16. Michigan (8-1)
Moving beyond any failures or shortcomings from last year, this edition of Michigan basketball looks like it can be a factor when March rolls along. The Wolverines have a close loss against Wake Forest but picked up three double-digit wins over power conference foes in November, snatching the Fort Myers Tip-Off title in the process. As if that warm start wasn’t enough, they’ve come out hot to begin Big Ten play.
The Wolverines scored what might be the upset of the week on Tuesday, winning 67-64 at Wisconsin for an impressive ranked win on the road. Vladislav Goldin had 24 points, Danny Wolf had 20 points and 7 rebounds, and the defense did enough to win in Madison. Michigan survived another close battle over the weekend, getting an 85-83 home win against Iowa for a second Big Ten victory. Goldin had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Wolf had 13 points and 14 rebounds, and that talented frontcourt continued to power the Wolverines into position.
In actuality, Michigan had two of their worst long-range shooting performances this week but still got enough from those forwards to pick up two very valuable wins. This is a new roster with plenty of moving pieces and it’s still all clicking, but the early results can’t be argued. The Wolverines get a great jump start on what could be a nice season in the Big Ten, though their attention goes back to upcoming matchups with Arkansas and Oklahoma later in December.