In what can only be described as a smashing success of a season, Juwan Howard and company far exceeded their preseason expectations. Projected to finish anywhere from fifth to ninth in the Big Ten, the Wolverines won the regular-season conference title with relative ease. From an analytical perspective, some things about this Michigan team come as no surprise (high-quality defense, great shooting, lots of usage by Hunter Dickinson, etc.) while others were quite stunning (the overall balance, the low free throw rate, and spectacular paint defense).
On the offensive end of the court, replacing the two highest usage players from a season ago in Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske seemed daunting in the pre-season.