With the calendar turning to February, neither Michigan nor Minnesota are where a lot of prognosticators thought they would be at the beginning of the season.
That has been good for No. 24 Michigan and bad for Minnesota entering the only Big Ten meeting of the season between the teams on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
After a run to the Sweet 16 last season, Michigan wasn't ranked in preseason polls because of graduation losses, losing eventual first-round pick D.J. Wilson to the NBA and relying on newcomers to quickly adapt to coach John Beilein's rotation.
But as has often as has been the case under Beilein, the Wolverines have overachieved.