Dusty May just made Michigan the best college basketball team. It’s been 12 years since the Wolverines were this high in the rankings. They’ve been at the top of every ranking system, including KenPom, NET, and analytics, and they finally got the AP Poll vote on Monday. Arizona’s fall helped, but Michigan earned this by going 24-1 and beating top teams by a wide margin. It took the AP voters a long time to confirm what everyone else already knew: Michigan is the best team in the country.

The news was celebrated across social media, with Uofmcoverage on X highlighting the milestone: ‘Michigan Basketball is ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll for the first time since 2013.” The tweet showed how big the moment was: it had been 12 years since the last time. Houston got the last vote, while Michigan got 60 of the 61 first-place votes. The fact that the polls show such a strong majority of voters agreeing that the Wolverines are the best team in the country shows that they didn’t get there through a controversial selection but through a clear consensus.

Michigan wasn’t lucky. They came in first by winning every rating system. Arizona helped by falling apart and losing to Kansas and Texas Tech after being at the top for nine weeks, but Michigan’s dominant play proved they earned the top spot on their own merit. The 86-56 win over No. 2 UCLA on Saturday, and their 16-point comeback against Northwestern was a key statement win that bolstered their case for No. 1.

May’s reaction to getting to No. 1 was a perfect example of how he thought about coaching. When the AP asked coach Dusty May after Saturday’s rout of UCLA how important it would be to top the poll, he said, “Not much. It means we haven’t drank our own Kool-Aid. We’ve put ourselves in a position to be playing the types of games in mid-February that we want to be in, but we’ve got to continue to improve.”

The real test starts now. On Tuesday, Michigan will play Purdue (No. 7) and on Saturday, Duke (No. 3) in Washington, D.C. These tough opponents will show if Michigan is really the best team or just having a good regular season. Dusty May knows the difference. He didn’t want to celebrate the AP ranking because he knew that winning in March was what mattered.

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Dusty May’s Michigan faces Purdue’s ultimate test

Mackey Arena is one of the hardest places to play college basketball. If Michigan can’t make it through Tuesday night at Purdue, its No. 1 ranking means nothing. The Boilermakers (21-4) have a 40-year history of success and have shown that they can compete with the best. This isn’t about scaring people in the venue; it’s about how good and experienced Purdue’s players are. Dusty May knows exactly what his team is getting into.

May explained what makes Purdue truly dangerous: “The thing that makes it really tough to play there are Purdue’s players. Because they’re in those uniforms and they’re old, they’re good, they’re physical,” May said Monday.

May went into more detail about what makes Purdue a constant threat: “They have an identity that’s been around since I was a little kid. I think I’m 49. So yeah, so for the last 40 years, they have this very similar identity, and they’ve done a really nice job of adapting to the modern game, to offenses and defenses.”

Both teams have shown they deserve to be there. Purdue lost at home to Iowa State and Illinois, and on the road to UCLA and Indiana. In Big Ten play, Michigan only lost to Wisconsin. Tuesday will be the first real test of Michigan’s ranking. The Wolverines have to get through Mackey Arena and show that they can win anywhere against tough opponents to prove that they are the best.