It was almost the same old story for Michigan in Southern California on Saturday night, but the Wolverines overcame their previous behavioral patterns and defeated USC, 85-74.
Danny Wolf had a monstrous 21-point, 13-rebound, seven-assist, six-block night, leading the Wolverines to victory in the tight matchup.
Here are three takeaways from the impressive victory.
Live and die by the 3-pointer
It's hard to argue with the results, but Michigan's offense has turned into a 3-point onslaught. When the 3-pointers go in, it's beautiful to watch. But when the triples won't fall, it's an incredibly painful product.
In last week's win over Western Kentucky, Michigan tied a program record for 3-pointers in a single game with 19. It was one of the most enjoyable Michigan basketball performances in recent memory.
And in Saturday night's win over USC, Michigan fans got a sampling of both ends of the spectrum. In the first half, the Wolverines could not miss from beyond the arc. Dusty May's team started the game 5-of-5 from long distance and finished the first half with 10 3-pointers.
Despite knocking down an astounding 10 triples in the first half, Michigan only led by four points going into halftime.
But in the second half, the Wolverines failed to make a shot from long range.
In the end, though, Michigan came away with a massive victory that keeps its conference record unblemished.
Undefeated in Big Ten play
Now 3-0 in the Big Ten, Michigan is tied with rival Michigan State atop the conference standings. The two rivals are the only unbeaten teams left in the league.
It's remarkable the turnaround Dusty May has led in Ann Arbor after last season's abysmal season-long performance.
Last year, Michigan won just three Big Ten games all season. Now, the Wolverines have won their first three Big Ten games of the season, matching last year's win total.
It's clear this Michigan team is for real, with two of their three conference wins coming on the road against tough teams in Wisconsin and USC.
A tough test against UCLA now awaits the Wolverines. The Bruins were previously undefeated before losing to Nebraska on Saturday afternoon.
Big-time matchup on the docket with UCLA
Diving a bit deeper into the matchup with the Bruins, Michigan has a huge opportunity ahead of itself. UCLA was co-leading the Big Ten along with the Wolverines and Spartans before dropping its first conference game of the season to Nebraska.
Although the Bruins are no longer undefeated in the conference, they are still a force to be reckoned with in the Big Ten.
UCLA is the second-highest ranked Big Ten team in this week's AP Poll, and the Bruins have only lost three games all season.
Early projections estimate the Wolverines have a 39.4 percent chance of taking down the Bruins in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening.
With a win, Michigan would improve to 4-0 in the Big Ten and head back home with a shot to improve to 5-0.
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