ORLANDO, Fla. - After years of flailing and failing under former coaches Brian Ellerbe and Tommy Amaker, Michigan basketball coach John Beilein took over and rebuilt the Wolverines as a smart team that passes well, shoots with accuracy and plays a lot of defense.

So far, his strategy has worked. Michigan is No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and a favorite in an early-season tournament.

While some teams in the Old Spice Classic at the Milk House at Disney World have had more recent success - Xavier and Marquette, for instance - Michigan is the only ranked team in Orlando.

“It’s a bit different,” senior forward DeShawn Sims said. “But we’ve always been marquee at Michigan with the block M, it’s the plainest logo in the country, but it stands out the most.

“We have a little ammunition behind it, so it’ll just help us come out and represent it even better.”

If there’s one thing Michigan is aware of right now, it is that other teams are paying attention, starting with mid-major power Creighton on Thursday at noon in the opening game of the tournament (ESPN2).

The Blue Jays, under Dana Altman, are another of those teams that have had more recent success than Michigan.

How much better? Along with Gonzaga and Butler, Creighton is most often considered the program outside of a major conference with the most consistent success over the past decade.

“There is nothing mid-major about Creighton,” Beilein said. “They can play.”

This is part of the reason that Beilein downplays the tag of favorite.

“At this time of year, I don’t buy into favorites and non-favorites, ranked teams and unranked teams,” Beilein said. “I want us going in there confident but also, all right, we really get to play against some challenging situations.”

No matter what happens this week in Orlando, one thing Michigan is assured of is better competition than a Division II and transitional Division I program the Wolverines have played so far.

By the end of the weekend, Michigan should have an idea of where it needs to be entering the Big Ten/ACC Challenge next week and for the Big Ten season starting in a little over a month.

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.