Michigan Doesn’t Shift In Latest AP Poll
After picking up two more wins, the Wolverines stay put in the the latest AP Poll. Here’s where they landed and what it means…
The Michigan men’s basketball team wrapped up another impressive, undefeated week, but it wasn’t enough to budge the Wolverines in the AP Poll Top 25 rankings.
After taking down Minnesota and No. 10 Illinois, Michigan will spend the final week of the regular season as the No. 3 team in the nation.
At home against Minnesota, the Wolverines had some struggles. They were in control of the game for most of the night, but the Golden Gophers’ zone gave them a little trouble. Michigan’s offense looked slightly out of sync, but it was able to do enough to walk away with a 77-67 win. And not only did it win the game, but also a share of the Big Ten Title.
The Wolverines didn’t have to wait long to win the title outright, however, because they played one of their best games of the season on the road against No. 10 Illinois. They pulled away in the second half and earned a 84-70 win, clinching sole possession of the Big Ten regular season title.
Since Duke and Arizona also escaped the week unscathed, both teams held on to their positions at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.
Rounding out the Big Ten’s representatives, Michigan State slid up to No. 8 and Nebraska followed at No. 9. Illinois is closely behind at No. 11, and Purdue fell all the way down to No. 15 after a two-loss week.
Here are the complete AP Poll rankings from Week 17:
- Duke
- Arizona
- Michigan
- UConn
- Florida
- Iowa State
- Houston
- Michigan State
- Nebraska
- Texas Tech
- Illinois
- Gonzaga
- Virginia
- Kansas
- Purdue
- Alabama
- North Carolina
- St. John’s
- Miami (OH)
- Arkansas
- Saint Mary’s
- Miami (FL)
- Tennessee
- Vanderbilt
- Saint Louis
Other teams receiving votes: BYU, Kentucky, Missouri, Wisconsin, Clemson, Utah State, UCF, High Point, Dayton, Villanova, Navy, NC State, TCU, Ohio State, Santa Clara.
How Can Michigan Continue To Prove Itself?
The end-goal for the Wolverines was never to just become the No. 1 team in the AP Poll, although there certainly is some pride attached to it. But especially now, Michigan is mostly looking to improve its resume for the potential No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
As of now, the Wolverines are probably the No. 2 overall seed, behind only Duke. But with a few regular season matchups still remaining — along with conference tournaments — there’s still plenty of time for Michigan to restate its case for that top seed.
Up next, the Wolverines take on a very solid Iowa team. While the Hawkeyes have been struggling as of late, losing four of their last six, they have the talent to hang with anybody in the Big Ten. They play at an incredibly slow pace, which has given Michigan some fits this season, so while the Wolverines should take care of business, Iowa won’t be a breeze.
And for the classic final game of the regular season, Michigan takes on No. 8 Michigan State. The Wolverines already won the first matchup of the season at Breslin Center in East Lansing, and this time, the Spartans are coming to Ann Arbor.
Michigan has already claimed the Big Ten Title, but the in-state rivalry still holds a lot of weight in both locker rooms, so expect to see both teams’ A-game.
The stakes for every game are higher than they’ve been all season. After all, the calendar has flipped to March, and that means college basketball is at its climax.
