Michigan men’s hoops moves up in AP Poll, women’s hoops stands pat at No. 6

Every Monday afternoon brings a new Associated Press Poll, and Michigan still has two highly ranked teams. The men’s team is ranked at No. 3, while the women’s team is still at No. 6.

The men’s team moved up four spots since last week, marking the first Top-5 ranking for the program since the Week 2 poll on Nov. 15, 2021. It’s the highest ranking for the program since it was ranked No. 2 in the Week 15 poll on March 1, 2021.

Purdue and Arizona hold the top two spots, with Duke (No. 4) and UConn (No. 5) rounding out the top five. Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans (No. 7) are also not far behind after an impressive win against UNC.

This new ranking for the men’s team is coming after a historic week, where Michigan beat San Diego State, No. 21 Auburn, and No. 12 Gonzaga by a combined 110 points to win the Players Era Festival. Michigan is also now the No. 1 team on KenPom after that impressive three-day stretch.

The men’s team has just one game this week, a home game on Saturday (4 p.m., BTN) against a Rutgers squad that’s ranked 118th in KenPom and is projected to finish towards the bottom of the conference. Looks like a blowout on paper, but it also could be a big letdown spot.

The women’s team remains ranked at No. 6, still second in the Big Ten behind UCLA (No. 4). This comes after a quiet week for the Wolverines, with Michigan’s lone game being a blowout victory over Detroit Mercy, 102-53. The women’s team is ranked No. 5 in the NET rankings, meaning if the NCAA Tournament started today, they would be a 2-seed.

The Wolverines have two home games this week to try to improve it’s 6-1 record. Michigan hosts Central Michigan on Wednesday (7 p.m., B1G+) before hosting Purdue on Sunday (noon, BTN).