Wolverine TV: Juwan Howard, Michigan players react to NCAA Tournament selection
Michigan Wolverines basketball earned its sixth straight NCAA Tournament bid. U-M is a No. 11 seed in the South Region and will take on sixth-seeded Colorado State in Indianapolis Thursday. The winner will face either No. 3 seed Tennessee and No. 14 seed Longwood.
Head coach Juwan Howard, fifth-year senior guard DeVante’ Jones and sophomore center Hunter Dickinson met with the media to react to the bid.
This will be Howard’s second NCAA Tournament as Michigan’s head coach. He said after the Wolverines’ loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament that he would be “praying” that his team gets in the tournament, but he said Sunday that he was not following bracket projections like much of the fan base was. He said when the name ‘Michigan’ popped up on the screen, he was extremely excited, and that he “loves our chances” in the postseason.
Jones discussed how emotional he is with Michigan earning the selection, since this will be his first appearance in the Big Dance. He spent the previous four years at Coastal Carolina and never made the NCAA Tournament — that was a top reason why he wanted to transfer up to join Michigan.
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Dickinson tested the NBA Draft waters last offseason and said he was close to leaving, but he returned and will get at least one more shot at the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines were a No. 1 seed last season, but after an underwhelming regular season and early exit in the Big Ten Tournament, they’ll at least get a shot at making a run this year. Last season, Michigan was the only Big Ten team to advance past the round of 32, making it all the way to the Elite Eight. They will get a chance to prove themselves on the national stage once again this postseason.
For more on Michigan Wolverines basketball, watch the press conference from Howard and Co.
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This year’s team hasn’t strung two consecutive wins together since Feb. 8 and Feb. 10. They won at Penn State and blew out Purdue at home. And they only won three straight once, beating Maryland, winning at Indiana and beating Northwestern at home in late January.
Odds are against them making a run, but at least they’ll get their chance, starting Thursday.
The Wolverines made it to the Elite Eight under Howard last year before falling to UCLA.
