Michigan hoops has nearly been flawless this season. The Wolverines, who are 22-1, have lost just one game and that was at home against Wisconsin earlier this season. Where has been flawless is on the road.
The Wolverines had an excellent showing in Las Vegas earlier this season, trouncing San Diego State, Auburn, and Gonzaga to win the Players Era Festival. Recently, the Wolverines have gone on the road to defeat Washington, Oregon, Michigan State, and Ohio State.
Michigan still has road games against Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois, and Iowa coming up, but head coach Dusty May spoke on Monday about why his team has played so well on the road.
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“We have really good players that compete at a high level,” May said of his team’s road success. “I think that’s the biggest thing. I mean, obviously our size, strength, athleticism is crucial. But we have guys that are experienced too. I don’t think they’re taking this for granted.
“I think sometimes, once again, you get into these long seasons, you just kind of get into the just going. There’s not much purpose. With our guys, it just seems like they’re continuing to improve. They’re enjoying it together. So, I think that’s the biggest thing. But most importantly is our talent level. We have really good players, and we have a lot of them.”
Lessons learned from last season
Michigan had an excellent first season under Dusty May last year. The Wolverines won the Big Ten Tournament and made it to the Sweet 16, before falling to Auburn. But from late February to the early part of March, the Wolverines dropped four games.
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Coach May was asked about the lessons they learned from that stretch last season.
“Not necessarily, nothing that we didn’t know, but this year, our staff’s worked together for a year. We have some foundational pieces in our locker room that could share our culture when we’re not around. They’re with the guys eight hours a day, and we’re with them one or two, three, whatever.
“So, no, those are the biggest things. We knew Big Ten season last year because we did our homework before we took the job. Sometimes you have to feel it, but we knew we were going to have practice time, and if we didn’t have everything in and we didn’t have a base package in for every situation, it’s going to be too late because today we’re not going to be able to practice much.
“I mean, we’re going to be able to clean up a few things and prepare for Northwestern and what can we really do practice-wise tomorrow, the day before the game, and traveling. So, yeah, we learned what type of roster we needed to have to compete with the best in the Big Ten.”
Fans can see Michigan back in action on Wednesday against Northwestern.