Michigan women's basketball earns No. 3 seed in NCAA Tournament, will host first and second rounds at Crisler Center
For a second straight season, Michigan women’s basketball earned its highest seed in program history, checking in as a No. 3 seed after being on the No. 6 line last year. The Maize and Blue will host the first two rounds at Crisler Center. U-M drew No. 14 seed American March 19, with the winner set to face either No. 6 seed BYU or No. 11 seed Villanova.
The winner of that pod will head to Wichita, Kan. for the Regional Semifinals against either No. 2 seed Baylor, No. 7 seed Ole Miss, No. 10 seed South Dakota or No. 15 seed Hawaii. The top seed in the Wichita Region is Louisville.
Michigan will be making the 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The Wolverines have a 7-9 overall mark in the tourney, highlighted by the program’s first-ever trip to the Sweet 16 last year.
Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico will be making her ninth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, with the first four coming at St. John’s (2006, ’10, ’11, ’12). She is 10-8 all-time in the tournament and has reached the Sweet 16 in 2012 and 2021. KBA is the only coach in program history to guide the Wolverines to five NCAA Tournament appearances.
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Michigan Enjoyed A Stellar Regular Season
Michigan entered the final day of the regular season (Feb. 27) with a shot to win its first ever Big Ten championship. All it needed was a win over the Hawkeyes, but the Wolverines fell, 104-80, in Iowa City and squandered their chance. Iowa and Ohio State split the conference crown.
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It was still a stellar regular season for Michigan, which posted a 22-6 overall record and 13-4 mark in Big Ten play, and beat eight nationally-ranked teams. Its 13 conference victories tied the program record and marked the fifth double-digit win season for the Wolverines under head coach Kim Barnes Arico, who was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by the coaches and media for the second time.
Senior forward Naz Hillmon became Michigan’s first ever four-time All-Big Ten first-teamer and grabbed a spot on the league’s all-defensive team. She was a unanimous pick by both the coaches and media for a third straight year. The Cleveland, Ohio, native averaged 21.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game during the regular season.
Michigan senior guard Leigha Brown was named to the All-Big Ten second team for a second consecutive season, after registering 14.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Meanwhile, guard Leila Phelia was tabbed to the all-freshman squad, and senior forward Emily Kiser and junior guard Maddie Nolan earned honorable mention honors.
Michigan was the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, but dropped its first game to Nebraska, 76-73, and had a two-week wait until it was selected for their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament.
