ANN ARBOR — Earlier this season, Michigan played a handful of home games against non-power-conference teams and destroyed them all. The closest margin in those games was 31 points. During that time, Michigan’s freshmen starters, especially Syla Swords, were eager for bigger challenges. They bugged their coach about it.

“‘I want that next great team. I want another ranked team,’” Swords said, according to Kim Barnes Arico. “She’s relentless.”

The Wolverines will get a couple of chances this week. They visit No. 23 Minnesota on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, 7 local, B1G+) and host No. 21 Michigan State on Saturday (noon, Big Ten Network).

Michigan (13-5 overall, 4-3 Big Ten) has won three straight, most recently Saturday’s 87-71 victory over Rutgers at Crisler Center. Michigan’s defense was locked in from the start. Rutgers guard Kiyomi McMiller entered as the Big Ten’s second-leading scorer at 20 points per game. She missed all eight of her shots against Michigan and didn’t score.

“We threw a lot of bodies at her and just made her feel uncomfortable,” Barnes Arico said after the game.

One of those defenders was Te’Yala Delfosse, an athletic 6-foot-3 forward who tallied 10 points and three steals in 19 minutes off the bench. Delfosse was sidelined with an injury for about two months, missing valuable preseason practice time and not debuting until Michigan’s sixth game on Nov. 24.

“She’s so long, she’s so disruptive,” Barnes Arico said. “She just gives us something different than everyone else.”

Three other Michigan freshmen have been consistently producing all season in the starting lineup. Swords had 20 points, six rebounds, and four assists against Rutgers. Mila Holloway had 13 points, seven assists and five boards, while Olivia Olson added 13 points and four rebounds.

Barnes Arico was impressed with Swords’ on-court postgame TV interview in which she downplayed her scoring. “I’m here to win games,” Swords said. “I’m not here to score.”

“I think that’s kind of the mentality of our freshmen, which is pretty incredible,” Barnes Arico said. “They’re so unselfish. … They make extra passes, they find each other, they play basketball the right way.”

The veterans are contributing too. Jordan Hobbs is capable of scoring 20 in any game (she did it last week). Greta Kampschroeder has embraced her role as the center in Michigan’s all-guard starting lineup and is shooting 42 percent from 3. Yulia Grabovskaia, a legitimate center at 6-foot-5, has played her best recently.

Michigan, currently ranked No. 24 in the AP Top 25 poll, is 13-0 this season against unranked teams (those teams have not been ranked in the AP Top 25 poll at all season). The five losses have come against top-10 teams (three of those teams are still in the top four; the other are two are still top 15).

“It’s our time to get a ranked win,” Olson said after the Rutgers game. “We’re hungry for it.”

Minnesota (17-2, 5-2) is 11-0 at home in Dawn Plitzuweit’s second season as head coach. The Gophers average the fewest turnovers per game in the country.

Michigan State is 15-3 (5-2) entering Wednesday night’s home game against Penn State. The Spartans have been strong defensively, forcing turnovers and blocking shots at a high rate.

Barnes Arico hopes Michigan’s previous games against top competition will help her young team. “I just think experience is the greatest teacher,” she said. “There is nothing like it. I could try to simulate it in practice all day long.”

Her players, especially the rookies, are eager for what awaits this week. Big games are why they came to Michigan.

After losses, Barnes Arico said they came to her with a message: “‘We learned this, learned this, studied this — we’re prepared for the next one.’ I don’t know if they always are, but they think they are.”

We’re about to find out.

• BETTING: Check out our guide to the best Michigan sportsbooks, where our team of sports betting experts has reviewed the experience, payout speed, parlay options and quality of odds for multiple sportsbooks.

M&BR’s Dennis Fithian is back with another episode of Good Afternoon, Michigan Football!

Former Wolverine Jim Scarcelli joins the show and goes over the Lions’ playoff loss, how UM is attacking the offseason, U-M hoops and the national title game tonight.

Breakdown

Open (Lions loss) 00:00-8:10

U-M offseason 8:11-20:25

Michigan players’ jersey numbers 15-30 20:26-32:51

U-M basketball 32:52-37:52

Cade McNamara 37:53-40:40:54

OSU/ND 40:55-49:09

—

Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards

Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer

Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @Berry_Seth14, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @JimScarcelli, @Jerry_Diorio

Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify

Check out Maize & Blue Review’s video content on YouTube

Follow Maize & Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and BlueSky