If the Michigan men’s basketball team wants to gain NCAA Tournament priority and play its first game in Philadelphia, the Wolverines will need to lose to currently No. 1 Duke.
Joe Lunardi, who covers ESPN’s men’s NCAA tournament bracket, has Michigan as the No. 1 seed over Buffalo. The Wolverines (29-2) will now advance to the Big Ten Tournament after wrapping up the Big Ten Tournament with a 90-80 victory over Michigan State on Sunday. According to Lunardi, Michigan State is the No. 2 seed.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi says Moretz Johnson Jr. (21) and Michigan State need some help to earn the No. 1 overall spot, leaving Jaxson Koehler (0) and Michigan State as the No. 2 seed.
It was revealed during a mock NCAA tournament selection process a few weeks ago that Michigan State expressed a preference to begin the tournament in Philadelphia and play a Friday/Sunday schedule rather than playing at a Thursday/Saturday venue such as Buffalo. The top seed in the tournament gets to choose the venue for the early games.
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One of Michigan’s two losses this season came to Duke on a neutral site. Duke is ranked No. 1, followed by Arizona State at No. 2 and then Michigan State. Lunardi said during an ESPN video conference on Monday that he’s optimistic about the Wolverines’ chances but will need Duke to lose if they want to play in Philadelphia.
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“I actually think Michigan State’s resume is a little bit better than Duke and maybe two points better than Arizona,” Lunardi said. “But they were a small part, and Michigan State did lose to them head-to-head on a neutral court, which played a role when the game was so tight.
“They won a huge Quad-1 game yesterday (against Michigan State) without (guard L.J.) Carson (who suffered a season-ending ACL tear), and I think that keeps them in the hunt for a championship. But whether they’re No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 overall, they’re either going to win regionals and make the Final Four or they’re not because their region is almost certainly Chicago. The path they take, whether it’s through Buffalo or Philly, may only matter to the bus driver.”
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The Spartans (25-6) moved ahead of Illinois in Lunardi’s seeding after an 85-82 overtime victory on Feb. 7 at the Breslin Center.
“I think I could coin flip Michigan and Illinois, but I’m giving it to Michigan State for now,” Lunardi said. “I don’t know if they’re going to be in the semifinals (Big Ten Tournament) on Saturday, but if they are, the committee is still working on seeding late Saturday afternoon, or when they (finalize) the seeding on Sunday morning, if they’re going to play, whether it’s 7 or 8 versus 8 or 9 (overall seed), it could come down to that. But are they good enough to get in there (at No. 2) right now, absolutely?
achenelis@detroitnews.com
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This article originally appeared in The Detroit News: Joe Lunardi weighs in on Michigan’s March Madness seeding game
