The Latest: Michigan finishes stressful week as champions

The Latest on Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament (all times Eastern):

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5:08 p.m.

If there was any doubt about Michigan making the NCAA Tournament going into the week, it’s completely gone now.

Michigan upset No. 24 Wisconsin 71-56 to win the Big Ten Tournament. After beating Illinois, No. 13 Purdue and Minnesota, the Wolverines already knew they were in but this victory helps their seeding even more.

The incredible run through the Big Ten Tournament came after Michigan’s plane aborted takeoff and slid off the runway Wednesday night. No one was injured, but the team had to fly to D.C. Thursday morning and played its first game a couple of hours after landing.

Throughout the tournament, Michigan showed off its depth of offensive options from senior point guard Derrick Walton Jr. and swingman Zak Irvin to forwards D.J. Wilson and Moe Wagner.

Walton led eighth-seeded Michigan with 22 points Sunday and drew chants of ”M-V-P” from the blue and gold-clad crowd as he stepped to the free throw line in the final moments.

As the buzzer sounded and teammates celebrated, Walton went down on one knee at midcourt and put his head on his hands.

Wisconsin, the second seed in the Big Ten Tournament, helped itself by reaching the final. Less so for top-seeded Purdue, which lost its opening game.

5:03 p.m.

As the Big Ten and American Athletic Conference wrap up conference tournament championships, it is worth pointing out that the results of those games do not have much effect on the bracket. Michigan beat Wisconsin to win the Big Ten, but both of those teams were going to be in the field regardless. SMU is up big late on Cincinnati in the American final, but same goes for those teams. Both are in.

Even before those games tip the NCAA selection committee’s work was all but done. At most, the results of those games could mean one seed line up or down. The committee cannot make major changes this late in the game, unless some team steals a bid.

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4:15 p.m.

College basketball teams across the United States are about to find out how impressive their seasons really were. And 68 teams will have a shot to prove they’re even better, with a path toward winning the NCAA Tournament.

The Division I men’s basketball committee is selecting 36 at-large teams that will make up the field with 32 conference champions, revealing their picks Sunday night through a national television special watched by millions of people.

Teams are holding watch parties at universities as they learn the six- or seven-game path they must navigate to win a title.

The tournament begins Tuesday night with two First Four games in Dayton, Ohio, and culminates with the national championship game in Phoenix on April 3.

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