Going off KenPom:
Underdog
2021 vs Illinois, MU +9
2022 vs Purdue, MU +10
2023 vs Illinois, MU +1
2023 vs Purdue, MU +3
Favorite
2022 vs UW, MU -5
2023 vs UW, MU -1
2023 vs Mich. State, MU -3
Idk how hard it is to look up at point spreads by coach so these are just at a glance records and I'll leave it you to decide if you want to check whether Shaka's teams were favored or not.
Vs B12 7-0 (just between VCU & MU)
Vs PAC 12 (8-3)
Vs SEC (7-6)
Vs ACC (11-5)
Again I don't know what amount of games his teams were or were not favored in so maybe a lot of scrubs there but that'd be wild if he just happened to predominantly play teams he's an underdog against in the B1G as opposed to other conferences. I think there's enough data to at least ponder whether it's a matchup of styles issue.