The Michigan women’s basketball team’s season will continue for at least a little while longer. Monday night, the Wolverines earned the Big Ten’s automatic bid into the WNIT. The invitation marks their sixth straight postseason bid — the longest streak in program history.
Michigan will host Cleveland State in the first round of the tournament Wednesday night, with game time yet to be announced. The Vikings (10-6 Horizon League, 19-12 overall) are coming off an appearance in their conference tournament semifinals, when they lost by 12 to Wright State.
If the Wolverines (8-10 Big Ten, 16-14 overall) advance past Wednesday, they will play the winner of Friday’s matchup between Toledo and Wright State. Other teams in Michigan’s region include Akron, Missouri and a team the Wolverines defeated in December: Eastern Michigan.
The WNIT berth comes after a blowout loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament, eliminating any chance of reaching the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years.
For much of the 2014-15 season, Michigan appeared to be a contender for the NCAA Tournament with an impressive resume that included an overtime win against Ohio State, a comeback victory against Northwestern and a regular-season sweep of in-state rival Michigan State.
After posting a 5-2 record in January, though, the Wolverines found themselves in a downward spiral during February. En route to going 3-6 that month, Michigan couldn’t finish a comeback bid against then-No. 21 Rutgers, relinquished a sizable lead over Ohio State in Columbus, lost at the buzzer to Northwestern at home and couldn’t hold together long enough against Minnesota in double overtime.
With a poor February showing and an embarrassing conference tournament performance, it was inevitable that the Wolverines would be heading for the WNIT.
This year’s WNIT appearance is Michigan’s second straight and seventh overall, and the second under the tutelage of coach Kim Barnes Arico. Last year, the Wolverines hosted the first two rounds before suffering a third-round loss at Bowling Green.
Michigan’s best run in the tournament came during the 2009-10 season under then-coach Kevin Borseth. During that campaign, the Wolverines earned an at-large bid and hosted every game they played, ultimately losing in the semifinals to Miami.
Monday night, the NCAA selection committee revealed the 64 teams for this year’s NCAA Tournament, 10 of which Michigan has faced this season. In those matchups, the Wolverines are 2-11, including losses to two No. 1 seeds Maryland and Notre Dame.