They say there’s no place like home in college basketball, but in this one particular instance, Michigan basketball may actually beg to differ.
The Wolverines headed east on Monday afternoon following practice, arriving in New York to face Arkansas (7-2) in the Jimmy V Classic (9 p.m., ESPN) at Madison Square Garden.
Packed in their bags are a pair of winning streaks: Under first year coach Dusty May, U-M has won seven consecutive games, the program’s longest streak since taking 11 straight to open the 2020-21 season. Likewise, Now, the Wolverines have won a staggering 11 consecutive games at MSG, a streak dating back a dozen years.
The Wolverines knew this was coming and as point guard Tre Donaldson sees it, now comes the hard part.
“I’ve been on ranked teams, and I know how it goes. … People start to get complacent when ranked,” he said. “I have to talk to my teammates about not getting complacent. Everybody in the country sees (that ranking). Now that attention comes, we start to feel ourselves and things like that, but it’s about making sure the guys that haven’t been in that situation before understand that.
“Ok, we’re ranked now, now it’s just a big target. Now we’re going to have to stay consistent, do the little things like eliminate the turnovers and put ourselves in better situations at the end of games.”
U-M committed 17 turnovers in its most recent game — an 85-83 triumph over Iowa on Saturday — but that couldn’t slow the Wolverines’ momentum. As a result, U-M shot up in the polls to No. 14 on Monday.
In case those aren’t enough good vibes for the maize and blue, MSG is the arena where May and center Vlad Goldin won Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games during their historic run to the 2023 Final Four with Florida Atlantic.
“It’s exciting every single time,” Goldin said of playing in the arena known as “The Mecca of basketball.” “How the arena is built it just makes you — wow, beautiful.”
Another tough test
Michigan’s most recent four wins include a Power Four victory (Virginia Tech), a Fort Myers Tip-Off championship (over perennial NCAA Tournament participant Xavier), a road win over a top-15 league foe (Wisconsin) and, finally, a win at Crisler Center over a team that entered the game inside the KenPom top 50 (Iowa).
And now comes another Power Four team expected to be the headliner of this game: Arkansas, led by legendary head coach John Calipari in his first season in Fayetteville.
The Razorbacks haven’t impressed as much as anticipated this season, however, going just 1-2 against Power Four teams, with at least a 10-point deficit in each of those contests. They even fell behind by seven in their most recent game (vs. UTSA), before pulling away for a 75-60 win.
Another interesting layer in the matchup is that former FAU point guard Johnell Davis is now the facilitator for Calipari. He averaged better than 18 points and six assists per game for May last year after spending his entire career in Boca Raton.
Many figured he’d follow May to Ann Arbor; instead, he’s averaging 9.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists this season for Calipari.
“He’s definitely going to have a chip on his shoulder,” Arkansas senior forward Jonas Aidoo recently told local reporters of Davis’ rematch with his former coach. “I’m just going to keep it at that.”
That wasn’t the sentiment when Goldin was asked Saturday about reuniting with Davis.
“It will be fine, it’s good to see familiar faces,” Goldin said. “I believe it will be good brotherhood with him. But no personal feelings.”
Like U-M, Arkansas features a host of newcomers, led by Adou Thiero (a Kentucky transfer) leads the Razorbacks with 18.6 and 6.1 rebounds, next is Boogie Fland (a five-star recruit) at 15 points and 5.2 assists. There’s also Zvonimir Ivisic, who’s averaging 12 points and 4 rebounds a game.
Arkansas enters Tuesday at No. 8 in offensive rebound rate (22.9%), No. 19 in adjusted defensive efficiency (95), No. 27 in effective field goal percentage (56.8%) and 2-point shooting (58.3%), according to KenPom.
Next up: Razorbacks
Matchup: No. 14 Michigan (8-1) vs. Arkansas (7-2); Jimmy V Classic.
Tipoff: 9 p.m. Tuesday; Madison Square Garden, New York.
TV/radio: ESPN; WWJ-AM (950).
Tony Garcia’s pick: Michigan 81, Arkansas 76.
The event: The Jimmy V Classic, which began in 1995, is an annual neutral-site event paying tribute to iconic N.C. State head coach Jim Valvano, who died of cancer in 1993. The event raises money and awareness for cancer research. Michigan is the second game of Tuesday’s men’s doubleheader, following the 6:30 p.m. tipoff between No. 1 Tennessee and Miami (Florida). On the women’s side, N.C. State and Louisville will tip off at the Cardinals’ home arena on Sunday.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. You can send him an email at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball aims to stay hot at Madison Square Garden vs. Arkansas
