Miya: 9-seed

TeamRankings.com: 11-seed

Stadium: 12-seed

Sports Illustrated: 10-seed

SB Nation: 11-seed

Inside the resume

Michigan is currently at 31st in NCAA’s NET rankings and 30th on KenPom. While the Wolverines one sat at 7-7 on the season, they have won seven of their last 10 games and are trending in the right direction. The resume could still use some work, but the Big Ten provides a chance at signature victories nearly every night.

Michigan’s resume includes impressive wins over San Diego State (35th on KenPom), Purdue (13th) and Iowa (21st). Losses against Minnesota (113th) and UCF (98th) weigh things down a bit. Those types of losses have to be offset by wins like the one over Purdue. Michigan could afford 1-2 more like it.

Five of the last six games on the schedule come against teams ranked inside the top 35 on KenPom in terms of efficiency rating, so there is plenty of time to rack up some more games to add to the resume.

What’s next for Michigan

Michigan’s next challenge comes on Sunday in a road trip to Wisconsin, which would be another feather in the cap for the resume. A hot and hard-charging Rutgers team follows in a rematch at Crisler Center on Wednesday night. The week caps off with home date against Illinois on Sunday, Feb. 27.

From there, the Wolverines host the rival Michigan State Spartans at Crisler on March 1 with Iowa coming to Ann Arbor on March 3. The regular season ends with a trip to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes on March 6. The Big Ten Tournament is set for March 9-13 from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.