The withdrawal deadline for the NBA Draft has finally come and gone, meaning we now have a clear picture of not only what the Michigan Wolverines' basketball team will look like in 2020-21, but all 14 teams in the Big Ten as a whole.

With rosters set for the upcoming season, we can finally make accurate projections as to how the conference standings will shake out and who the premier teams in the league will be.

With senior forward Isaiah Livers and sophomore guard Franz Wagner set to lead Michigan in 2020-21, are the Wolverines primed to be one of the four best clubs in a Big Ten conference that appears to be loaded at the top?

Clayton Sayfie and Austin Fox provide their takes on the matter below:

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The Wolverines were one of the most dangerous teams in the Big Ten last year when healthy, even while finishing at ninth in the league.

Michigan will have a new look this year, whether that's with senior guard Eli Brooks or fifth-year senior graduate transfer Mike Smith bringing the ball up. The strength is on the wings with the aforementioned Livers and sophomore guard Franz Wagner. Are those two, with the pieces around them, good enough to give the Maize and Blue a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament? Absolutely. Will it happen? That's another question entirely, but yes, the ceiling is certainly there for Howard's club.

The Big Ten Network's Andy Katz released a power ranking of the league heading into the season, and we'll agree with him that Michigan is on the outside looking in of a top-four standing — for now — in a league that is expected to be less deep than a year ago, but perhaps more talented at the top. He slated the Maize and Blue at sixth, behind, in order, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Rutgers.

But, it's how you finish. It would not be surprising at all if the Wolverines do exceed some expectations in year two under Howard. We spoke to former Michigan star, 1989 national champ and Michigan radio color analyst Terry Mills this summer, and he believes Michigan will be right in the mix for a conference title this upcoming season.

"I'm not going to say, ‘Hey, you’re going to win the Big Ten’ or whatever, because that’s not determined really until the last couple weeks of the season," Mills said. "So, pretty much, I think that Michigan should be right in the thick of it, and I think that it would mean you could get a double bye, top four. Michigan wasn’t that far off. You see how tight that race was coming down the stretch last year."

There is still one question that needs to be answered before determining how good Michigan will be this upcoming season, and that's whether or not senior guard Chaundee Brown will be allowed to play.

The incompetent and hypocritical NCAA is handing out transfer waivers with no rhyme or reason whatsoever lately, but that doesn't mean Brown will automatically get his. An organization as corrupt and with as many agendas as the NCAA has proven time and time again it has no problem screwing programs and student-athletes over in a big way, so it still would not be shocking if Brown doesn't get his.

Even if he does receive it though, U-M still perhaps shouldn't be seen as one of the four best teams in the league. This is due to a rock-solid projected top-four made up of Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State and Wisconsin, with the four clubs appearing to basically be interchangeable as far as the projected standings go.

None of those four teams have any glaring weaknesses in their starting fives, which makes it difficult to predict Michigan to be better than any of them. The Wolverines' starting lineup should be quite good, but still has a few question marks that could be cause for concern.

No one knows how fifth-year senior Mike Smith will transition to Big Ten basketball after transferring in from the Ivy League's Columbia, even though he's fully expected to be "the guy" at point guard for the Maize and Blue.

Similar questions reside at center, where fifth-year senior Austin Davis and freshman Hunter Dickinson are expected to man the position. Most agree Davis isn't a full-time starter at the Big Ten level, and while Dickinson is expected to be very good in time, it would be wise to anticipate plenty of growing pains during the first few months of the season.

With all that being said, we're not trying to pile on Michigan, and it's important to note the Wolverines should still be seen as a surefire NCAA Tournament team in 2020-21. U-M appears to be on the cusp of the league's top-four, battling it out with Ohio State for the No. 5 spot (our opinion, obviously).

Preseason projections and rankings seldom go according to plan, however, which means we could potentially be underselling the Maize and Blue in a big way.

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