With a 7-0 record and two undeniably dominant wins over top-25 opponents, the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team has finally started to receive the national attention that it deserves.
After defeating the No. 21 Auburn Tigers by a whopping 30 points, the Wolverines moved on to beat the No. 12 Gonzaga Bulldogs by a resounding 40-point margin. Just like that, with nearly a month until conference play truly tipped off, Michigan already had two ranked wins under its belt.
With those victories, the Wolverines earned their proper place in ESPN's latest Power Rankings: No. 1 in the country.
Michigan Wolverines deserve to be No. 1
In the current AP Top 25 Poll, the Purdue Boilermakers (7-0) and the Arizona Wildcats (7-0) are the top two teams in the nation, followed by Michigan at No. 3, but the wins over Auburn and Gonzaga were apparently only good enough to get them that far.
Closer but still not quite right, in the Coaches Poll, Michigan leap-frogged past Arizona and is currently No. 2.
When it comes to ESPN's Power Rankings, the Wolverines are a little happier, earning the No. 1 ranking, which is just where their first seven performances have shown they deserve to be. As Goldilocks would say, "Mmmm, just right."
If Michigan continues to blow out top-ranked teams and maintains an unblemished record, it would become increasingly hard for any of the other rankings to deny the team the No. 1 spot across the board.
Up next, Michigan is actually set to face a Big Ten opponent, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, in a home game at Crisler Center. The two conference opponents are scheduled to tip off at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 6, and the game will be aired on the Big Ten Network.