Mo Wagner With An All-Time Answer as Michigan Advances to Big 10 Title Game

In fairness to Mo Wagner, he did suck in the first half. He started the game 0-for-8 before finishing the game with a 15 point, 8 rebound day. Ultimately it was the way he played the second half that helped propel Michigan to a second straight Big 10 title game.

What this means in the long run though is Michigan State is now out of any No. 1 seed talk. Yes, Michigan State is a top-5 team in the country. Yes, Michigan State will be a top-3 favorite to win the NCAA Tournament, but the resume isn’t a top-4 resume, which is what the committee uses. That means left for the No. 1 seeds are as follows: Virginia (lock), Xavier (near lock), Kansas (close to a lock) then Villanova/Duke/Purdue (long shot) in that order. In order for Duke to get to the 1 seed they have to win tonight against UNC and then win the ACC Tournament.

Now, back to Michigan. This is a team absolutely rolling right now getting wins over Michigan State, Nebraska and Ohio State within the last two weeks. What really has them rolling right now is Duncan Robinson finding his shooting stroke again and the development of Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman. I want to say I’m surprised about his development, but he’s a wing in Beilein’s system. It’s a guarantee that a wing is going to make a huge leap like he is.

What’s really special about this Michigan team? Its defending better than ever. Michigan is currently ranked 9th in AdjD on KenPom, 27 spots higher the previous record for a Beilein-coached Michigan team. That’s why this team has a chance to make a Final Four and is now a win over Purdue/Penn State away from locking in a protected top-4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. I still think they’ll be a 4 seed if they lose, but a win guarantees it.

I’m going to go back to watching Mo Wagner be honest and laugh hysterically. Congrats, Dave.