2. Michigan (20-1)
Three weeks ago, Michigan lost a strange game at home against Wisconsin on a day when the Badgers’ offense was producing at an extremely high level. That’s been the one black eye for a Wolverines team that has honestly spent the season beating people up. Nobody’s ready to forget blowout wins over Auburn, Gonzaga, Villanova, and others, though the Wolverines may have just had their second-best week of the season.
On Tuesday the Wolverines welcomed a Top 5 team to town in Nebraska and handed the Cornhuskers their first loss of the season. Their 75-72 win was an exciting battle featuring 17 points and 12 rebounds from Morez Johnson Jr. As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Michigan took on another Top 10 team on Friday night when they got an 83-71 road win against rival Michigan State. Yaxel Lendeborg stood out with 26 points and 12 rebounds while Elliot Cadeau added 17 points in the big win.
There’s no question that Michigan is one of the best teams in the nation this season. It’s not just that the Wolverines can hang with any team, but this talented and well-built lineup can bully just about any team in the nation. This team’s back atop the league standings at 10-1 thanks to their work this week. After those ranked wins, Michigan gets it relatively easy next week with just a simple home game against Penn State.