For weeks, the Michigan Wolverines were among the favorites to win the National Championship after an 18-1 start to the season and a Big Ten regular-season championship. Then, the Wolverines dropped three of their last five games of the season and lost a senior leader in the process in Isaiah Livers. Hesitation to crown them as a favorite was justified.
Experts and analysts across the country picked the Wolverines to be the first No. 1 seed to fall and many left the Wolverines out of their Final Four. These decisions came largely because of the news that Livers would likely miss the remainder of the season with a foot injury.