The Michigan women’s basketball team was sitting on the precocious edge of the NCAA tournament bubble, unsure of its future but still optimistic. After all, the Wolverines finished third in the Big Ten after winning a three-way tiebreaker. And more often than not, the top five teams in the Big Ten make the tournament.

But the bubble burst on Monday, as Michigan was left out of the NCAA Tournament for the 11th straight year. The Wolverines had enough big wins on its resume to be in consideration, but in the end, it was their key losses that came back to haunt them.

Michigan coach Kevin Borseth was unavailable for comment after the tournament field was announced.

Early in the season, Michigan (10-6 Big Ten, 17-12 overall) lost to Detroit Mercy (6-11 in the Horizon League) at home and to Big Ten bottom-feeder Minnesota. The most important loss, though, was in the conference tournament.

After receiving a first-round bye, the Wolverines seemed to catch a break when Illinois, the last seed, upset No. 6 seed Wisconsin. Everything looked to be falling into place for Michigan, as a win against the Fighting Illini would essentially guarantee them a shot to go dancing in March.

The Wolverines were expected to roll over the Fighting Illini, but they fell hard instead, 55-47, after scoring just 16 points in the first half. They shot 27 percent from the floor in the first half, including 13 percent from the perimeter, and dug themselves into an insurmountable hole.

Even after a disappointing showing, Borseth was still more optimistic than expected.

“Do we have a chance to play in the postseason? We do. What are our chances? Good,” Borseth said after the game. “Tomorrow the sun's going to shine and we're going to pick up the pieces and get an opportunity to play somewhere down the road and forget about today.”

And why shouldn’t he have been optimistic? The Big Ten had five teams make the NCAA Tournament, and Michigan held a 4-4 record against those teams. Perhaps more impressive was the Wolverines sweep of Ohio State, a team that went on to eventually win the Big Ten Tournament and grab a No. 4 seed in the big dance.

Those impressive wins had Michigan predicted as a No. 10 seed, according to ESPN’s Charlie Creen. Even though Michigan was on the bubble, the feeling surrounding the team was positive.

Instead, Michigan will not break its streak of missed tournament appearances, as it received an automatic bid into the WNIT and will be playing at Eastern Michigan University on Thursday.

The bubble under Michigan’s tournament hopes has burst, leaving the team to pick up the pieces in time to contend for a WNIT title.