Michigan Men's Basketball 2017 NCAA Tournament Capsule

 

Michigan Wolverines

Big Ten (24-11, 10-8)

 
From day one, Michigan had a solid 2016-2017 campaign. They picked up some early quality wins over Marquette and SMU and none of their losses turned out to be that bad. In most of their Big Ten losses, the Wolverines were able to hang around and that is very important for a John Beilein coached team. This is not a team that will beat themselves, so it takes a very talented squad to blow them out of the gym.
 
Big Wins: 11/18 vs SMU (76-54), 2/16 Wisconsin (64-58), 2/25 Purdue (82-70)
Bad Losses: 1/1 at Iowa (83-86), 1/11 at Illinois (69-85), 2/4 Ohio State (66-70)
Coach: John Beilein
 
Why They Can Surprise:
No team in the country commits fewer turnovers than Michigan. Derrick Walton, Jr. and Zak Irvin have once again done a superb job taking care of the basketball. Those two will also score plenty of points. Walton averages 15.2 points on top on his 4.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists. Irvin adds 12.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists. Those two, along with fellow guard Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, will always keep the Michigan offense under control. Those three can also shoot the long ball, but so does everybody else on the team. Sophomore Moritz Wagner is extremely efficient shooting the ball, connecting on 40.7 percent of his attempts from three-point territory. That is very impressive for a 6-11 forward. Fellow big men D.J. Wilson and Duncan Robinson are dangerous shooters too.
 
Why They Can Disappoint:
As usual with a Coach Beilein team, Michigan will lose out on the rebounding battles. On the year they have a -1.6 rebounding margin and that cuts into their extra possessions earned with the impressive turnover margin. The Wolverines are not a team that will allow a lot of points, but they do allow the opposition to shoot very efficiently from the floor. When Michigan plays, there are not too many missed shots and, as always, if Michigan is having a good shooting night and the opposition is not, they will win.
 
Probable Starters:
Derrick Walton Jr., Senior, Guard, 15.2 ppg, 4.7 apg, 4.8 rpg
Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Junior, Guard, 9.1 ppg, 1.9 apg
Zak Irvin, Senior, Guard, 12.9 ppg, 3.0 apg, 4.6 rpg
D.J. Wilson, Junior, Forward, 10.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.4 bpg
Moritz Wagner, Sophomore, Forward, 12.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg
 
Key Role Players:
Duncan Robinson, Senior, Forward, 7.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg
Mark Donnal, Senior, Forward, 4.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg
 
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 74.6 (144th in nation, 5th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 65.7 (40, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 48.0 (29, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 46.5 (295, 14)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.5 (24, 1)  
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 38.6 (37, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 77.1 (12, 1)
Rebound Margin: -1.6 (258, 13)
Assists Per Game: 13.8 (150, 9)
Turnovers Per Game: 9.5 (1, 1)
 
Recent Postseason Appearances:
 
2016    NCAA            Opening Round win over Tulsa
2016    NCAA            Round of 64 loss to Notre Dame
2014    NCAA            Round of 64 win over Wofford
2014    NCAA            Round of 32 win over Texas
2014    NCAA            Regional Semifinal win over Tennessee
2014    NCAA            Regional Final loss to Kentucky
2013    NCAA            Round of 64 win over South Dakota State
2013    NCAA            Round of 32 win over VCU
2013    NCAA            Regional Semifinal win over Kansas
2013    NCAA            Regional Final win over Florida
2013    NCAA            National Semifinal win over Syracuse
2013    NCAA            National Final loss to Louisville
2012    NCAA            Round of 64 loss to Ohio
2011    NCAA            Round of 64 win over Tennessee
2011    NCAA            Round of 32 loss to Duke
2009    NCAA            Round of 64 win over Clemson
2009    NCAA            Round of 32 loss to Oklahoma
2007    NIT     First Round win over Utah State
2007    NIT     Second Round loss to Florida State
2006    NIT     First Round win over UTEP
2006    NIT     Second Round win over Notre Dame
2006    NIT     Quarterfinal win over Miami
2006    NIT     Semifinal win over Old Dominion
2006    NIT     Final loss to South Carolina
2004    NIT     First Round win over Missouri
2004    NIT     Second Round win over Oklahoma
2004    NIT     Quarterfinal win over Hawaii
2004    NIT     Semifinal win over Oregon
2004    NIT     Final win over Rutgers
 
*all team stats through 3/5