Michigan is legit, and other lessons learned from Feast Week

Thanksgiving Week brought us a wild week of sports. The Egg Bowl became unhinged, then Nick Saban forgot how to count in the Iron Bowl, all while college basketball gave us rising stars to conclude the first month of the season. Join us as we dig into the lessons we learned from Feast Week in college hoops.

Juwan Howard is really doing it

A part of the Fab Five, Juwan Howard did not have experience in college coaching when the Michigan tasked him to lead its program following John Beilein’s abrupt departure. Expectations were low and Howard has already surpassed them.

The Wolverines spent Feast Week in the Bahamas at the Battle for Atlantis. After they handed Iowa State a seven-point loss, the Wolverines did not flinch against North Carolina. Cole Anthony made eight of his 17 shots to score 22 points, but Michigan only let one other Tar Heel score in double figures, which led to a 73-64 win. The following day the Wolverines ran Gonzaga out of the gym behind Isaiah Livers’ 21 points to win the Battle for Atlantis championship game.

Michigan took down two teams no one would be shocked to see in the Final Four—Gonzaga and North Carolina—in two days. AP voters responded by launching them from unranked to No. 4 in the country, tied for the biggest jump in the history of the AP Poll. The tests aren’t over for the Wolverines. Michigan is a six-point underdog on the road against No. 1 Louisville on Tuesday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

No No. 1 is safe

Duke avoided the big names in a Feast Week tournament but still got dethroned. The Blue Devils lost at home in overtime, 85-83, to Stephan F. Austin, its first nonconference home loss since 2000. Louisville is now the fourth team to hold the top spot in the AP Poll in five weeks. If the trend holds true, Michigan will knock down the Cards in Louisville's first test of the season.

Dayton is an entertaining mid-major

The Flyers’ performance in the Maui Invitational final will make them a popular pick when NCAA Tournament brackets are released in March. Kansas shot 55.9% from the field and got career highs from Devon Dotson (21 points) and Udoka Azabuike (29 points, four blocks), yet Bill Self’s squad needed overtime to take down Dayton.

Dayton's Obi Toppin played poorly by his standards and failed to score more than 20 points for the first time this season (18 points, nine rebounds), while junior guard Rodney Chatman spent most of the game on the sideline dealing with foul trouble. Coach Anthony Grant has all the pieces to make a run in March.

Georgia absolutely stinks

What was Anthony Edwards thinking? The No. 1 or No. 2 player in the 2019 recruiting class, depending on who you ask, opted to play for Tom Crean at Georgia. The net-cutting nerd who could not escape the Sweet 16 at Indiana will let Edwards get buckets, but his team will not win.

In a 19-point loss to Dayton in the opening round at Maui, Edwards scored six points on 10 shots. The following day Edwards almost single-handedly brought the Bulldogs back from 21 down at the half by scoring 33 points in the second period against Michigan State. A day after the comeback came up short, Georgia nearly lost to Chaminade, but prevailed, 80-77, behind 24 points from Edwards.

Georgia is going to be a brutal team to bet on all season, because even if Edwards shows up, the Bulldogs could lose in hilarious fashion.

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