Big Ten Basketball: 5 takeaways from the 2018 Big Ten/ACC Challenge

By Adam Childs | Nov 29, 2018

SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 02: A Michigan Wolverines cheerleader performs in the second half during the 2018 NCAA Men's Final Four National Championship game between the Villanova Wildcats and the Michigan Wolverines at the Alamodome on April 2, 2018 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

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VILLANOVA, PA – NOVEMBER 14: Eli Brooks #55, David DeJulius #0, Zavier Simpson #3, and Ignas Brazdeikis #13 of the Michigan Wolverines walk off the court after defeating the Villanova Wildcats at Finneran Pavilion on November 14, 2018 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. Michigan defeated Villanova 73-46. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Michigan is a title contender

For a minute Wednesday night, it looked like the Wolverines were going to get blown out for a second straight year by the Tar Heels. They were down 21-11 early in the game and the defense finally looked normal. Instead of the Tar Heels running away with the game, Michigan went on a 17-2 run to flip a ten point deficit into a six-point lead. They would go back and for with North Carolina for the rest of the half before going into the break up five.

It looked like it was going to be a great second half and the game would go down to the wire. The Wolverines had other plans. After giving up the first basket of the half, Michigan just completely dominated the rest of the game. They led by as many as 22 and looked like the far superior team. Short of the Tar Heels hitting three straight threes to cut the lead to 11, Michigan was in complete control of the game.

They ran their offense about as well as could be expected and after settling into the game their defense went on lockdown again. They gave up their highest point total of the year, but they still only gave up 67 points. To put that into perspective North Carolina was the top scoring team in the nation coming into the game at 96.6 ppg. They held them nearly 30 points below their average. They kept the Tar Heels from running and completely frustrated them on the offensive side of the ball. Short of Gonzaga beating Duke in Maui, this was the most impressive win of the year.

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Michigan is now 7-0 and has beaten every team by at least 17 points. That includes UNC and a 27 point win at Villanova. This team is a legitimate title contender and looks like the favorite in the Big Ten right now.

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