Michigan basketball moves up in AP top 25 following undefeated week
Michigan Wolverines basketball has risen four spots in the Associated Press poll, up from No. 24 last week to No. 20 in Monday’s release. U-M is No. 19 in the latest coaches poll.
First-year head coach Dusty May‘s group is 13-3 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten, tied atop the conference standings along with No. 12 Michigan State.
The Maize and Blue are on a five-game win streak, having taken down Purdue Fort Wayne (89-58), Western Kentucky (112-64), USC (85-74), UCLA (94-75) and Washington (91-75). UCLA was ranked No. 22 at the time Michigan beat them, but the Bruins lost again over the weekend, falling at Maryland, dropping out of the rankings.
During that five-game stretch, the Wolverines have the third-most efficient offense in the country, according to T-Rank, shooting 66.4 percent on twos (second) and 45.8 percent on threes (fourth). Despite that success, May doesn’t believe Michigan has peaked on that end of the floor.
“Not even close,” May said. “Not even close. Absolutely not. We’re improving our ball fakes, our eye fakes, our spacing, when to cut, when not to cut. It’s getting better, but no, we’re not functioning on an elite level offensively yet. And we’re not crashing with the aggression we need to be at a championship level. We have a long way to go.”
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The Wolverines have beaten one team ranked inside the top 25: No. 24 Wisconsin. The Wolverines beat the Badgers 67-64 in Madison, the first of their three road wins.
Michigan has plenty of opportunities to notch ranked wins during the remainder of Big Ten play, with four future opponents that are ranked: No. 12 Michigan State (Feb. 21, March 9), No. 13 Oregon (Feb. 5), No. 17 Purdue (Jan. 24, Feb. 11), No. 19 Illinois (March 2).
The Wolverines, who are ranked No. 10 in the nation and first in the Big Ten on Kenpom, are favored by double digits in each of their next two games — at Minnesota Jan. 16 and versus Northwestern Jan. 19. After Sunday’s game against the Wildcats, the Wolverines will have five days in between that and a trip to Mackey Arena to take on Purdue (Friday, Jan. 24).
College basketball AP poll: Michigan ranked No. 20
1. Auburn (15-1)
2. Iowa State (14-1)
3. Duke (14-2)
4. Alabama (14-2)
5. Florida (15-1)
6. Tennessee (15-1)
7. Marquette (14-2)
8. Kentucky (13-3)
9. Kansas (12-3)
10. Houston (12-3)
11. Texas A&M (13-3)
12. Michigan State (14-2)
13. Oregon (15-2)
14. UConn (13-4)
15. Mississippi State (14-2)
16. Gonzaga (14-4)
17. Purdue (13-4)
18. Memphis (13-3)
19. Illinois (12-4)
20. Michigan (13-3)
21. Ole Miss (14-2)
22. Utah State (16-1)
23. Georgia (14-2)
24. Wisconsin (13-3)
25. Baylor (11-4)
