NCAA Tournament Projections: Michigan, Michigan State in Good Shape

After big wins over the weekend by both Michigan and Michigan State, the Wolverines and Spartans are looking good in the latest NCAA Tournament projections.

Both the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans were already regulars in NCAA Tournament projections, but picked up important wins over the weekend to solidify their standing. Michigan State in particular should be breathing easier after picking up a signature win.

Even though they were already more solidly in the projected field, the Wolverines can see a tangible uptick in their projection after getting an impressive win over Purdue.

The projected bracket on CBS Sports uses an icon to note all bubble teams. Michigan had been noted as one until Jerry Palm’s most recent update where Michigan is no longer marked as a bubble team.

Michigan State still carries a bubble team designation from CBS but are at or near the top of that list based on seeding in the current projected field. One of the biggest knocks against Michigan States tournament resume could have been the lack of really good wins, but that argument doesn’t hold as much weight after Sunday’s win over Wisconsin. The Spartans had been a projected 10 seed by CBS and ESPN, but have been bumped up to the nine line following the win over the Badgers.

CBS may have moved Michigan into the lock category but they still have the Wolverines projected as a nine seed. Joe Lunardi’s latest projection for ESPN has the Wolverines bumped up to an eight seed.

Michigan wraps up the regular season with a Wednesday road game against Northwestern and a Sunday nighter at Nebraska. The Spartans also finish with Wednesday and Sunday road games, facing Illinois and then Maryland. Big Ten Tournament runs from March 8-12 and will be played at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C.