INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The University of Michigan men’s basketball team earned its 30th NCAA Tournament selection today (Sunday, March 14) and its first under U-M David and Meredith Kaplan Men’s Basketball Head Coach Juwan Howard.

U-M is the No. 1 seed in the East Region and will begin the NCAA Tournament at 3 p.m. Saturday (March 20) in the first round against the No. 16-seeded winner of Thursday’s (March 18) First Four game between Mount St. Mary’s (12-10) and Texas Southern (16-8). The first-round game will be played at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind., and broadcast live on CBS.

The winner of Michigan’s first-round game will meet the winner of No. 8 seed Louisiana State (18-9) and No. 9 seed St. Bonaventure (16-4) on Monday (March 22) at one of four Indianapolis venues for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Led by the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and All-Big Ten Conference first teamer Hunter Dickinson as well as All-Big Ten second teamers Isaiah Livers and Franz Wagner, the Wolverines won the 2021 Big Ten championship and enter the NCAA Tournament with a 20-4 overall record after falling in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal round, 68-67, to Ohio State on Saturday (March 13) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

U-M is seeded No. 1 for the third time in program history. The Wolverines previously earned a top seed in 1985 and 1993* (* indicates vacated appearance).

Michigan is playing in its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament dating back to 2016. The Wolverines have reached the Sweet 16 in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments and have a 61-28 all-time record in the Big Dance (54-24 after sanctions). U-M has earned a bid to nine of the last 10 NCAA Tournaments including the 2021 edition.

Howard is making his first NCAA Tournament appearance as a coach. U-M was poised to reach the tournament last season in Howard’s first year before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Howard was part of three NCAA Tournament teams as a player (1992*, ’93* and ’94), helping the Wolverines reach two Final Fours and three Elite Eights.

From arguably the strongest conference in the nation, Michigan is joined in the field of 68 by eight other Big Ten schools:

• No. 1 seed Illinois (Midwest Region)
• No. 2 seed Iowa (West Region)
• No. 2 seed Ohio State (South Region)
• No. 4 seed Purdue (South Region)
• No. 9 seed Wisconsin (South Region)
• No. 10 seed Rutgers (Midwest Region)
• No. 10 seed Maryland (East Region)
• No. 11 seed Michigan State (East Region)

The nine selections are the most all-time for the Big Ten, topping the eight selected in 2019. Seven of those eight won at least one game, including Michigan, which advanced to the Sweet 16.

In January, the NCAA announced that the 2021 tournament will be held within downtown Indianapolis (Lucas Oil Stadium, Bankers Life Fieldhouse) as well as at central Indiana arenas at Butler (Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis), Indiana (Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington), IUPUI (Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis) and Purdue (Mackey Arena in West Lafayette).

There were 31 automatic bids after the Ivy League canceled all winter sports due to COVID-19. The remaining 37 at-large bids were selected by the NCAA Selection Committee.

3/17/2021

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

» Michigan was named the No. 1 seed in the East Region, marking the third time in 30 NCAA Tournament appearances the Wolverines earned a top seed (1985, 1993*).
» The Wolverines will face the play-in winner, either No. 16 seed Mount St. Mary’s or No. 16 seed Texas Southern.
» U-M won the Big Ten championship and advanced to the Big Ten Tournament semifinal round.

UP NEXT
Saturday, March 20 — vs. Texas Southern – NCAA Tournament First Round (West Lafayette, Ind.), 3 p.m.
• TV: CBS | Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio (Westwood One)
• NCAA Bracket: Interactive | Printable (PDF)
• Satellite Radio: Sirius: 206 | XM: 206 | Internet: 206
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

The fourth-ranked and No. 1 East Region seed University of Michigan men’s basketball team (20-4, 14-3 Big Ten) will face No. 16-seeded Texas Southern in the NCAA Tournament first round on Saturday (March 20) at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip, with Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Grant Hill (analyst) and Jamie Erdahl (sideline) on the call for CBS.

Hail From Home

Game days may look different this season, but the tradition of cheering on Michigan men’s basketball continues. Hail From Home is our way to virtually bring the excitement of game day to fans. Throughout the season, fans can look forward to a variety of digital engagements including a game day check-in with monthly prizes, fan cutouts at Crisler Center, game day playlists, Crisler scoreboard messages, special theme games, and more. » Hail from Home

Michigan in the NCAA Tournament

• Michigan has made 30 (26*) NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Michigan has a 61-28 (54-24*) all-time record in the NCAA Tournament
• Michigan has eight (six*) Final Four appearances (1964, ’65, ’76, ’89, ’92*, ’93*, 2013, ’18)
• Michigan is 7-1 (5-1*) all-time in national semifinal games and owns the best winning percentage, .875, of any school to play in at least five games.
• Michigan has advanced to seven (five*) national championship appearances — 1965, 1976, 1989, 1992*, 1993*, 2013 and 2018. U-M is 1-6 (1-4*) all-time in the national title games.
• Michigan won the program’s first and only NCAA championship in 1989, following a dramatic 80-79 overtime win against Seton Hall when Rumeal Robinson made two free throws to secure the title. During the “Shock the World” run, Glen Rice set the NCAA Tournament record for most points in a single tournament with 184 (30.6 ppg).
• Michigan has national title game appearances under four different head coaches — Dave Strack (1965 vs. UCLA); Johnny Orr (1976 vs. Indiana); Steve Fisher (1989 vs. Seton Hall; 1992 vs. Duke and 1993 vs. North Carolina) and John Beilein (2013, vs. Louisville and 2018 vs. Villanova).
• Michigan has 16 (15*) Sweet 16 appearances.
• Michigan has 14 (13*) Elite Eight appearances.
• Michigan has earned a No. 1 seed on three occasions — 1985, 1993*, 2021.
• Michigan has earned a No. 2 seed on three occasions — 1986, 2014, 2019.

