Michigan Basketball's NCAA Tournament Seeding: Who You Should Be Rooting For

According to BracketMatrix.com, Michigan is considered a 6 seed with three regular season games to go. That means, that barring some really unexpected outcomes, the Wolverines are very likely to be a 5, 6 or 7 seed in the NCAA tournament. Of course, Michigan can always get help from others. If other projected 5, 6, and 7 seeds lose starting today, it will help U-M as Selection Sunday approaches.

Here are the matchups and who you should root for during today's massive slate of games.

5 Seeds

Michigan State

The No. 24 Spartans are on the road against No. 9 Maryland today at 8 pm. The game is on ESPN and the Terps are favored by 2.5. Mark Turgeon's team has a record of 13-4 in the Big Ten, with the Spartans at 11-6. Three other Big Ten teams also sit a 11-6 — Penn State, Wisconsin, and Illinois. Maryland is going to be seeded higher than the Wolverines no matter what, so pulling for them against Michigan State is the more logical move. I'm sure Michigan fans have no problem rooting against Tom Izzo and his Spartans.

ROOT FOR MARYLAND

West Virginia

The Mountaineers will host Oklahoma today at 4 pm on ESPN2. West Virginia is favored by eight against the Sooners and are definitely expected to win this one at home, but WVU has lost five of its last six. Oklahoma is just 7-8 in Big 12 play as are the Mountaineers, but the Sooners really struggle on the road. Michigan fans need to pull for an upset by the Sooners to help U-M move up the ladder.

ROOT FOR OKLAHOMA

6 Seeds

Iowa

The Hawkeyes will host Penn State today at noon on the Big Ten Network in a very important matchup for seeding purposes in both the Big Ten tourney and the NCAA tournament. The Hawkeyes are favored by 4.5 over the Nittany Lions but this one pretty much feels like a toss up. Penn State is sitting at 11-6 in conference play, while the Hawkeyes are just a few percentage points behind at 11-7 in Big Ten play.

ROOT FOR PENN STATE

Butler

Butler will host DePaul today at 6:30 pm on FS1. The Bulldogs are currently 19-9 and are favored by eight points over the 14-14 DePaul Blue Demons. No one is giving DePaul much of a chance in this one as the Blue Demons are just 2-13 in Big East play this year. Butler isn't exactly killing it at 8-7 in conference play but they're expected to win pretty easily today against a struggling DePaul team.

ROOT FOR DEPAUL

BYU

BYU will play Pepperdine on the road today at 6 pm on CBSSN. The Cougars, despite being the away team, are favored by 8.5 points. BYU is having a solid season at 23-7, while Pepperdine is just above .500 at 15-14. BYU is on a big eight-game winning streak right now and recently beat Gonzaga by 13 making them just the second team to do so, joining Michigan. Not many people are giving Pepperdine a chance in this one, but that's what U-M fans need to hope for.

ROOT FOR PEPPERDINE

7 Seeds

Arizona

Arizona will be on the road against UCLA tonight at 10 pm on ESPN. The Wildcats are favored by just three points as the visiting squad. Arizona has lost its last two games, while UCLA is currently riding a six-game winning streak that includes a win over Arizona in Tucson. A lot of people seem to think UCLA has a pretty good shot in this one and that's what Michigan fans want.

ROOT FOR UCLA

Marquette

Marquette is hosting No. 13 Seton Hall today at 2:30 pm on Fox. Despite Seton Hall being a top-15 team and 20-7, Marquette is favored by 1.5 at home. Obviously that seems to mean that it's anyone's game, which is good for Michigan fans.

ROOT FOR SETON HALL

In Conclusion...

ROOT FOR MARYLAND OVER MICHIGAN STATE
ROOT FOR OKLAHOMA OVER WEST VIRGINIA
ROOT FOR PENN STATE OVER IOWA
ROOT FOR DEPAUL OVER BUTLER
ROOT FOR PEPPERDINE OVER BYU
ROOT FOR UCLA OVER ARIZONA
ROOT FOR SETON HALL OVER MARQUETTE

Which games do you think will end up helping Michigan? Who do you think is going to let U-M down? Comment below!!!