'We're ready': UM basketball shifts focus to Big Ten play after nonconference tear

Ann Arbor — When the calendar flips to January, that means only one thing: Big Ten play is here to stay. The next two months will be a rough and rugged grind. But if the past two months are any indication, second-ranked Michigan is more than prepared for the gauntlet that lies ahead, starting Friday against No. 24 USC. “We're ready,” forward Morez Johnson Jr. said after Monday’s 112-71 win over McNeese State, the latest in a string of stellar showings. “I think we had a good nonconference schedule. “Every team had a different defensive scheme. Every team is built different. I think that's going to help us, knowing we beat a bunch of different conference schools. … Now it's time to get into...