Michigan basketball’s final projection before Sunday

Selection Sunday has arrived for the Michigan Wolverines, who have one more game to play with a Big Ten Tournament title bout coming against the Purdue Boilermakers.

U-M’s spot in the tournament is a formality at this point. Duke will be the No. 1 overall seed after winning the ACC Tournament, which will send U-M to Buffalo for the opening weekend of the tournament. Its projected road would go to Chicago the next weekend before the Final Four in Indianapolis, if it is to get there.

Most interesting will be who winds up as the No. 2 seed in Michigan’s region. UConn leads the way in most projections, but today’s roundup also features appearances from Houston and Iowa State.

The Bracket Matrix has Michigan as the No. 2 overall seed behind Duke in all 117 projections in Sunday morning’s update. Here’s a look at where some of those outlets project the Wolverines to go, and what could lie ahead in their region.

James Fletcher, On3

Our in-house bracketologist has Michigan as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest, playing its opening weekend in Buffalo against the No. 16 seed Long Island, followed by the 8/9 winner between Villanova and TCU. The other top seeds in the region include Iowa State, Virginia and Alabama in spots 2-4, respectively. The Wolverines previously beat both TCU and Villanova this year, and the committee tries to avoid non-conference rematches in the First Four and Round of 64 portions of the tournament.

Joe Lunardi, ESPN

The latest Lunardi projection has Michigan as the No. 1 seed playing in Buffalo on the opening weekend, playing the winner of a No. 16 seed play-in between Idaho and Lehigh. The 8/9 matchup would take place between Georgia and Saint Louis.

The Midwest region champion would be crowned next weekend in Chicago. The top four seeds in the region are Michigan, UConn, Nebraska and Kansas.

CBS Sports

CBS also has Michigan as a No. 1 seed in the Midwest against a No. 16 seed play-in winner between Southern Utah and Boston University, albeit without any locations attached. CBS’s 8/9 game projection has Georgia and Iowa facing off. The top four seeds in the Midwest in its projection include Michigan, UConn, Iowa State and Alabama.

Chris Dobbertean, SB Nation

SB Nation has the Wolverines starting in Buffalo on the opening Thursday of the tournament. They would take on the play-in winner of a Southern vs. Lehigh game and play the winner of the 8/9 matchup between Saint Louis and Villanova with a victory. The other top seeds include UConn, Virginia and Vanderbilt.

USA Today

The trio of Erick Smith, Eddie Timanus and Paul Myerberg has the Wolverines in Buffalo to take on No. 16 seed Long Island or Prairie View A&M in the opening round. A victory would see them play the winner of the 8 vs. 9 showdown between TCU and Villanova.

Other top seeds in the region include Houston, Purdue and Vanderbilt, respectively.

Joe Rexrode, The Athletic

The Athletic’s most updated projection has Michigan in Buffalo taking on the play-in winner between Howard and UMBC with an 8/9 pairing of Saint Louis and Georgia in the Round of 32. The other top four seeds include Houston, Purdue and Virginia

T-Rank: No. 1 seed

Bart Torvik does not have a bracket set, but projects the field of 68 with Michigan as a No. 1 seed and the No. 2 overall seed behind Duke. Michigan is one of the 9 Big Ten schools to make the field in the projection.