Michigan Makes The NCAA Tournament As An 8 Seed, Gets Tennessee In The First Round

Wow. After advancing to the Big Ten Tournament Semi-Finals, I think everyone was expecting that Michigan would make the field of 68. I think everyone was expecting they'd be placed in a decent position. But I don't think that anyone was expecting THIS.

The selection committee surprised everyone when they placed the Michigan Wolverines 8th in the West Bracket. Not that a decent seeding wasn't deserved considering how well Michigan played down the road, but this is wonderfully unexpected. If you watched the Wolverines react to the announcement, you could tell even they were surprised by the high seeding. Overall, it was a great day for the Big Ten. That School Down South was seeded No. 1 overall, Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Penn State all made the tournament along with the Wolverines.

But let's get to the important stuff... your bracket. First things first, you need a bracket, and we're here to help. Our overlords at SBNation have a printable 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket for the Men's basketball tournament. It's all there for you to fill out and we'll have a Maize n Brew "office pool" up and running shortly. So if you're some kind of bracket wizard you'll be able to demonstrate to the rest of the community here.

Getting on to the Michigan's first round match up, Tennessee is going to be a huge challenge for the Wolverines. The Volunteers are one of the most athletic teams Michigan has faced all season, and have a high flying, high top fade wearing forward in Scotty Hopson. It's going to be a hell of a game. We'll need big games out of Darius Morris, Tim Hardaway Jr, and Jordan Morgan to come out ahead in this one. The next game in the bracket will be Duke, but as John Beilein has stressed all season long.... one game at a time.

We'll be previewing the game all week with our buddies at Rocky Top Talk, SBN's awesome Tennessee blog, and give you a couple of podcasts to keep you interested. So, go print your 2011 NCAA Tournament Bracket, fill it out, and get ready for March Madness!