For the first time since the 1999-2000 season, the Michigan women’s basketball team entered Big Ten play at 2-0.
Since then, the Wolverines have fallen to Purdue and No. 11 Michigan State, placing them in the middle of the conference heap. But with a win against Wisconsin this weekend, Michigan could easily show fans its strong start to conference play was no fluke.
The Wolverines (2-2 Big Ten, 9-7 overall) largely attribute their early success to an extremely challenging non-conference schedule.
“We play some top-25 opponents and we play somebody from every major conference,” senior guard Veronica Hicks said Tuesday after practice. “So all-in-all, you come up against those post players, or those guards, and you pretty much know that they are going to be similar to people that we’re going to face in the conference.”
Prior to its Big Ten tipoff against Ohio State, Michigan had already played against a handful of ranked teams, including No. 5 Xavier, No. 8 Texas A&M and No. 19 Iowa State. Though the Wolverines didn’t notch a win against those opponents, they used the games as development opportunities.
In early December, Michigan had its first comeback win of the season after being down at the half against Kansas. The Jayhawks — undefeated at the time — were averaging 85.3 points per game, which was good for ninth in the nation. The Wolverines then went on to win six of their next seven contests until losing to Purdue on Jan. 6th, including three consecutive wins against ranked opponents.
Michigan’s tough non-conference schedule against big programs that featured height and athleticism, allowed time to prepare for big post play.
“With a difficult schedule, you don’t get a false sense of security, as you would playing against teams that you’re not going to face in the Big Ten,” Michigan coach Kevin Borseth said. “I think we had the right mix of good solid teams in our pre-season to help us get ready for the conference.”
The Wolverines currently boast the fourth toughest schedule in the nation and are ranked No. 23 in RPI. But it was not just the big-name schools that gave Michigan room for improvement. The Wolverines also played several unranked opponents, including Indiana State, Buffalo, Wake Forest and New Mexico State.
These teams opened up the floor for Michigan’s bench players, which was essential since the Wolverines only returned one senior this season.
“When you play against really good teams, you don’t use as many people because our margin for error isn’t as great,” Borseth said. “But when you play against teams that you are better than, and you get sizeable leads obviously, and you feel comfortable, it gives those kids a chance to get in and develop some confidence because they are going to need it down the stretch.”
One player who has greatly capitalized off of the bench is junior guard Courtney Boylan. She has seen a generous increase in playing time since starting junior forward Nya Jordan sustained a knee injury against Ohio State. Boylan has tallied more than 10 points in three of the past four games, including a career-high 18 points against Iowa State.
“It’s good for our team when everybody can get in, especially now when we have such a small team,” Boylan said. “But it seems like that on any night, anybody can step up. So it’s good when you play those smaller teams at the beginning of the year because now those people are starting to have to play.”
But Michigan’s pre-conference schedule also had a few blemishes. In mid-December, the University of Detroit handed the Wolverines their worst defeat of the season and second loss at home. The harsh 67-48 loss was as a rude awakening for Michigan, which was out-rebounded, out-shot and simply out-played by a lesser team.
The Wolverines boomeranged back from their defeat and took down No. 24 Boston College, No. 14 Iowa and No. 12 Ohio State. Both the Buckeyes and the Hawkeyes were pre-season frontrunners for the Big Ten title.
“(Winning against three ranked teams) showed that we can play and gives us confidence,” Hicks said. “We had a lot of different people step up, make big plays, and score baskets, and you need that to be spread and that’s the way Coach Borseth wants it.”
With these three wins — and two close losses to Big Ten opponents — Michigan has put itself in the spotlight as a serious competitor. The Wolverines have a chance to disprove their relatively non-threatening reputation this season, specifically due to the preparation they received from their non-conference schedule.
“As a team, cohesively, we have what it takes to compete,” Hicks said. “Our goals of winning are very tangible because we have stepped on the floor and competed and shown that we could play and win.”