Michigan's defense put on an absolute clinic last night against Ohio State, holding the Buckeyes to just 49 points and 36.5 percent shooting in a 65-49 triumph.
Elite defensive performances have become the norm under second-year defensive coordinator Luke Yaklich, and the national statistics reflect that.
Michigan is holding teams to just a 39.2 shooting percentage this season (16th best in the country), is yielding 56.1 points per game (second best), and now owns the best defense in all of college basketball — according to Ken Pomeroy — with an adjusted defensive efficiency ranking of 83.8.
This obviously hasn't always been the case during head coach John Beilein's tenure in Ann Arbor (since 2007-08).
Prior to Yaklich's arrival before the 2017-18 campaign, U-M's defensive play was often subpar (or average at best), and relied on its offense to win games.
Billy Donlon — who spent one year in Ann Arbor in 2016-17 — helped instill more of a defensive mindset during his lone season with Beilein, but Yaklich has taken things to a level that Michigan basketball hasn't seen in a long, long time (or perhaps ever).
Even though Yaklich has been on the job for less than two full seasons, his defenses have already held 10 opponents to fewer than 50 points and below 37 percent shooting — six this year and four last season.
To put that in perspective, Michigan's defenses achieved that feat just 14 times in a five-year span prior to the Yaklich era, from the 2012-13 season through the 2016-17 campaign.
