The Michigan Wolverines were looking poised to squeak into the NCAA Tournament when they beat Wisconsin in overtime last weekend, notching their third-straight win in the process. But after losing back-to-back games against Illinois and Indiana this week, the Michigan NCAA Tournament odds now paint a bleak picture for Wolverines fans.
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Michigan NCAA Tournament Odds: Uphill Battle Awaits Wolverines
Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Michigan is now a heavy underdog to win the NCAA Tournament at +20000 to. That line is shared with the likes of Texas Tech, Dayton, Villanova, VCU, NC State and Nevada — all of which are expected to miss out on the NCAA Tournament.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Michigan listed in his “first four out” section of the bracketology before the loss to Indiana on Saturday afternoon. They looked to be don’t the verge of a big resume win, building a double-digit second-half lead against the Hoosiers. But thanks to a late flurry, Indiana was able to force overtime before earning a close 75-73 win when Michigan failed to get a shot off on the final possession.
“The year’s not over for us. We’re going to keep clawing, and they have another tough game on the road at Indiana. We’re going to get back home, take a look at some film, get back in the gym, and plan on going to Indiana and competing hard like how we did here,” head coach Juwan Howard said following the 2OT loss to Illinois on Thursday night, per 247 Sports.
Michigan will now turn its attention to the Big Ten Conference Tournament beginning next week. They will likely need to win the tourney to earn a big for the NCAA Tournament. Michigan awaits the winner of the Rutgers-Northwestern game to find out their seeding in the conference tournament. If Rutgers beat Northwestern, Michigan will be a five-seed and play the winner of Wisconsin-Ohio State on Thursday. If Northwestern pulls out the road win, Michigan falls to an eight-seed and play Rutgers.
“One game at a time. I grew up with pressure. And if you follow my background, and I’m sure you already have. That’s pressure right there. This is the game of basketball, and a game everyone truly loves playing and you’ve gotta have fun with it. We have another game we want to play on Sunday, and we’ll get ready for the Big Ten Tournament,” Howard said.
Based on the latest Michigan NCAA Tournament odds, it now seems more likely than not that the Wolverines will be left wondering whether or not they want to accept an NIT Tournament bid when conference tournament play concludes.
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