Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball power rankings: Trying to make sense of 12 good teams

By Austin Walther

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - JANUARY 23: Tom Izzo the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans gives instructions to Rocket Watts #2 against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - JANUARY 23: Tom Izzo the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans gives instructions to Rocket Watts #2 against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN – JANUARY 05: Head coach Juwan Howard of the Michigan Wolverines talks with Zavier Simpson (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN – JANUARY 05: Head coach Juwan Howard of the Michigan Wolverines talks with Zavier Simpson (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

11. Michigan Wolverines 11-8 (2-6)

Michigan is another team that we all thought was going to jump to No. 1 in the country and is now outside the top-10 in the Big Ten. The Wolverines swept a loaded Battle 4 Atlantis field around Thanksgiving. But looking back at it now, Iowa State and North Carolina are well off the bubble. In another time zone. The Gonzaga win though was an 18-point affair and everyone loves the Bulldogs right now.

The Wolverines do have a quality Big Ten win since the first of the year. A win against Iowa came in December and then they beat Purdue at the beginning of January. Michigan does not have a road Big Ten win. In fact, they don’t have a true road win at all. They got blasted by Michigan State, lost by eight to Minnesota, couldn’t win a shootout with Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye and then dropped two home games.

To be fair, Isaiah Livers missed six games. At the time, he was their leading scorer. He was the popular pick to make a big jump like Jon Teske did last season. He did just that. He’s averaging over 13 points per game, over two three-pointers, he’s a solid rebounder and is a big who won’t hurt you at the line. Livers played just 20 minutes in his return against Illinois, scored seven and the Wolverines couldn’t quite pull it off.

Zavier Simpson is leading the Big Ten in assists with over eight per game. He’s a gamer, playing and starting in all 19 games and averaging over 33 minutes. But he’s not a shooter. And his size is a liability when it comes to taking over a game. We all thought Teske was going to up his three-point game, but it seems to have gotten worse. Franz Wagner is raw and Eli Brooks just hasn’t recorded the minutes before this season. As long as Simpson is the lead guard, Michigan has a chance and they need that road win.

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