Michigan men’s basketball came in at No. 24 in the newest AP top 25 poll. The Wolverines went 2-0 last week with wins over Penn State (76-72) and Rutgers (66-63). They weren’t resounding wins, but strong defensive displays go a long way at this point in the season.
Michigan men’s basketball back in AP top 25
The Wolverines are 8-2 in the Big Ten (16-5 overall) and sit a half-game back from Purdue and a full game behind Michigan State for first place. Head coach Dusty May said his first season at the helm of a Big Ten team has been a journey.
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“As a lot of teams in our league are finding out, it’s very difficult to play high-level basketball for five consecutive months,” head coach Dusty May said Monday. “There’s peaks and valleys. And some of it is as simple as making shots (or) missing shots, some of it is matchups, some of it is this team does this really well and that’s your weakness.”
Michigan has lost two games since the middle of December, and both came in a Big Ten game on the road. Aside from getting blasted by Purdue (91-64), its three other losses have come by a total of six points. May said winning close games tends to pay off in the end.
“… If you would’ve said we’d be 8-2 with six games on the road I probably would’ve been a little bit surprised. Even though I don’t project wins and losses for a season or anything like that. For us to be able to not play anywhere near our best and find ways to win, (that) usually bodes well because you stay hungry (and) you realize it’s easier to get the guys to pay attention to the details, versus maybe if you won by 15 or 16.”
The Wolverines are set to host Oregon next on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
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