Predicting Michigan's Full NCAA Tournament Path: How Each Game Will Go For Wolverines

Here's the path for Michigan to win its second national title.

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After Michigan went 29-2 in the regular season to capture the Big Ten regular-season title by four games, and finish runner-up in the Big Ten Tournament to Purdue, the Wolverines landed the third No.1 seed of the NCAA Tournament.

The Duke Blue Devils had the No.1 overall seed after beating Michigan earlier in the season, along with winning the ACC Tournament. Arizona had the second No. 1 seed after winning the Big 12 Tournament.

The Wolverines' draw won't be easy, but let's dive into the path for Michigan to capture its second NCAA Tournament Championship.

Full Midwest Region Bracket

• No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 16 UMBC/Howard
• No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 9 Saint Louis
• No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 12 Akron
• No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 Hofstra
• No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 11 SMU/Miami OH
• No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 14 Wright State
• No. 7 Kentucky vs. No. 10 Santa Clara
• No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 15 Tennessee State

Round of 64

Michigan will kick things off on Thursday against the No. 16 seed in Buffalo. The Wolverines will get the winner of UMBC vs. Howard, which will be a play-in game held in Dayton, Ohio.

Whoever wins will be outmatched by Michigan. The Wolverines are coming off a loss to Purdue and the Maize and Blue will want to right the ship and get their offense rolling. For this project, we will pick Howard to beat UMBC, but then the Wolverines will crush the Bison.

Round of 32

Michigan would then play on Saturday against the winner of No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 9 Saint Louis. Both of these programs like to run and it should be a high-scoring affair. Both teams average close to 90 points, but the Bulldogs are SEC proven and we think the Wolverines will get UGA in the Round of 32.

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Georgia has four players who average double figures and with how UGA enjoys to run, this could be another up-and-down the floor type of duel. This game might be closer than some think, but Michigan should once again get through its game rather unscathed.

Sweet 16

Alabama is the No. 4 seed, and we expect the Tide to get past Hofstra and Texas Tech. Alabama averages a staggering 91.7 points per game and both Labaron Philon Jr. and Aden Holloway average over 15 a game, with Philon Jr. over 21.

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We've seen quick guards hurt Michigan and this would be the second game in a row taking on a fast team. However, the Wolverines would be coming off of a break from the Round of 32 and would be refreshed. The Wolverines bench would be the key in this game.

There is no L.J. Cason, and the Wolverines are going to need fresh legs going up against Alabama. We would expect a close contest — like it was against both Ohio State and Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament — but the Wolverines find a way to come out on top.

Elite 8

No. 2 Iowa State and No. 3 Virginia will be the favorites to get out of the bottom of the region. The Cyclones have a little bit of everything, including a couple of talented bigs, and should get out of that side.

But Michigan has the advantage for a couple of reasons. Save for this last game against Purdue, the Wolverines have provent that their bigs can wear down the opposing big men in the paint. Iowa State goes through big men Joshua Jefferson and Milan Momcilovic, and Michigan's Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. would have to be on their A-game.

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But another reason is that Iowa State isn't good in tight games down the stretch. The Cyclones shoot just 67.2% from the free-throw line and are one of the worst teams from the charity stripe. If this game goes down to the wire, Michigan has the edge when it comes to free-throw shooting.

Final Four

You can never assume the No. 1 seeds will go to the Final Four, but the Arizona Wildcats are playing as good, if not better, than anyone out there. The 'Cats would have to get past the likes of Wisconsin, Gonzaga, and Purdue, but Arizona has all the talent to do just that.

Assuming Michigan and Arizona get the job done, this would be for the ages. It would be a young Arizona team against a veteran Michigan team. The 'Cats are led by freshmen Bradyn Burries and Koa Peat in scoring and senior Jaden Bradley, who is the veteran presence, won the Big 12 Player of the Year.

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The 'Cats have the speed and size to compete with Michigan and the Wolverines couldn't have any off games as they did against Purdue. Michigan would need its trio of bigs to dominate and its guard play to make shots. Not having L.J. Cason could rear its ugly head in this game.

Elliot Cadeau would need to stay out of foul trouble and the two-man game with Aday Mara could be an advantage to Michigan.

NCAA Finals

If, and it's a big if, Michigan got past Arizona, look for a match against Florida. There are other teams that have a good shot to get there like Duke, St. John's, UConn, Michigan State, and Houston, but the Gators have scoring at every level on the team.

UF has size, speed, and depth, which is exactly what Michigan brings to the table. Gators are led by forward Thomas Haugh, who scores over 17 points a game and shoots around 33% from three.

It would be Michigan's first NCAA title game since getting there in both 2013 and 2018, finishing runner-ups both times.