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Michigan basketball back in AP top 25 amid two-game win streak

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie•about 11 hours•

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Dusty May
Michigan Wolverines basketball head coach Dusty May has led a turnaround in his first season. (Photo by Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images)

Michigan Wolverines basketball is back in the Associated Press top 25 following a 2-0 week. The Maize and Blue check in No. 24 by the AP and are No. 22 in the coaches poll. They were unranked in both major polls last week but are back in the top 25 now.

First-year head coach Dusty May‘s group is 16-5 overall and 8-2 in Big Ten play, third in the conference standings behind only Michigan State (9-1) and Purdue (9-2).

Michigan went 2-0 last week, beating Penn State (76-72) at home and Rutgers (66-63) in Piscataway. Neither team is ranked, but the Rutgers victory currently stands as a Quad 1 victory. Michigan is 4-1 in Quad 1 games. The Wolverines are on a two-game win streak, bouncing back from a 27-point loss at Purdue.

Michigan has had the third-easiest Big Ten schedule to this point, but the road is about to get much tougher. The Wolverines have some big challenges ahead, starting with this week against Oregon Wednesday and at Indiana Saturday.

“We’ll we’re excited for a really, really big week for our program, coming back home to play a great program like Oregon,” May said. “It’s exciting, and a great opportunity for us. We’re ready to go.”

Michigan has gutted out some close wins despite not playing their best basketball as of late, which gives the team confidence it can stack victories even when it’s not necessarily their night.

“I like where we are, as far as if you would’ve said, ‘You’re going to be 8-2 with six games on the road,’ I probably would’ve been a little bit surprised, even though I don’t really look that far and I don’t project wins and losses for a season or anything like that,” May said.

“But for us to be able to not play anywhere near our best and find ways to win usually bodes well, because you stay hungry, you realize it’s easier to get the guys to pay attention to the details, versus maybe if you won by 15 or 16.

Michigan has beaten one team that’s currently ranked in the AP poll: No. 21 Wisconsin. The Wolverines beat the Badgers 67-64 in Madison, the first of their four road wins.

The Wolverines have a chance to add to that tally, with games against XX ranked opponents down the stretch: No. 7 Purdue (Feb. 11), No. 9 Michigan State (Feb. 21, March 9), No. 18 Maryland (March 5) and No. 23 Illinois (March 2).

College basketball AP poll: Michigan ranked No. 24

1. Auburn (20-1)
2. Duke (19-2)
3. Alabama (19-3)
4. Tennessee (18-4)
5. Houston (17-4)
6. Florida (18-3)
7. Purdue (17-5)
8. Iowa State (17-4)
9. Michigan State (18-3)
10. Texas A&M (17-5)
11. Marquette (18-4)
12. St. John’s (19-3)
13. Texas Tech (17-4)
14. Kentucky (15-6)
15. Missouri (17-4)
16. Kansas (15-6)
17. Memphis (18-4)
18. Maryland (17-5)
19. UConn (16-6)
20. Arizona (15-6)
21. Wisconsin (17-5)
22. Mississippi State (16-6)
23. Illinois (15-7)
24. Michigan (16-5)
25. Ole Miss (16-6)

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