Michigan women to open NCAA Tournament against red-hot UNLV

The 18th-ranked Michigan women’s basketball team has made the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 the last two seasons and last year made program history reaching the Elite 8.

Michigan, ranked No. 18, finished the season 22-9, the 10^th time in coach Kim Barnes Arico’s 11 seasons the Wolverines have had 20 or more victories. Now, they’re about to make their fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance — there was no postseason tournament in 2019-2020.

The Wolverines (22-9) are the No. 6 seed, the program’s second-highest seed, and will face No. 11 seed UNLV (31-2), which enters this first-round game on a 22-game winning streak, on Friday at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Time and television designation will be announced later. The Rebels won their second straight Mountain West conference tournament to earn an NCAA Tournament automatic bid. Host LSU is a No. 3 seed and will face No. 14 Hawaii.

“Super excited," Barnes Arico said Sunday night on a Zoom conference with reporters. "Sometimes I have to reflect and remind myself that we weren’t always a team that was invited to the NCAA Tournament. It’s really a big deal and the players in our program, I want them to have the opportunity to celebrate that. The sixth seed is great for us."

Michigan wasn't invited to the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and went on to win the WNIT.

The NCAA Tournament Field of 68 was released Sunday night during the Selection Show. There are two regional sites this year, in Seattle and Greensville, S.C. The Final Four will be at American Airlines Center in Dallas with the semifinals on March 31 and the national title game on April. 2.

After Michigan’s matchup was revealed during the ESPN show, the Wolverines were described as “battle tested” having played a Big Ten schedule that includes Indiana, a No. 1 seed in the tournament, Maryland and Iowa, who are are No. 2 seeds, and Ohio State a No. 3.

“That’s really a great point and something that we’re gonna emphasize this week with our team," Barnes Arico said of being battle-tested in what she described as the best conference in women's basketball. "We’re a really good basketball team. We’re a team that was under the radar at the beginning of the year. No one expected that with Naz’s (Hillmon) graduation, but then we went to some tournaments, we played on the road, we played at Miami and we challenged ourselves against some really good teams.

"And then we got banged up, we had a couple things at the end of the year where we didn’t finish exactly the way we wanted but weren’t 100 % either, so this gives us an opportunity these last couple weeks to get back at it. I think our players are feeling excited about the opportunity to continue to play in a different role, maybe be the upset team this year."

Michigan should be at full strength after having to play late in the season without top players Leigha Brown and Laila Phelia. Phelia returned to action in the Wolverines first Big Ten Tournament game on March 2 against Penn State after suffering a lower leg injury on Jan. 29 and Brown missed two games for what the program called "an internal issue".

"(Phelia is) back, which is, obviously, life-changing," Barnes Arico said. "She’s a work in progress. She’s still rehabbing every day. I wouldn’t say she was Laila pre-injury just yet."

Brown, a first-team All-Big Ten selection, leads the team averaging 18 points and she also averages 5.2 rebounds a game and had 165 assists and 10 blocks this season. Phelia averages 16.9 points, while Emily Kiser, enters the tournament averaging 16.2 points, a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game and 26 blocks. Kiser also was voted first-team All-Big Ten.

Kiser, Maddie Nolan, Cameron Williams have started all 31 games for the Wolverines.

Michigan hosted first- and second-round tournament games last season but missed out on that opportunity as a No. 6 seed. While Barnes Arico was delighed to see the Big Ten get so much respect in the bracket reveal, she knew the Wolverines had their chances to be one of those host teams.

"We were right there," she said. "It gave me a little bit of a stomach ache knowing you’re inches away, or a healthy team away, from being right there. That’s part of college basketball. Now’s our chance to be a Cinderella, so to speak, and now’s our chance to continue to play."

Before the team gathered to watch the bracket reveal, the Wolverines practiced and Barnes Arico kept things light shortly after with an "Iron Chef" cook off. The team was broken into teams, and each had 15 minutes to prepare a meal and 10 minutes to make a dessert.

Now the focus turns toward preparing for UNLV while the Wolverines work on improving.

Barnes Arico described the Rebels as "one of the hottest teams in the country" and as a voter in the weekly coaches top-25 poll, she has followed them throughout the season. UNLV has three players averaging double-digit scoring led by Desi-Rae Young’s 18.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Essence Booker averages 13.2 points and has 132 assists, and Nneka Obiazor is averaging 12.4 points and 6.5 rebounds.

This will be the Wolverines' 11th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, and in the last two NCAA Tournaments, Michigan is 5-2 with back-to-back Sweet 16 trips. This will be Barnes Arico's 10th NCAA Tournament, including her first four as St. John's head coach. She is the only coach in Michigan program history to guide the Wolverines to six NCAA Tournament appearances.

achengelis@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @chengelis