For the first time in five weeks, Michigan basketball dropped in the polls.
The Wolverines knocked off a top-10 team on the road and battled the nation’s new No. 1 team nearly to a standstill on a neutral court, but that the Wolverines’ five-point loss to Duke on Saturday, Feb. 21, was enough to knock U-M down two spots to No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
The Blue Devils, meanwhile, ascended from No. 3 to No. 1. Arizona, No. 4 last week ahead of beating then-No. 2 Houston on Saturday, vaulted past the Wolverines as well.
Farther down the coaches poll, Michigan State jumped two spots, from No. 15 to No. 13, after besting UCLA and Ohio State in East Lansing last week. The coaches poll recognized five Big Ten teams this week, all in the 3-13 range. (The Big Ten’s other top-25 squads: No. 8 Purdue, No. 10 Nebraska and No. 11 Illinois.)
Michigan’s return to No. 3 marks the first time it hasn’t been in one of the top two spots since the Jan. 12 poll, which followed the Wolverines’ first loss of the season, to Wisconsin on Jan. 10. The Wolverines opened last week at No. 1, then thumpedthen-No. 7 Purdue in West Lafayette, Indiana.
U-M’s trip to Washington for the Capital Showcase vs. Duke wasn’t nearly as pleasant, as the Wolverines shot 24% on 3-pointers were outrebounded for the first time in 12 games, 41-28.
Even at No. 3, Michigan appears firmly on the 1-seed line – and was tabbed by the NCAA tournament selection committee as the nation’s top team in its top-four-seeds reveal Saturday – and can clinch a share of the Big Ten regular-season title with a win at home against Minnesota on Tuesday (8:30 p.m., Big Ten Network). The Wolverines can clinch their first outright Big Ten title since 2020-21 with two wins in their final four games.
U-M’s schedule this week isn’t quite as tough as last week’s, with the Golden Gophers closer to the bottom of the standings than the top, but the Wolverines will have to face one of the conference’s top teams with a trip to Illinois on Friday.
“Illinois, second biggest game of the year coming up,” coach Dusty May said Monday. “First, the biggest game of the year is obviously Minnesota, because it’s the next one.”
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball drops 2 spots in coaches poll after 2nd loss