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.
"Give Michigan credit," said UNC coach Roy Williams. "They made the tougher plays."
Obviously, the Wolverines are terrific. But so is every other team I have ahead of them in the Top 25 And 1. So that's why Michigan didn't move up, and remains No. 7, in Thursday morning's updated rankings. And, no, I'm not moving North Carolina down because of a loss on the road to a higher-ranked team -- even though Williams said afterward his Tar Heels "stink." Truth is, they're still 6-2 with both losses coming to teams (Michigan, Texas) ranked ahead of them in the Top 25 And 1. So UNC will stay put -- at least for now.
Meantime, Florida State jumped back into the Top 25 And 1 thanks to Wednesday's 73-72 win over Purdue. This development caused Iowa, Creighton, Nebraska, Arizona State, Mississippi State and Buffalo to be pushed down one spot each, no fault of their own. And it pushed Houston out -- meaning Kelvin Sampson's Cougars are now No. 27.
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | The Jayhawks' resume features three top-40 KenPom wins. Dedric Lawson is averaging 17.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists. | -- | 23-11 |
| 2 |  | The Zags' resume features four top-100 KenPom wins. Rui Hachimura is averaging a team-high 21.9 points and 5.4 rebounds. | -- | 27-8 |
| 3 |  | RJ Barrett finished with 22 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's blowout of Indiana. The Blue Devils are now 18-2 all-time in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. | -- | 27-9 |
| 4 |  | The Vols' lone loss is a neutral-court defeat in overtime to Kansas. Grant Williams is averaging a team-high 21.5 points and 8.8 rebounds. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | The Wolf Pack remained undefeated with a 14-point win at Loyola-Chicago on Tuesday. Caleb and Cody Martin combined for 41 points and 12 assists. | -- | 26-8 |
| 6 |  | The Cavaliers are 7-0 for the third consecutive season. De'Andre Hunter is averaging a team-high 16.6 points and 6.1 rebounds. | -- | 23-11 |
| 7 |  | The Wolverines are holding opponents to an effective field goal percentage of just 38.2. They're 7-0 for just the second time in 12 seasons under John Beilein. | -- | 8-24 |
| 8 |  | The Wildcats have won six straight games since their season-opening loss to Duke. Keldon Johnson is averaging a team-high 16.3 points and 5.4 rebounds. | -- | 23-10 |
| 9 |  | Anfernee McLemore and Bryce Brown combined for 38 points in Wednesday's win over Saint Peter's. The Tigers' lone loss is a single-digit loss to Duke. | -- | 27-8 |
| 10 |  | The Spartans shot 47.5 percent from the field but still lost Tuesday at Louisville in OT while the Cardinals shot 41 free throws. Kenny Goins finished with 17 rebounds and zero shots. | -- | 20-15 |
| 11 |  | The Longhorns went 1-1 in Las Vegas with a win over North Carolina and a loss to Michigan State. Kerwin Roach scored a total of 47 points in the two games. | -- | 21-13 |
| 12 |  | The Tar Heels are 1-2 in their past three games. Two of their next three games are against Gonzaga and Kentucky. | -- | 29-8 |
| 13 |  | Dean Wade is averaging 16.2 points and 8.3 rebounds. Next up is Saturday's game at Marquette. | -- | 19-15 |
| 14 |  | Jarrett Culver is averaging a team-high 18.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday against Memphis. | -- | 23-11 |
| 15 |  | The Seminoles own three wins over teams currently ranked in the top 50 at KenPom. They've done this without last season's leading scorer, Phil Cofer, who remains sidelined with a foot injury. | NR | 17-16 |
| 16 |  | The Hokies took their first loss Tuesday at Penn State. Ahmed Hill finished 0-of-6 from the field. | -- | 19-15 |
| 17 |  | The Terrapins' lone loss is Wednesday's single-digit loss to Virginia. Bruno Fernando is averaging 15.9 points and 9.6 rebounds. | -- | 16-17 |
| 18 |  | The Boilermakers' two losses are to Florida State and Virginia Tech. Next up is Saturday's Big Ten opener at Michigan. | -- | 34-5 |
| 19 |  | The Badgers made 11 3-pointers in Tuesday's win over NC State. Ethan Happ finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds. | -- | 22-14 |
| 20 |  | The Buckeyes took their first loss Wednesday to Syracuse. Next up is Sunday's Big Ten opener against Minnesota. | 5 | 22-14 |
| 21 |  | Joe Wieskamp finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's win over Pitt. The Hawkeyes are 6-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 season. | 1 | 19-15 |
| 22 |  | The Bluejays' lone loss is a single-digit loss to Ohio State. Next up is Saturday's game with Gonzaga. | 1 | 25-10 |
| 23 |  | The Huskers' lone loss is a neutral-court loss to Texas Tech. They won at Clemson on Monday night. | 1 | 23-11 |
| 24 |  | The Sun Devils are 6-0 for the second straight season under Bobby Hurley. Luguentz Dort, a freshman from Canada,is averaging a team-high 22.3 points and 7.3 rebounds. | 1 | 14-18 |
| 25 |  | The Bulldogs' lone loss is a neutral-court loss to Arizona State. Five different players are averaging at least 10.8 points per game. | 1 | 21-14 |
| 26 |  | The Bulls' perfect record includes a win at West Virginia. Their next game is Friday against Milwaukee. | 1 | 4-27 |
In: Florida State | Out: Houston
