Wolverines Earn No. 8 Seed for 2023 Big Ten Tournament

• 2023 Big Ten Tournament Bracket (PDF) | Tournament Central

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The University of Michigan men's basketball team has earned the No. 8 seed for the 2023 Big Ten Tournament, which will be held Wednesday through Sunday (March 8-12) at the United Center in Chicago.

Following U-M's 10th straight first round bye, the Wolverines will face No. 9 seed Rutgers in the first game of the Thursday (March 9) session at 11 a.m. CT on the Big Ten Network. With a victory, the Maize and Blue would advance to take on No. 1 seed and regular-season champion Purdue on Friday (March 10) at 11 a.m. CT on the B1G Network.

Michigan played Rutgers only once (Feb. 23) in the regular season, getting the 58-45 road victory at Jersey Mike's Arena. U-M's strong defensive performance held the Scarlet Knights to a season-low 45 points and forced 13 turnovers. Dug McDaniel led the Wolverines with 16 points and a career-best five steals, while Kobe Bufkin posted 14 points. Hunter Dickinson recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

In the lone meeting with Purdue, Dickinson won the battle of all-conference big men, scoring 21 points to Zach Edey's 19; however, U-M fell short against then-top-ranked Boilermakers, 75-70, at Crisler Center (Jan. 26).

U-M closed the regular season with a 17-14 record with an 11-9 conference record. With 11 conference wins, the Wolverines extended their streak of 10-plus wins to eight straight seasons -- and 11 over the last 12.

The Maize and Blue were led by a trio of Wolverines throughout the season. For the third-straight season Dickinson leads U-M in scoring (18.2 points per game) and rebounding (9.0 rebounds per game), while adding a team-best 13 double-doubles and a team-best 54 blocks -- his first career 50-plus block season. In addition to Dickinson, Jett Howard leads the Wolverines with 76 three-pointers while averaging 14.4 points per game. Bufkin has had a breakout season, averaging 13.9 points per game while leading U-M with 40 steals.

Michigan, who has a 29-21 overall record, is 9-9 in Big Ten Tournament games hosted in Chicago. The last time the Wolverines play at the United Center was in 2019. U-M reached its third-straight championship game that year, but fell to No. 1 seed Michigan State, 65-55, in the title game.

The Wolverines have three tournament titles, including winning four games in four days, twice, to win back-to-back titles (2017 & 2018). In 2017, No. 8-seeded U-M became the lowest seed to win the tournament.

2023 Big Ten Tournament
Chicago, Illinois | United Center
March 8-12, 2023

Wednesday, March 8

G1: #12 Wisconsin vs. #13 Ohio State (5:30 p.m. CT; BTN)
G2: #11 Nebraska vs. #14 Minnesota (~25 min. after G1; BTN)

Thursday, March 9

G3: #8 Michigan vs. #9 Rutgers (11 a.m. CT; BTN)
G4: G1 Winner vs. #5 Iowa (~25 min. after G3; BTN)
G5: #7 Illinois vs. #10 Penn State (5:30 p.m. CT; BTN)
G6: G2 Winner vs. #6 Maryland (~25 min. after G5; BTN)

Friday, March 10

G7: G3 Winner vs. #1 Purdue (11 a.m. CT; BTN)
G8: G4 Winner vs. #4 Michigan State (~25 min. after G7; BTN)
G9: G5 Winner vs. #2 Northwestern (5:30 p.m. CT; BTN)
G10: G6 Winner vs. #3 Indiana (~25 min. after G9; BTN)

Saturday, March 11

G11: G7 Winner vs. G8 Winner (12:00 p.m. CT; CBS)
G12: G9 Winner vs. G10 Winner (~25 min. after G11; CBS)

Sunday, March 12

G13: G11 Winner vs. G12 Winner (2:30 p.m. CT; CBS)