A Look at No. 16 seed Texas Southern

• Texas Southern won its play-in game against Mount St. Mary’s, 60-52, on Thursday to advance to take on Michigan on Saturday.
• The Tigers enter the NCAA Tournament with a 16-8 overall record. They won the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament with an 80-61 victory over Prairie View A&M in the tournament final.
• Michael Weathers leads three players scoring in double figures for Texas Southern at 16.6 points per game. John Walker III adds 12.0 points per contest, while Karl Nicholas adds 11.3 points per game. Weathers leads with 2.18 steals per game, which ranks 22nd nationally.
• Texas Southern ranks ninth nationally in defensive rebounds per game, pulling down 29.2. The Tigers also are holding opponents to just 39.8 percent shooting, 17th in the country.
• Johnny Jones is in his third season as head coach at Texas Southern. The Tigers are the third program Jones has guided to the NCAA Tournament, having previously appeared in the Big Dance with North Texas (2007, ’10) and LSU (2015).

Michigan’s March Madness History Since 2009

• In 2009, led No. 10 seed Michigan to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. After defeating No. 7 seed Clemson, 62-59, in its opening game of the South Regional in Kansas City, Mo., U-M fell to Blake Griffin and No. 2 seed Oklahoma, 73-63.
• In 2011, No. 8 seed Michigan advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. After defeating No. 9 seed Tennessee, 75-45, in its opening game of the West Regional in Charlotte, N.C., U-M fell to No. 1 seed Duke ,73-71, after a last-second game-tying attempt by Darius Morris went in and out.
• In 2012, No. 4 seed Michigan made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Opening its first game of the Midwest Regional in Nashville, Tenn., U-M lost to No. 13 seed Ohio, 65-60.
• In 2013, No. 4 seed Michigan advanced to its first national title game in 20 years before losing to No. 1 seed Louisville, 82-76, in the final. U-M opened its NCAA Tournament in the South Regional in Auburn Hills, Mich., with victories over No. 13 seed South Dakota State, 71-56, and No. 5 VCU, 78-53. Heading to Arlington, Texas, U-M defeated No. 1 Kansas, 87-85, with a dramatic comeback win in overtime. Down 14 points with 6:50 remaining, a Trey Burke three-pointer with 3.2 seconds left capped off a closing 17-8 run, sending the game into overtime, where U-M went on to a two-point win. Using an opening 23-5 run, U-M advanced to its seventh Final Four with a 20-point win over No. 3 seed Florida, 79-59. Facing No. 4 seed Syracuse in the Final Four in Atlanta, Ga., John Beilein picked up his first win over Jim Boeheim following a 61-56 victory to advance to his first career national title game. In a back-and-forth 40-minute battle, U-M dropped the title game to Louisville, 82-76.
• In 2014, No. 2 seed Michigan advanced to its second straight Elite Eight, defeating No. 15 seed Wofford, 57-40, in the second round and No. 7 seed Texas, 79-65, in the third round in Milwaukee, Wis. In the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis, Ind., the Wolverines earned a thrilling 73-71 victory over No. 11 seed Tennessee before falling to No. 8 seed Kentucky, 75-72, on a three in the final seconds.
• In 2016, U-M made its first appearance in the First Four, defeating Tulsa, 67-62, to advance to the first round. The Wolverines then fell to No. 6 seed Notre Dame, 70-63, in the first round in Brooklyn, New York.
• In 2017, U-M scored a 92-91 win over Oklahoma State in the first round in Indianapolis, Ind. U-M then defeated No. 2 seed Louisville, 73-69, in the second round to advance to the Sweet 16 in Kansas City, Mo. The Maize and Blue fell to No. 3 seed Oregon in the Sweet 16, 69-68.
• In 2018, No. 3 seed Michigan made it back to the Final Four for the second time in six seasons. U-M opened the tournament with a victory over No. 14 Montana, 61-47, in Tulsa, Okla., and earned a trip to the Sweet 16 on Jordan Poole’s dramatic buzzer-beater to top No. 6 Houston, 64-63. In Los Angeles in the regional semifinals, U-M defeated No. 7 Texas A&M, 99-72, before earning a trip to the Final Four with a win over No. 9 Florida State, 58-54. At the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas, Michigan defeated South Region champion and No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago, 69-57, before falling in the national championship game to No. 1 Villanova, 79-62.
• In 2019, No. 2 seed Michigan went to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season. Opening in Des Moines, Iowa, in the West Regional, U-M recorded wins over No. 14 Montana (74-55) and No. 10 Florida (64-49) to advance to the Sweet 16. In a battle of the top two defenses in the nation in Anaheim, Calif., No. 3 Texas Tech defeated U-M, 63-44, ending U-M’s run.
• In 2020, the Wolverines were on pace to earn an at-large bid, but the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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