With football in the rear view mirror...the University of Michigan shifts it's focus to the basketball program. A program that surprised the nation with a championship game appearance in last year's Final Four. Trey Burke, last year's national player of the year, is now in Utah. His back court running mate, Tim Hardaway Jr, is now a New York Knick. And Mitch McGary, preseason All American, is out for the season following back surgery. The new look Wolverines are 12-4, riding a six game winning streak, and are surprisingly tied for first place in the B1G with a 4-0 start. But folks in Ann Arbor know the season...and all of it's post season hopes...start today in Wisconsin.
The Wolverines have done a good job of beating the teams they are supposed to beat. Three of their four conference wins have come against cellar dwellers Northwestern (1-4), Nebraska (0-4), and Penn State (0-5 in conference play). By the looks of their early conference opponents, it's understandable for Michigan to have gone relatively unnoticed so far.
That's about to change...for better or worse.
Today Michigan travels to Wisconsin to face the 3rd ranked Badgers in a late afternoon tilt on ESPN. The Wolverines have not won there since 1999. From there, Michigan will host 14th ranked Iowa, before traveling to East Lansing to take on 4th ranked Michigan State in a prime time Saturday night match up.
And that's just for starters.
Michigan will play all of those teams twice, along with Indiana (twice), Purdue (twice), and Ohio State. The Wolverines are win less against opponents that are currently ranked (Iowa St, Duke, Arizona). The past two years, Michigan relied heavily on the back court tandem of Burke and Hardaway Jr to navigate this stretch of the schedule....and they often delivered in dramatic fashion (see Kansas). But with such an inexperienced team this year, no one knows what to expect over the next few weeks.
One thing's for sure, Michigan will have to slay a giant or two if they want another tournament game in Dallas this year. And they no longer have the luxury of doing it under the radar.
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