Michigan Ranked #24

It probably took a week or two longer than it should have, but Michigan is ranked 24th in the AP Poll that was released earlier this afternoon.  I continue to disregard the Coaches Poll, where Michigan is 28th, receiving 38 votes.  Believe it or not, five Big Ten teams are ranked: Purdue 10th, Michigan State 11th, Ohio State 15th, Minnesota 23rd and Michigan 24th.  With Wisconsin, Penn State, Northwestern and Illinois also off to good starts in non-conference play, the Big Ten will likely send 5 or 6 teams to the Tournament, an afterthought when the season began.  More importantly, UCLA and Duke (2 teams that Michigan beat) are playing very well right now.  Also, Michigan's RPI has been holding steady at #15 earlier today (12/22).  

Frankly, Michigan has played a pretty uninspired 2nd half tonight against Florida Gulf Coast. After leading by 20 at the half (a half in which DeShawn Sims had 13 rebounds), Michigan managed just 15 points in the first 15 minutes of the 2nd half.  A win is a win, I guess, but this was ugly.  To say Michigan relied on the three-point shot is quite an understatement, as they attempted 42 in the game. The Wolverines shot just 23-64 for 35.9% as a team from the field. DeShawn led the way with 20, Grady had 14, LLP 10 and Manny managed just 6 points.  In his much-anticipated return, Reed Baker was 4/12 from the field for 16 points for FGC. 

Final Score: Michigan 76 -Florida Gulf Coast 59

Next up: Michigan vs NC Central on December 29th at 7pm.  A great chance to start 10-2 in what is the final tune-up before Big Ten conference play.