4. Michigan Wolverines
Last Week: No. 6
Michigan has been simply tremendous so far this season. Behind arguably the best defense in the nation (sorry Virginia), the Wolverines have absolutely dominated opponents. Defying most expectations that picked Michigan as a top-20 team in the country, Michigan currently stands at 8-0 with what might be the best collection of wins in the country. During this past week alone, the Wolverines added back-to-back home wins over top-25 teams in North Carolina and Purdue. Oh, and they did so by a combined score of 160-124.
Through eight games (four of which came against high-major competition), the Wolverines are exhibiting a +21.3 points differential. To put it simply, they are destroying every single team that appears on their schedule to this point in the year. Even though they might not have been heading into this season, Michigan should now be the clear favorite to win the Big Ten Conference in the coming months.
And while their defense, which is holding opponents to just 57.0 points per game, might make the headlines, their offense has been consistent as well. Perhaps most notably, freshman Ignas Brazdeikis has emerged as a go-to scorer for the team. Many may have thought that Brazdeikis would be an immediate contributor offensively but few probably projected this kind of impact: 16.3 points (.551/.429/.795) and 5.3 rebounds per game.