Throughout the season, the narrative around men’s college basketball has been Gonzaga and Baylor – and everyone else. Zags and Bears were clearly the best two teams in the country, the favorite prohibitive national champions, and no one else was even close. Instead of debating about number 1, the discussions were about number 3 – as in, who is the best of the rest? It’s a place that has returned from team to team for most of the last few months.
While Gonzaga and Baylor may still be at a higher level of the field, as neither team has lost a game, Michigan claims that it is much closer to the Gonzaga / Baylor level than the level of “everyone else”.
It is a strong argument that the teams ranked in numbers 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 have suffered losses in the last five days. Of course, number 4 is the state of Ohio, which saw Michigan enter Columbus on Sunday, scored 92 points and left with a victory statement.
Wolverines had another on Thursday.
They overcame a slow first half against Iowa to drive Hawkeyes no. 9 from the gym in the second half, moving away for a dominant victory with 79-57. Michigan center Hunter Dickinson held on longer than Iowa’s Luka Garza, forcing the Wood Award favorite on a 6 to 19 night on the field, while scoring 14 points at the other end. Franz Wagner, Wolverines’ best player, had 21 points and was consistent throughout the game, while Isaiah Livers made four triples and had 16 points.
Michigan’s defense in the Big Ten game was his business card and it was no different on Thursday. Entering the week, according to ESPN Stats & Information research, the lowest point Iowa scored in a half throughout the season was 31. Hawkeyes did not reach that number in any half against Michigan. And it’s not just Garza who is fighting. Iowa shot 6-for-19 from the 3-point range, making just two shots from behind the arc in the second half.
At the start of the season, Michigan began to gain some recognition as one of the best teams in the nation after a 23-point victory over Wisconsin, which was not nearly so close. Four days later, the Wolverines lost to Minnesota by 18. They followed that up with a pair of Big Ten victories, but then I didn’t see them play for 23 days due to a mandatory state break. So while there was evidence, Michigan was the third best team in the country, it was hard to really buy Wolverines because I didn’t know what they would look like after the break.
They answered this question in an impressive way. They won Wisconsin in their first game back, beat Rutgers and then won Ohio State on Sunday. Then came Thursday’s test against a team from Iowa that has the nation’s best offense and an improved defense. And the game has not been questioned in the last 16 minutes of play.
Gonzaga and Baylor will continue to participate in the NCAA tournament as the two favorites, unless one – or both – lose their game, but the gap between Michigan and everyone else grows. It is a statement supported by values. Wolverines are 3rd on KenPom, 3rd on Sagarin ratings and 3rd on ESPN’s record strength. They are 7-1 against opponents in Quadrant 1 and 11-1 against opponents in Quadrant 1 and 2. KenPom’s adjusted margin of efficiency made Gonzaga and Baylor rank 1st and 2nd in both orders since Baylor’s first game in season, but Michigan’s victory reduced Baylor’s lead to just 0.48 on Thursday. (Gonzaga has constantly moved away from the West Coast Conference game package.)
Michigan is elite at both ends of the floor. Wolverines are one of the most effective offensive teams in the country, shooting more than 39% from behind the bow, but also able to throw the ball to Dickinson on the block and get a basket. They have five players who have made at least 20 triples this season at a clip of 36.7% or better. Wagner and Livers are versatile markers on the wing. Mike Smith, the Columbia graduate transfer who went from an average of 22.8 points to 19.3 shots last season to an average of 8.6 points at 6.4 shots this season, has turned into a veteran player who distributes efficiently, takes care of the ball and makes 3s open. Wake Forest transfer, Chaundee Brown, adds pop from the bench.
Defensively, head coach Juwan Howard has several high-level individual defenders. Wagner improved dramatically at that end of the floor; Dickinson just strangled Garza and showed that he could dominate the bottle; and Eli Brooks is one of the best defenders in the Big Ten. Wolverines are remarkable at challenging shots inside the bow and keeping opponents out of the paint.
Howard is the favorite for the national coach of the year. He lost two senior starters last season to Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske, replaced them with Smith and Dickinson and has this team buying at both ends of the floor.
And after Thursday, he also has a team that broke up in the upper crust of the college basketball landscape.