
3. Michigan basketball is 2-0 for the 21st consecutive season
Going all the way back to the 2002-03 slate when the maize and blue started 0-6 under Tommy Amaker, this version of the Wolverines are 2-0 once again. That club was led by LaVell Blanchard, Bernard Robinson, Lester Abram, and Daniel Horton. They began the year in the Paradise Jam tournament in the Virgin Islands.
Since then the consistency has been there with household names like John Beilein, Trey Burke, Juwan Howard, and two national title appearances. So far in 2023, they’re exceeding expectations with no Howard to lean on. They haven’t seen any adversity yet and are not at 100% full strength either.
UNC Asheville and YSU would have been credible wins a year ago, but neither school has won a game to this early point of the season. St. John’s only played once and wasn’t as impressive as Michigan basketball has been.
The two teams haven’t met since the 2000-01 season when Howard was still in the NBA and Rick Pitino was leaving the league to return to college. He coached against Howard, the player, in both the pros and while at Kentucky and the Celtics.