Michigan Takes A Slight Dip In Today's AP Poll Following Its 1-2 Week
The Michigan Wolverines' basketball program dropped two spots in today's Associated Press top 25, falling from No. 2 to No. 4 in the nation. The descent was due to a 1-2 week that saw the club get blown out at home by Illinois Tuesday night and then lose yesterday at Michigan State.
The lone win sandwiched in between those two games was a 69-50 beatdown of the Spartans Thursday night, with the Wolverines clinching the outright Big Ten regular-season championship in the process.
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Baylor and Illinois were the two clubs who jumped Michigan in today's top 25, with the Bears once again rising to No. 2 (that's where they had been prior to U-M's ascent to No. 2 last week) and the Fighting Illini to No. 3.
Gonzaga remained at No. 1, possessing a 24-0 record. The Big Ten continued its dominant presence near the top of the rankings, with three of its teams residing in the top five and four in the top nine — No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Iowa and No. 9 Ohio State.
The Buckeyes only dropped two spots from No. 7 to No. 9 after losing at home to Illinois Saturday, a game that marked Ohio State's fourth straight loss. In fact, OSU has not a won a game since a Feb. 18 triumph at Penn State.
The only ranked conference member other than the aforementioned four is Purdue at No. 20. Wisconsin finally fell out of the top 25 after having checked in at No. 25 last week, thanks to an 0-2 week that saw the Badgers drop games at Purdue and at Iowa.
Sunday's setback in Iowa City plummeted Wisconsin's league record to just 10-10, with the program having lost five of its last six games.
With college basketball's regular season now wrapped up, Power Conference clubs will next turn their attention toward their conference tournaments. The Big Ten Tournament will kick off Wednesday night in Indianapolis, though Michigan won't play its first game until Friday morning at 11:30 AM ET.
The Wolverines will face the winner of Thursday's Michigan State/Maryland showdown. Michigan has made it to at least the Big Ten Tournament semifinals four straight times and in seven of the last nine seasons the event has taken place.
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