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“Michigan is coming off a season in which it was one win away from winning the national title, had the No. 3-ranked defense in college basketball and sent two of its players to the NBA.
And yet, to the surprise of just about everyone, it's looking increasingly plausible that 2018-19 Michigan will be even better than last season's squad. That seems crazy to think. Then you watch Michigan play. Then it's easy to believe.
What John Beilein has built is not just a one-year thing. Michigan's now on Year Three of a wave-curl that's still gaining velocity and validity. From this month alone, well first we saw Michigan beat the reigning national champions, Villanova, by 27 points at Villanova. Onward ho, and Michigan's continued to establish itself as elite on defense and opportunistically deadly on offense. And on Wednesday night, the Wolverines were borderline masterful at home, getting to 7-0 thanks to an 84-67 victory over No. 11 North Carolina (6-2).
Convincing would be an understatement for this win. It was a 17-point victory that felt like almost 40.
Here's a bulletin: The University of Michigan has sweepingly conquered the two coaches and programs responsible for winning the three most recent national championships. At this point, despite its No. 7 ranking, Michigan looks as good as anyone in college basketball. Yes, that means Gonzaga, Kansas and Duke. U of M's pair of wins over Nova and UNC, and the style in which they came, match up with any other team in the country's best two games against ranked teams.”
Jeremy Woo, Sports Illustrated: Michigan and Its Stifling Defense Are Here to Stay
“At some point, no more statements need be made. No. 7 Michigan more or less ended No. 11 North Carolina in 24 minutes of clock time Wednesday night, staunch defensive play and timely shooting putting a double-digit stranglehold on one of the top offensive teams anywhere. There has been no hangover from falling in last season’s title game, no drop-off after the departure of a talismanic scorer, and there should be no more questions about the Wolverines’ place among the nation’s elite teams. The margin was 84–67. It was not for show.
To not show up against this Michigan team is to flirt with rock bottom. Villanova found out the hard way two weeks ago, taking a beating on a night it re-dedicated a brand-new arena and leading a downcast Jay Wright to suggest that John Beilein might be coaching his best group ever. Roy Williams didn’t fare much better. He pulled all five of his starters at the 15:33 mark Wednesday following a 12–4 Michigan ambush of three-pointers that broke the second-half wide open and dropped the Tar Heels behind by 12. Like clockwork, Carolina’s new group (composed of less-experienced players) struggled to inbound the ball on the following play and turned it over. It was that kind of night, leading Williams to declare aghast postgame that this was 'the most frustrated [he’d] ever been” in his 31 years as a head coach.'”
“John Beilein is in his 12th season as Michigan's coach -- and in the first 10, despite all of the success, his Wolverines were never great, and rarely good, defensively. On average, they ranked 73rd nationally in defensive efficiency while never finishing better than 37th.
Then Beilein added Luke Yaklich to his staff.
His impact has been immense.
Michigan finished third nationally in defensive efficiency last season, won 33 times and played in the championship game of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Now, this season, the Wolverines are ranked first nationally in defensive efficiency thanks, in part, to Wednesday's 84-67 victory over North Carolina that created a 7-7 tie in the 20th annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Preseason All-American Luke Maye missed eight of the 12 shots he took against Michigan. Projected top-five pick Nassir Little missed four of his five field-goal attempts. As a result, North Carolina -- which still ranks fourth nationally in offensive efficiency as of Thursday morning -- only shot 39.4 percent from the field while scoring 30 fewer points than the Tar Heels averaged through their first seven games of this season.”
Bob Wojnowski, Detroit News: Michigan stomps North Carolina, shows it could be even better
“You usually don’t see it this early, and often can’t say it this early. But this looks like a team that knows exactly what it’s about, and how good it can be.
The Wolverines played defense with such effort and energy Wednesday night, they made it look easy, and made a powerful opponent look rattled. They swatted shots, dove on the floor, drove to the basket, and for good measure, drove North Carolina coach Roy Williams batty.
If you thought No. 7 Michigan’s 84-67 stomping of the No. 11 Tar Heels at a sold-out Crisler Center looked familiar, that’s because it was. We saw it late last season when they rolled through the Big Ten tournament all the way to the national championship game. We saw it earlier this season, when they crushed Villanova, the team that beat them for the title. November games can make fools of us all in a long season, but at least you can say this: Michigan has similar compelling ingredients as a year ago, and maybe a bit more.”
Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball looks like title contender after routing UNC
“Yes, Duke is out there with its lottery picks. Gonzaga just beat the Blue Devils. And Kansas began the year at No. 1 and trots out size, quickness and skill.
Michigan’s basketball team can compete with any of them. That should be clear after Wednesday night, when a wounded fan base filled the Crisler Center looking for a bit of salve for what happened in Columbus, Ohio, last Saturday.
And got it, by running one of college basketball’s blue bloods off the court.
Beilein’s Wolverines smothered, covered and flexed their way to a 84-67 win over North Carolina. The score didn’t feel that close.
So flummoxed was Tar Heels’ coach, Roy WIlliams, that he used both stinks and sucks in the same paragraph to describe his team and the job he’s doing coaching it. In 31 years, he said, he’d never been more frustrated.
U-M deserves credit for that.”
Dan Murphy, ESPN: Michigan's complete game dominates North Carolina
“The country's top-scoring major conference team visited the country's stingiest defense Wednesday night in the marquee matchup of this year's Big Ten/ACC Challenge. It was your standard unstoppable force-immovable object conundrum. Except it turns out the immovable object can get out and run a bit too.
No. 7 Michigan matched its season high in points with a perception-shifting 84-67 victory over No. 11 North Carolina on Wednesday at the Crisler Center. Sophomore Jordan Poole knocked down a nearly 30-foot jump shot with a hand in his face as the shot clock expired on the Wolverines' final possession to get them to 84.”
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