Michigan basketball was on a roll during the Players Era Festival, and they ran through some of the top teams in the field. They were able to defeat Auburn and Gonzaga by 30-plus points in order to win the championship of the 18-team event. With that, they were awarded in the AP Poll, passing Duke and landing at No. 3.
It's uncertain if they can keep up this level of play, but it definitely would not be a surprise. Some even thought that Michigan should be No. 1 after their dominant performance during the festival, but they still have a chance throughout the season to jump higher.
One of the people who believed Michigan should be No. 1 was ESPN's Jeff Borzello.
“At full strength in Vegas, this team was a machine. The Wolverines are mature, deep, huge, have arguably the best defense in college basketball and made 38 3s in three games at Players Era. Future opponents will have to hope that shooting performance was a blip; otherwise, Michigan looks extremely tough to beat,” Borzello wrote.
After their win against Gonzaga, Yaxel Lendeborg made a strong declaration about the team and where he thinks they stand in college basketball.
“I stand on my words that I said yesterday,” Lendeborg said after the game. “Tonight was the first night that we proved that. We're going to continue to prove it for rest of the season. I 100 % believe that everybody on this team, especially our front court, and nobody's going be able to compete with us.”
When looking at the Michigan team, they have everything they need to compete with some of the top teams, and head coach Dusty Mays knows how to get the best out of his unit. If this team can continue to ride this momentum, the sky could be the limit for them.
