The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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32 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JANUARY 2025 M ichigan basketball rose as high as No. 14 in the Dec. 9 Associated Press poll after huge wins at Wisconsin and home versus Iowa, the latter a sev- enth straight victory for Dusty May's team. An 89-87 loss to Arkansas at Madison Square Garden Dec. 10 was the only setback since a Nov. 10, neutral site loss to Wake Forest, a win streak that also included a 78-53 blowout of No. 22 Xavier Nov. 27 and a hard-fought 67-64 win over the No. 11 Badgers in Madison. Following the near-miss against Arkan- sas, Michigan (8-2 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) dipped 10 spots to No. 24 in the Dec. 16 AP poll, but the future appears bright. The Wisconsin win could be huge when it comes to Big Ten seeding in March, and it was important the Wol- verines find a way against Iowa, May added. The Wolverines have continued to turn the ball over too much (tied for 337th nationally out of 355 teams at 15.3 per game), but 2-0 in the conference is 2-0, especially given the competition. "If you would have asked me two hours ago, I probably would have said yes," May quipped when asked if he thought his team was jelling after re- linquishing a 20-4 lead before hanging on against the Hawkeyes. "I'm joking. I like where we are. We have good guys. It's tougher now that the rotation starts getting shortened a little bit and some younger guys who are used to being in the rotation aren't playing quite as much because the Big Ten's different. … "Now is where it gets really challeng- ing where these games are coming fast. The outside noise, the tension we're getting now. … I don't know if we're ranked or not ranked, [but] all this stuff doesn't matter to me. It does change the complexion of what we think about, but overall, yeah, I like where we are. We have guys who work well together, and they put in the time." Grad transfer center Vlad Goldin was a big reason for the resurgence, earning Big Ten Player of the Week honors after averaging 22.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and shooting 62.5 percent (15 of 24) from the field in the two wins. He also made 14 of 20 free throws. For- ward/center Danny Wolf, meanwhile, also emerged as a difference-maker. The Yale transfer was tied with junior wing Roddy Gayle Jr. and second on the team with 12.3 points per game through 10 contests (Goldin was at 12.5) and also was averaging 9.9 rebounds and 3.5 as- sists per game. A big part of the team's improvement was how they were starting to work to- gether on the floor after a clunky be- ginning. The two seven-footers really got it working in the pick-and-roll at Wisconsin, Wolf being the distributor and Goldin the finisher. While many continued to say, "It won't work," May stayed with it and got exactly what he ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Wolverines Ranked No. 24 In AP Poll After Impressive Early Stretch Graduate center Vlad Goldin earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors Dec. 9 after averaging 22.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks, and shooting 62.5 percent (15 of 24) from the field in the pair of wins against Wisconsin and Iowa. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL