Michigan Basketball: 4 factors that shaped the season so far

The Bahamas Trip

It tipped off with a hard-fought victory over the game Iowa State Cyclones. The Wolverines were shooting at the right pace to where they trailed in the early stages, but took over for the long run. The defense may have been a sign of things to come, but it clearly didn’t become a major problem until later down the line.

Michigan basketball then routed a top-10 North Carolina club, that ended up being a lot closer score than the scoreboard read at the final buzzer. Little did anyone know, after that, the Tar Heels would fall off the face of the earth and become almost irrelevant. Nonetheless, it was a program changer for Howard at the time and Michigan’s second consecutive triumph over a blue blood like North Carolina.

Then there was a dream matchup with Gonzaga in the championship game. A showdown that had been highly anticipated for a long time coming. Michigan went on to roll the Bulldogs with relative ease and the Zags haven’t lost a single game since. Looking like world beaters, the maize and blue skyrocketed to national prominence and hoisted the Battle 4 Atlantis trophy with little to no worries about moving forward.