Michigan takes on No. 1 seed Auburn on Friday in hopes of advancing to the Elite Eight.
Now, let's take a look at Big Ten Tournament champions Michigan as they look to advance to the Elite Eight.
Michigan Wolverines
Overall Record: 27-9
Rankings from five analytical-metric-based sites: NET: #23, KenPom: #20, Barttorvik: #23, BPI: #28, Evan Miya: #21
Two best non-conference and six best conference wins this season: TCU (101-53) in the Fort Myers Tip-Off—Beach Division, Xavier (78-53) in the Fort Myers Tip-Off—Beach Division, @ Wisconsin (67-64), @ UCLA (94-75), Purdue (75-73), Purdue (86-68), Maryland (81-80), and Wisconsin (59-53) in the Big Ten Tournament (59-53).
Top-tier defeats this season: Wake Forest (70-72) in the Deacon-Wolverine Challenge, Arkansas (87-89) in the Jimmy V Classic, Oklahoma (86-87) in the Jumpman Invitational, @ Purdue (64-91), Michigan State (62-75), Illinois (73-93), Maryland (65-71), and @ Michigan State (62-79).
NCAA Tournament games played: Defeated UC San Diego (68-65) and Texas A&M (91-79)
Here is a look at Michigan's Sweet Sixteen opponent and No. 1 seed Auburn.
Auburn Tigers
Overall Record: 30-5
Rankings from five analytical-metric-based sites: NET: #2, KenPom: #4, Barttorvik: #3, BPI: #3, Evan Miya: #4
NCAA Tournament games played: Defeated Alabama State (83-63) in the round of 64 and Creighton (82-70) in the round of 32.
As a No. 5 seed, Michigan faces a significant test against the No. 1 seed, the Auburn Tigers. Michigan won their first game by three and their second tournament game by 12 in the tournament, including earlier this season winning the Big Ten Tournament and the non-conference Fort Myers Tip-Off. However, Auburn has 17 Quad One wins and is favored by a significant margin as a No. 1 seed. This game's final score will be closer than most are predicting.
KenPom Prediction: Auburn 80, Michigan 72
Bart Torvik's Prediction: Auburn 80, Michigan 72