Score By Periods
Team Statistics

1st

1st

2nd

2nd

OTs

OTs

Michigan

Michigan

Scoring

FG%

1485

47%

38%

78%

601

274

188

114

54

140,028
85,515

51

82

250

223

614

66%

41%

46%

1317

3FG%

FT%

Rebounds 

Assists

Turnovers

Steals

Blocks

Attendance

Opponents

Opponents

751

608

725

697

9

12

Evaluating Michigan’s NCAA Tournament résumé

As of right now, the Michigan 

men’s basketball team is on the 
outside looking in to the NCAA 
Tournament.

According to bracketmatrix.

com — a database that compiles 
bracket projections from across 
the Internet — the Wolverines 
were among the first four teams 
left out of the tournament before 
Tuesday night’s games.

But in the coming weeks, 

Michigan will have plenty of 
opportunities to face quality 
opponents and prove that it 
belongs in the field of 68.

With 
that 
in 
mind, 
the 

Daily breaks down what the 
Wolverines 
have 
done 
and 

what they will have to do in 
order to improve their NCAA 
Tournament résumé by the time 
Selection Sunday rolls around:

What 
does 
the 
NCAA 

Tournament 
Selection 

Committee look at?

The 
10-member 
NCAA 

selection committee uses its 
judgment (“eye test”) along 
with several key metrics to 
evaluate a team’s performance. 
According 
to 
NCAA.com, 

some of those metrics include: 
Ratings 
Percentage 
Index 

(RPI); strength of schedule; 
performance 
against 
top-50 

teams; home and road records; 
various 
computer 
metrics 

such as Ken Pomeroy and Jeff 
Sagarin; head-to-head results; 
and results versus common 
opponents.

Michigan’s Key Numbers 

(as of Jan. 24)

Overall Record: 13-7

Conference Record: 3-4

RPI: 69

Ken Pomeroy Ranking: 43

Jeff Sagarin Rating: 38

Strength 
of 
Schedule 

(according to Ken Pomeroy): 54

Record vs. RPI Top 25: 0-4

Record vs. RPI Top 50: 2-6

Record vs. RPI Top 100: 5-6

Record vs. NCAA tournament 

teams 
(using 
bracketmatrix.

com): 3-5

Home/Neutral Record: 13-2

Road Record: 0-5

Michigan’s current résumé

The first factor that jumps 

out from Michigan’s résumé is 
its lack of wins against NCAA 
Tournament-caliber teams. The 
Wolverines have yet to record a 
win over RPI top-25 teams, and 
those struggles extend to their 
2-6 mark versus RPI top-50 
opposition. Michigan needs to 
show the selection committee it 
can be competitive with teams 
expected to make the field of 68 
and, so far, the Wolverines’ only 
convincing evidence are their two 
wins against Southern Methodist 
and Marquette in New York.

Here’s the good news for 

Michigan: 
The 
Wolverines 

have yet to suffer a bad loss. 
Michigan’s worst loss was at 
Iowa — No. 113 in the RPI — 
with the rest of the Wolverines’ 
defeats coming to teams within 
the RPI’s top-50. Rutgers is 
the only remaining team on 
Michigan’s schedule with an 
RPI over 100. As long as the 
Wolverines 
don’t 
drop 
that 

game, they’ll steer clear of any 
ugly blemishes on their résumé.

Michigan also scores well in 

the computer rankings that the 
selection committee will begin 
to factor in this year. Those high 
marks primarily hang on the 
Wolverines’ strength of schedule 
and wins over the Mustangs and 
Golden Eagles in New York. 
Michigan will have chances to 
boost its ratings in the coming 

weeks, and the computers seem 
to have a favorable view of the 
Wolverines, which will come in 
handy in March.

How can Michigan’s résumé 

improve?

To put it simply: By winning 

the 
big 
games 
left 
on 
its 

schedule.

The Wolverines will have 

plenty of chances to pick up 
some impressive wins in the 
next 
few 
weeks. 
Michigan 

plays Indiana and Michigan 
State twice each in its next five 
games. Both the Spartans and 
the Hoosiers have gotten off to 
sluggish starts in the Big Ten, 
but are still projected to make 
the 
tournament 
field. 
Over 

this stretch, the Wolverines 
can potentially reshape their 
record against top-50 teams — 
an important criteria for the 
selection committee.

Michigan 
also 
needs 
to 

improve its road record. The 
Wolverines are currently 0-5 in 
true road games, and they will 
have plenty of chances coming 
up to post some away wins on 
the board. Michigan’s next three 
road games are against Michigan 
State, Indiana and Northwestern. 
Because the Wolverines dropped 
winnable away contests at Iowa 
and at Illinois, they’ll need 
to win a couple of these more 
challenging road games to make 
up for those early losses.

There are some metrics that 

Michigan can’t control that can 
end up helping it come Selection 
Sunday. 
The 
Wolverines’ 

strength of schedule can continue 
to improve if Michigan’s non-
conference opponents maintain 
their winning ways. Southern 
Methodist, 
South 
Carolina 

and UCLA all currently rank 
in the top-3 of their respective 
conference standings. Marquette 
pulled off an upset victory over 
Creighton over the weekend, and 
Virginia Tech defeated Duke a 
few weeks ago.

One team to keep an eye 

on 
out 
of 
the 
Wolverines’ 

non-conference opposition is 
Marquette. Just like Michigan, 
the Golden Eagles are a bubble 
team, currently projected to 
barely make the field of 68. If 
both teams continue down that 
path, and only one spot remains 
in the tournament field, how 
much will the committee value 
the Wolverines’ November win 
over Marquette? In the best case 
scenario, Michigan hopes its 
play on the court will improve to 
a point where it won’t have this 
question hanging over its head 
on Selection Sunday.

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Michigan coach John Beilein will need the Wolverines to win the big games left on their schedule in order to give themselves a better shot on Selection Sunday. 

The Wolverines still have work to do to earn a spot in the field of 68

BRANDON CARNEY

Daily Sports Writer

8A — Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com