The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Beilein said. "I was really impressed with their personnel and defense. We're embracing this and saying, 'What a great opportunity to grow.' We had adversity tonight like we hadn't had, and we just kept plugging away, so it's all good. I know that sounds crazy, but it's all good to come into that environment, play as hard as we did and fight back to have a chance to win." Michigan's other losses in the preseason, if not anticipated, at the very least warranted a red flag warning when the schedules came out. Playing at Iowa State and at Duke handed the Wolverines a pair of extremely hostile venues in the early going. Michigan opened its 2012-13 campaign with a 16-game winning streak, but didn't have any true road tests of that caliber in the non-conference season. The Wolverines knocked off Pittsburgh, Kansas State and West Virginia away from Crisler Center, but all involved neutral sites. Versus the Cyclones and Blue Devils, Beilein's crew faced settings in which they were as welcome as Miley Cyrus at a Sunday School sing-along. And it showed. The Wolverines had a shot in Ames, Stauskas' 20 points helping them to a nine-point lead in the first half. But poor shooting — including a 27.6-percent effort (8 of 29) from three-point range and a 4-of-9 day at the free throw line — doomed the effort. That game also marked McGary's Big Ten Revealing Some Strong Squads Early The Big Ten as a group played to a 6-6 standoff in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Inside the league, though, Michigan State and a handful of conference squads have begun separating themselves from the pack. Likewise, a number of strong performers have emerged individually in the conference ranks. Here's a quick look at the top teams and individuals from the first month of the basketball season. BIG TEN'S TOP FIVE TEAMS 1. Michigan State (8-1) — The Spartans rose to the No. 1 ranking in the nation after knocking off Kentucky in the Champions Classic in Chicago. Tom Izzo's team proved anything but invincible afterwards, getting a scare from Columbia before a beaten-up MSU crew bowed to North Carolina, 79-65, at home in the Challenge. The Spartans, though, have the pieces in place to continue getting better through the season. 2. Ohio State (10-0) — The Buckeyes boast a solid road win at Marquette (52-35) and a blowout victory in Columbus against Maryland in the Challenge (76-60). The rest of their early season has consisted of beating up on nobodies, but with Aaron Craft leading the way Ohio State will be a tough out.