Movin’ On Up: Michigan Ascends In The Latest AP Poll
The Michigan Wolverines continue to make their case for being the top team in college basketball, jumping to No. 2 in the latest AP rankings.
Michigan went on the road and easily defeated Indiana over the weekend by a score of 73-57, moving to 18-1 on the season. The Wolverines now turn their attention to No. 4 Illinois, as the Fighting Illini make their way to Ann Arbor for a top-five Big Ten clash tomorrow night. With a win, Michigan will secure its first regular season Big Ten title since 2014 - and Juwan Howard will continue to set a new Michigan record for the number of conference wins by a head coach in their first two seasons.
Though Gonzaga maintains a hold on the No. 1 spot, many believe the Wolverines are unquestionably the best team in college basketball - with many beginning to view Michigan as the favorite to win it all.
If Michigan can knock off No. 4 Illinois on Tuesday night, it will be the Wolverines third top-ten win and second top-five win in a three week span, having beaten No. 4 Ohio State on Feb. 21 and No. 9 Iowa on Feb. 25. After Illinois, Michigan will play back-to-back games against the Michigan State Spartans to finish out the regular season.
While Michigan is close to capping off one of it’s most successful regular seasons in program history and heading toward a No.1 seed in the NCAA tournament, Michigan State has struggled mightily throughout the season. Sitting at just 13-10, the Spartans are at serious risk of missing out on the NCAA tournament altogether - something that hasn’t happened to the basketball program since 1997.
