When Michigan assistant coach Luke Yaklich joined the program, he was tasked with transforming the Wolverines’ defense.
His undertaking was successful immediately.
In the two years since he arrived, Michigan’s revamped defense has taken a huge leap forward in nearly every single metric. In 2018, the Wolverines led the Big Ten in scoring defense for the first time since 1964 and were eighth nationally in this category. Michigan finished second and third in defensive efficiency according to Kenpom in 2019 and 2018 respectively. Prior to those two seasons, Michigan’s best defensive finish under head coach John Beilein came in 2011 and 2013 when the Wolverines had the 37th best defense in the country.
Beilein finally had a stout defense to pair with his offense.
Diving deeper into the numbers shows just how far Michigan’s defense has come in the past two seasons.
