Michigan officially makes 2022 NCAA Tournament, first opponent revealed

Thank goodness.

The Michigan Wolverines are officially going dancing, as they were just announced as one of the teams in the field of 68 for the 2022 NCAA Tournament. They are a No. 11 seed and will play the No. 6 seed Colorado State in the first round of the tournament.

It was looking pretty dicey for the Wolverines’ chances, as they sat firmly on the bubble heading into Selection Sunday. After losing to Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament, a lot of the other bubble teams also ended up winning some huge games this weekend. Among the most notable upsets by bubble teams were Texas A&M defeating both Auburn and Arkansas in the SEC Tournament, and Virginia Tech beating Duke in the ACC Championship.

Michigan was propelled into the NCAA Tournament likely thanks to its NET ranking (34), strength of schedule (No. 5 hardest schedule overall this year) and record against Quad 1 (5-10) and Quad 2 (3-3) opponents this season. The record against Quad 1 teams doesn’t look great on paper, but it’s far more important to beat a Quad 1 team than it is to lose to one. Those 10 losses, while it isn’t great for a record standpoint in general, is not a huge detriment at the end of the day.

Had the Wolverines not made the NCAA Tournament this year, it would’ve been the first time since the 2014-15 season Michigan had not been included. But we can officially put that conversation to bed and turn our attention to the Big Dance.

Next stop: Indianapolis, Indiana...again.