All of a sudden, the vibes are high again for Michigan basketball. Funny what a few close wins can do, isn’t it?
The Wolverines fell out of the rankings at this time last week after getting trucked by Purdue, but doubled down in practice and bounced back with a pair of victories each by four points or fewer.
The wins helped U-M climb within one game of Big Ten Conference leader Michigan State and moved back into the Top 25 rankings Monday afternoon.
The Wolverines have reached the halfway point in the league slate and with Selection Sunday less than six weeks away, they’ve all but locked in their berth to the NCAA tournament. The rest of the way will be about improving their seed and chasing a Big Ten championship. Seven of their remaining 10 games will be played in the state of Michigan, and six at home in Ann Arbor.
Each Monday, the Free Press will take a look at the Wolverines’ previous week and assess how their résumé has changed and stacks up to the competition. U-M has a chance to extend its winning streak Wednesday when it hosts Oregon (6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network), before coach Dusty May returns to his native Indiana over the weekend to battle the Hoosiers.
GOALS STILL THERE: Michigan living up to Dusty May’s mentor’s words halfway through Big Ten play
All stats and rankings as of Monday.
Michigan basketball NET rankings: No. 20 (Last week: No. 11)
Quad 1 record: 4-3.
Quad 2 record: 4-2.
Quad 3 record: 7-0.
Quad 4 record: 1-0
Michigan basketball KenPom rankings: No. 20 (Last week: No. 18)
Offensive efficiency: No. 20
Defensive efficiency: No. 25.
Michigan basketball Bracketology projections
ESPN: 6-seed in East Region vs. Oklahoma: Denver (as of Jan. 31, before win at Rutgers).
CBS: 7-seed in South Region vs. Saint Mary’s: Wichita (as of Jan. 31, before win at Rutgers).
T-Rank: 5-seed as of Feb. 3.
Bracket Matrix: 6-seed as of Feb. 1.
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Michigan basketball schedule this week
Wednesday: vs. Oregon, 6:30 p.m., BTN.
Sunday: at Indiana, 1 p.m., CBS.
Michigan basketball scores last week
Jan. 27: 76-72 win over Penn State: The Wolverines appeared on their way to their third loss in four games, when point guard Tre Donaldson saved the day. He found Roddy Gayle Jr. on a backdoor bounce pass, then scored seven straight points in the final 75 seconds which included a jumper from the elbow, a stepback 3 with 24 seconds left, then a pair of free throws to ice the game after he corralled the game-saving rebound on the defensive end. Michigan’s 9-0 run in the final 1:42 of the game proved the difference as Donaldson finished with 21 points, seven assists and no giveaways.
Feb. 1: 66-63 win at Rutgers: The Wolverines didn’t exactly look sharp, but with the calendary reading February it was more about finding a way to win a pivotal game than it was about style points. U-M had one of its better defensive performances of the year, suffocating projected top-three NBA selection Ace Bailey to just 10 points on 3 of 15 shooting, which included 0 of 7 from long range. On the other end, Danny Wolf got back to his productive self with 16 points and 14 rebounds while Vlad Goldin added 14 points and six rebounds to help U-M secure the win.
How are NCAA tournament at-large teams picked?
Record: The team’s overall record, conference record and nonconference record.
Strength of schedule: The strength of the opponents the team played against.
Head-to-head results: The results of games between the teams being compared.
Conference championships: Whether a conference championship was won in the regular season or tournament.
Common opponents: The results of games against common opponents.
Adjusted Net Efficiency (NET): The NCAA’s preferred metric measuring a team’s overall performance during the regular season.
Team Value Index: A results-oriented component of the NET that ranks teams based on who they beat and where they played.
Rating Percentage Index (RPI): A formula that ranks teams using a team’s winning percentage, opponents’ success and opponents’ strength of schedule.
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Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Where Michigan basketball stands in bracketology for March Madness
