Right now, Michigan basketball isn’t just winning games - they’re making statements. Dusty May’s squad has stormed out of the gates, and while they sit at No. 2 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll behind Purdue, the advanced metrics are telling a slightly different story.
According to KenPom, Michigan is the top team in the country, anchored by the No. 1 defense in the nation. And as of Monday, they also landed at No. 1 in the first NET rankings of the season - the NCAA’s own efficiency-based system that plays a major role in tournament seeding.
Translation? The Wolverines aren’t just hot - they’re elite on both ends of the floor, and the numbers back it up.
But if you ask Dusty May, the work is just beginning.
“On December 1, we’re good enough to compete with anyone and everyone in the country on any given night,” May said during his weekly press conference at Crisler Center. “But on April 6 - that last Monday - are we going to be good enough to compete with anyone on that night?”
That’s the question May is laser-focused on. Because while Michigan’s early-season dominance has turned heads - and rightfully so after blowout wins over San Diego State, Auburn, and Gonzaga in Las Vegas - May isn’t interested in early accolades. He’s more concerned with what comes next.
He’s seen what happens when teams start believing their own hype. That’s why he’s pushing his group to stay locked in, to block out the noise, and to keep building.
“If we get stagnant, static, or whatever, we’re not going to be in position to do what we want to do,” May said. “We have to put our earmuffs on, get better every day, and keep appreciating each other.”
There’s a phrase Tom Izzo likes to use - “fat and sassy” - to describe teams that let success dull their edge. May didn’t go quite that far, but he came close, warning that success can make a team “fat and happy” or, worse, complacent. So far, though, he hasn’t seen any signs of that.
Since returning from Vegas, the Wolverines haven’t let up. In fact, May said practices have only gotten more intense.
Sunday’s session? The most spirited and productive of the year, according to the head coach.
That’s exactly what he wants to see - a team that’s not content with where they are, but hungry to get better. Especially with Big Ten play looming. Michigan’s next test comes Saturday against Rutgers, and while the nine-day break between games could’ve led to a dip in focus, May says it’s been the opposite.
This stretch has become a proving ground.
“We’re going to find out how we respond,” May said. “We want to get lost in the fight of improving.”
That mindset - getting lost in the grind, blocking out the buzz - is part of what May calls the team’s “cheat code.” Selflessness.
It’s been the foundation of their early success, and it’s showing up in the numbers. Michigan ranks in the top 10 nationally in both two-point offensive and defensive efficiency.
That’s not just balance - that’s dominance on both ends.
And yet, just a few weeks ago, the narrative around this team was very different. After a road win over TCU that some felt wasn’t convincing enough, there was talk that Michigan might not be as strong as advertised. But May and his staff never flinched.
“The sky wasn’t falling in our locker room,” he said. “But it’s our job to make sure the opposite doesn’t happen either.”
That’s the tightrope May is walking now - keeping his team grounded while the spotlight grows brighter. He knows the rankings are great for the program’s visibility, for recruiting, for messaging.
But inside the locker room? That’s sacred ground.
“Whatever analogy you want to use - build a fort around the locker room, a moat around the fort - we have to take it all in stride and understand all glory is fleeting,” May said. “This could all be gone Saturday.
So we never get too high or too low. We’re not screaming from the mountain top.”
Michigan’s not chasing headlines. They’re chasing something bigger. And if they keep playing like this - focused, selfless, and relentless - they just might catch it.