ANN ARBOR, Michigan. – The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan women’s basketball team (15-2) will travel to the Garden State to take on No. 5-ranked Vanderbilt (18-0) in the Coretta Scott King Classic Monday afternoon (Jan. 19) at the Prudential Center. The match is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and can be seen on Fox.
Remarks
• Vanderbilt leads the all-time series against Michigan, 3-1, with the Wolverines winning the last game between the two teams during the 2008-09 season.
• The game features two of the best offenses in the country, with Michigan ranking fifth at 88.6 points per game and Vanderbilt ranking 9th at 86.9 points per game.
• Michigan travels to New Jersey for the first of two straight games in the Garden State, with UM traveling to Piscataway to face Rutgers on Thursday (Jan. 22) following that matchup against No. 5 Vanderbilt. This is my first time back in New Jersey to Te’Yala Delfosse (Ewing) and the first time for Ashley Sofilkanich (South Amboy) in a Michigan jersey.
• Michigan is off to a 15-2 start, matching the best 17-game start in program history. The other 15-2 start came during the 2021-22 season, where Michigan ultimately started with a 20-2 record en route to an Elite Eight appearance.
• J. Ira and Nicki Harris, head coach of the women’s basketball family Kim Barnes-Arico earned the 299th win of his Michigan career last time out, an 85-69 win over No. 25 Illinois (Jan. 15). With one more win, she will become the first Michigan basketball coach – men’s or women’s – to reach the 300 win mark in Ann Arbor.
• Michigan faces its second top-five opponent of the season after beating No. 1 UConn to the wire before losing 72-69 at the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase (Nov. 19). UM has two top-five wins in program history, both coming during the 2021-22 season. Michigan has wins against No. 5 Baylor (74-68, Dec. 19, 2021) and No. 5 Indiana (65-50, Jan. 31, 2022) this season. On the season, UM is 2-1 against ranked teams with wins over No. 18 Notre Dame and No. 25 Illinois.
• Michigan, ranked No. 6 in the latest NET rankings, earned its third Quad 1 victory against Minnesota. UM rallied from within 12 points to beat Minnesota, 70-60, in Crisler on January 5. UM also had Quad 1 wins at Oregon (92-87, Dec. 29) and Notre Dame (93-54, Nov. 15). Michigan is one of 13 schools nationally with at least three Quad 1 victories.
• Olivia Olson has scored in double figures in all 17 games for Michigan this season, averaging 18.1 points per game on 47.2 percent shooting. She recorded seven 20-point games and two double-doubles this season. Olson ranks eighth in the Big Ten as one of eight players to average at least 18.0 points per game. Olson has scored in double figures in 23 consecutive games, dating back to last season. It was named to the Wooden Award’s midseason Top 25 Movies to Watch list last week.
• Syla Swords hit three triples in Michigan’s win over No. 25 Illinois (Jan. 15), his sixth game this season and 20th career game with at least three triples in a game. Swords is one of 20 Wolverines in program history with at least 100 career threes, ranking 17th with 108 three-pointers made.
• Delfosse has thrived in an expanded role during his sophomore season in Ann Arbor, recently recording his second double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Wisconsin (Jan. 11) before following that up with 15 points and six rebounds coming off the bench against No. 25 Illinois (Jan. 25). She has scored in double figures in 11 games this season with a 20-point game. She averages 11.5 points per game on 55.7 percent shooting and a team-high 5.9 rebounds per game.
