Based on its national rankings, Michigan figures to be the team to beat in this week's Old Spice Classic.

Just don't say that to Wolverines coach John Beilein.

“This time of the year, I don't buy into favorites and non-favorites and ranked and unranked teams,'' Beilein said Tuesday. “All the teams in it are so good. I want us going in there with confidence but knowing that now we get to play in some challenging situations.''

The first comes at 11 a.m. Thursday when No. 15 Michigan faces off against Creighton at The Milk House on the Disney Wild World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. The Wolverines are 2-0, having posted home wins over Northern Michigan and Houston Baptist.

Creighton already has faced one challenging game, having opened the season at Dayton, which was ranked No. 21 at the time. The Bluejays led most of the first half and were still ahead with 8½ minutes to play before Dayton pulled out a 90-80 victory. Creighton has come back to post home wins over Florida A&M and Arkansas-Little Rock.

Beilein, in his third season at Michigan, crossed paths with Creighton in 2005 when his West Virginia team faced the Bluejays in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Mountaineers pulled out a two-point win, and Beilein came away impressed.

“I really respect the way they play,'' he said. “I think they and Gonzaga and Butler have some of the top so-called mid-major programs, but there's nothing mid-major about Creighton. They can play.''

So can the Wolverines. Led by junior guard Manny Harris and senior forward DeShawn Sims, Michigan returned seven players who started at least five games for a team that advanced to the second round of last season's NCAA tournament.

Harris, named to both the Naismith and Wooden Award watch lists, became the sixth sophomore in school history to score 1,000 points last season. He's off to a fast start, having posted just the second triple-double in Michigan history when he scored 18 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and handed out 10 assists in the season-opening win over Northern Michigan.

He's averaged 21.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in the Wolverines' first two games. Sims, Michigan's tallest starter at 6-foot-8, has averaged 22 points and 8 rebounds in the two wins.

“Sims and Harris are really good,'' Creighton coach Dana Altman said. “We're going to have our hands full.''

Beilein said what worries him about Creighton is the diversity the Bluejays have shown offensively this season.

“They're playing a little differently than they have in the past,'' he said. “They've always had a great passing action on offense, but they're using some dribble-drive action now. We're going to have to prepare for both.

“They're playing more zone and they're pressing more than they have before. And they're running 12 guys at teams. That's hard to prepare for at this time of the year. Knowing the scouting report when they're throwing that many guys at you this time of the year is hard.''

Michigan also will present Creighton and its other Orlando opponents with a defensive look that requires adaptability. The Wolverines play primarily a 1-3-1 zone on defense.

“I hope that works to our advantage. At this time of the year and in a tournament like this, it's hard making quick adjustments,'' Beilein said. “Our team is going to have to make adjustments, too. We have not been challenged the way we're going to be challenged now.

“That's the biggest adjustment that we have to get ready for. We're going to be facing an extremely athletic team in Creighton, and we're going to have trouble with their quickness and depth. These are things our backcourt is going to have to handle.''

Contact the writer:

679-2298, steve.pivovar@owh.com

NOTES

Michigan's only previous meeting with Creighton came in 1962, when the Wolverines won 81-62 in Ann Arbor.

Although senior forward DeShawn Sims is Michigan's tallest starter, the Wolverines do have four players 6-10 or taller, including 7-0 redshirt freshman Ben Cronin.

Junior guard Manny Harris has started every game in his career, with the streak now standing at 69.

Freshman guard Darius Morris, who has started the first two games, was considered the No. 77 top prospect nationally last season by Rivals.com.