Minnesota @ Michigan preview
Crisler Center
Last Meeting ( Jan 12, 2020 ) Michigan 67, Minnesota 75
Michigan keeps on winning, and it's getting more difficult to ignore the team's spotless record.
The Wolverines are the only undefeated Big Ten team. They have finally moved into the Top 10, jumping six spots in the latest poll released on Monday.
The 10th-ranked Wolverines (9-0, 4-0 Big Ten) will try to retain sole possession of first place in the conference when they host 16th-ranked Minnesota (10-2, 3-2) in Ann Arbor on Wednesday.
The only other teams from major conferences without a loss -- Gonzaga and Baylor -- hold the top two spots in the rankings. Two other Big Ten schools, Iowa and Wisconsin, are still above Michigan in the polls.
Head coach Juwan Howard isn't whining about a lack of respect.
"I don't care about any of that attention or begging for the credit or the national credit. I'm just looking for one game at a time and our next opponent," he said. "Now you know that's where my focus is going to be on -- how we can get better, how we can prepare for our next opponent. I'll let the AP polls and the coaches' polls do what they do. That's not our focus. Our main goal is to be the No. 1 team standing at the end and that's what we're working towards."
The Wolverines' modest nonconference schedule is partly to blame for their ranking. So is their lack of a standout player, though center Hunter Dickinson is a prime candidate for Freshman of the Year.
Dickinson leads the team in scoring (16.9 points per game), rebounding (8.1) and blocks (1.6). He had a team-high 19 points in an 85-66 thrashing of then-No. 19 Northwestern on Sunday.
Michigan also had four other players in double figures.
Franz Wagner has averaged 17.7 points in the last three games, but Howard is more impressed by his overall impact. Wagner filled the stat sheet against the Wildcats with 14 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, five blocks and two steals.
"His level of being locked in, his attention to detail, locked in on the scouting report, studying the opponent, knowing their tendencies. The guy's an architect and I'm just happy that we have him on our side," Howard said.
The Golden Gophers also posted an impressive win on Sunday, manhandling Ohio State 77-60. Minnesota's top frontcourt player, Liam Robbins, dominated inside with 27 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.
He has emerged as a solid second scoring option to Marcus Carr (22.1 ppg).
"Obviously, Marcus is our lead scorer, he's the RB (running back) of our team, if you will," Robbins said. "When teams take him away, the ball was getting to me, and I was just trying to make things happen, and open it up for everyone else again. I'm just here to do my part, whatever that means on any given night."
Robbins, a Drake transfer, has reached double digits in scoring in 10 of his first 12 games with the Golden Gophers. He'll be matched up against Dickinson on Wednesday.
"He's the anchorman back there, both offensively and defensively," Carr said "Obviously, he's a big body down there and gives us a lot of things, protecting at the rim, scoring at the rim. He's able to stretch out and shoot the ball as well."
--Field Level Media