The Michigan Wolverines put up a really tough fight on Sunday afternoon when they faced off against sixth-ranked Maryland, but they came up short. Michigan has lost four of its last six games, and a big part of the problem has been the absence of star senior Caris Levert. Levert is dealing with a lower left leg injury, and there is a very real possibility that he will be shut down for the rest of the season, according to Brendan F. Quinn of MLive.com.
Levert first missed action on Jan. 1, and after that he missed 11 consecutive games. Levert came back against Purdue last Saturday, but he only played 11 minutes and suffered a setback to the leg injury. Head coach John Beilein is hopeful that the Wolverines will get Levert back at some point, but it is impossible to tell.
"We believe, we hope, that he had a temporary setback in that Purdue game and we're very optimistic that he will return. But there will be a time, pretty soon, where we may have to just shut it down, as well. We don't know," said Beilein.
Levert has played in 15 games this season, and he leads the Wolverines in points per game (16.5) and assists per game (4.9). With Levert in the lineup the team has gone 12-3, but without him it has a record of 7-6. The news of Levert possibly being shut down is a huge blow to Michigan and its NCAA tournament hopes. The Wolverines are firmly on the bubble, and according to Joe Lunardi of ESPN, they would be one of the last teams in the field if the tournament started today.
Michigan fans likely love the fact that their team may be on the right side of the bubble right now, but they had always expected that Levert would be back at some point. This new Levert news is deflating, and even if they do sneak into the tournament they won't be nearly as big of a threat as they would have been with the senior guard.
Not only is this bad news for Michigan, but this could be really bad news for Levert's individual future. Levert is a 6-foot-7 guard with a ton of talent and he will enter the NBA Draft after this season. Levert is projected to be selected safely in the first round, according to Draftexpress, but his injuries may cause teams to shy away. Levert only played in 18 games last season for the Wolverines due to a foot injury, and now he has missed significant time due to this mysterious leg injury. There is no doubting Levert's talent and upside, but the injuries could cost him during the 2016 NBA Draft.
