It was mostly smooth sailing for Michigan in the first half of the conference schedule. With only three games against teams ranked inside the top 90, according to the KenPom metrics, the Wolverines got by with a 7-2 record, losing only to Purdue and Iowa.
That’s good enough to be a half game behind Maryland (which has played 10 games to Michigan’s nine) heading into February. As wonderful as that is, though, it’s going to be a serious uphill battle from here on out.
It starts Tuesday night against Indiana (KenPom No. 26), which will experience a similar elevation in competition for the rest of the conference schedule.