Dusty May explains reason for Michigan’s success in NCAA Tournament
The Michigan Wolverines entered the Big Ten basketball tournament on a three-game losing streak. They went on to win three in a row over ranked Purdue, Maryland and Wisconsin to win the Big Ten Tournament.
They then entered the 2025 men’s NCAA Tournament as a fifth seed. There were expectations placed on them, but Michigan was up-and-down this season and certainly, the Wolverines weren’t expected to be a contender to win the whole deal.
And they still may not, but after beating 12-seed UC San Diego in Round 1 and upsetting fourth-seed Texas A&M in Round 2, the Wolverines have found themselves in the Sweet 16.
“I think we have a group of competitors,” May said on his weekly radio show, according to CBS News. “I heard this years ago — and I don’t know where I heard it from or where I read it — but competitors figure out a way to win because they want to win. Sometimes, that’s early in the season, and sometimes, you don’t really have that until the very end, and then you just catch fire and it just keeps growing and growing and growing — because it didn’t happen too early, but it happened at just the right time.”
The Wolverines caught fire at the right time, and May explained it perfectly. They may not be the most talented team in the tournament, but Michigan has a group of competitors who won’t give up easily. That, plus the fact that they’re hot right now, makes them very dangerous for the rest of this tournament.
The only issue they have now is that up next in the tournament is the top-seed in the South Region, Auburn.
Bruce Pearl’s team went 30-5 this season and 15-3 in the stacked SEC. They’re a great team, but they’re not infallible. They did lose to Tennessee in the SEC Tournament semifinal.
Still, the Tigers offer an extremely tough task for the Wolverines. They haven’t been perfect in the tournament — Michigan barely survived UC San Diego — but May does seem confident that his team can see the light at the end of the tunnel at this point of the shindig.
“We obviously have a lot of work to do, and we’re far, far from content,” May explained. “But I do think that we’re moving in the right direction. We’re following the beacon.”
