Michigan's Road To The Championship Revealed

The Wolverines enter the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed for the third time in program history.

After posting a 2-3 record in their final five games, the No. 1 seed Michigan Wolverines will look to get back on track this Saturday as they await the winner between Mount St. Mary’s and Texas Southern.

In order for Michigan to regain its mojo, they’ll need someone to fill the massive void left by senior forward Isaiah Livers, who suffered a fracture in his right foot against Maryland during the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.  Though many are anticipating his season has come to an end, Livers made clear that he's not ruling out a return just yet.

"This world is full of possibilities. You never know, I could be back out there," Livers said. "I don't want people to write me off yet. I'm still going to rehab and work my butt off to get back with this team because I know we're going to make a run and I want to be there for it."

In the meantime, senior guard Chaundee Brown and junior forward Brandon Johns are the two Wolverines who will need to step up big time if Michigan has any shot at making a deep run in the tournament. The Wolverines will also lean heavily on Big Ten Freshman of the Year Hunter Dickinson, who’s averaging a team high 14.2 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.

Interesting notes:

• Michigan enters the tournament as a No. 1 seed for the first time since 1993 - head coach Juwan Howard played for Michigan at the time.
• Juwan Howard is the only individual in NCAA history to enter the tournament as a No. 1 seed as both a player and a coach.
• This is the third time in program history that the Wolverines will enter the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed.
• The Big Ten conference led the way with nine teams selected into the NCAA tournament, including Illinois, Iowa, Rutgers, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Maryland, Michigan State and Michigan.
• Duke and Kentucky have both missed the tournament for the first time since 1976.
• No. 11 seed Michigan State was one of the last four teams to make it in, facing No. 11 UCLA for a first-four matchup on Thursday.
• Michigan and Michigan State are both in the East Region could end up meeting in the Elite Eight.