Tag: Michigan Wolverines

For the first time since 2021, the Wolverines will be Big Ten regular season champions.

Pulling away in the second half, the No. 3 Michigan men’s basketball team (26-2 overall, 16-1 Big Ten) defeated Minnesota (13-15, 6-11) by a final score of 77-67, clinching a share of the Big Ten Title.

The Golden Gophers’ plan of attack was clear from the get-go: They wanted to minimize Michigan’s frontcourt impact. They started the game in a zone defense, daring the Wolverines to shoot and taking away post-isolation scenarios away from the Wolverines’ big men.

On the offensive end, Minnesota was content to fire away from 3-point land. It lacked the size to be able to truly compete down low, so its best chance to take down Michigan was to shoot lights out.

For a large portion of the first half, their plan worked. With just under eight minutes to play in the half, the Gophers boasted a slim 20-19 lead. They had made four of their 10 3-point shots, and Michigan’s frontcourt was really yet to get involved. The Wolverines found some success when attacking the middle of the zone, but they were settling from 3-point looks more often than usual.

But Michigan found its stroke for a moment down the stretch of the first half, and at the same time, the Gophers went ice cold. Three 3-pointers — one from graduate guard Nimari Burnett and two from freshman guard Trey McKenney — along with a dunk from sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. sent the Wolverines on an 11-0 run. Meanwhile, Minnesota missed eight straight shots, allowing Michigan to open up a 30-20 lead with 2:56 to play in the period.

They couldn’t keep the margin, though. The Gophers closed out the final minutes of the half on an 8-2 run of their own.

It wasn’t a pristine half from the Wolverines, and it probably didn’t want to get dragged into a 3-point shootout, but they still entered halftime sporting a 32-28 advantage.

The first five minutes of the second half was a game of call-and-response. If Michigan scored, Minnesota had an answer. If the Gophers got a stop, so did the Wolverines. Neither team was shrinking, but neither team held an advantage. With 15 minutes to play, Michigan owned a 44-39 lead.

Sophomore guard L.J. Cason provided a nice spark out of the under-16 minute timeout, however, that helped the Wolverines open a more sizeable lead. First, he knocked down a left-corner triple, then he completed a lob to junior center Aday Mara on the ensuing possession. To cap off his run, he immediately collected a steal and an easy transition layup to give Michigan a 51-42 lead.

The Gophers worked their deficit back down to four, but the Wolverines responded by unloaded a barrage of 3-pointers. McKenney and junior guard Elliot Cadeau both knocked one down, but not to be outdone, Cason added two more of his own to stretch the lead to 63-49 with 7:26 to play.

That 14-point lead was sizeable enough for Michigan to glide to the finish line without too much resistance from the Gophers — although they did cut the deficit down to 10 by the final buzzer.

As time expired, the Wolverines collected not only another Big Ten win, but a share of the Big Ten regular season title. A share of the title isn’t the final goal — they want it all, and they’ll have a chance to earn that in the coming weeks — but it certainly is testament to the season this squad has put together thus far.

The Michigan men’s basketball team’s time atop the college basketball mountain — at least in the eyes of the AP Poll Top 25 rankings voters — was short-lived.

Just a week after claiming the elusive No. 1 ranking, the Wolverines’ loss at the hands of then-No. 3 Duke was enough to drop them back down to No. 3 themselves.

Michigan started the week with a bang, walking into Mackey Arena and taking down then-No. 7 Purdue on its home court, 91-80. Riding a 32-11 run in the middle part of the first half, the Wolverines had control of the game almost all the way through. 

The matchup between Michigan and Duke on Saturday was one of the most anticipated duels in college basketball this season. Partly because it was No. 1 against No. 3, but also because it was a rare non-conference bout in the middle of February.

Ultimately, the Blue Devils came out on top, winning 68-63 and handing the Wolverines’ their second loss of the season. Michigan never truly found a rhythm on the offensive end, and it couldn’t rack up enough stops to compensate.

As a result Duke rose to No. 1 in the poll, and Arizona slid back into No. 2 slot after a win over now-No. 5 Houston. 

Here are the complete AP Poll rankings from Week 16:

Other teams receiving votes: Wisconsin, Saint Mary’s, Villanova, Miami, Utah State, NC State, SMU, Texas A&M, Iowa, UCF, High Point, Stephen F. Austin, Navy.

Time is running out on the regular season, and as that happens, the AP Poll becomes less relevant. The poll doesn’t have any bearing on March Madness seeding, but it does act as a useful barometer for the college basketball climate during the season.

Now, however, most eyes are locked on obtaining a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, or, better yet, the No. 1 overall seed.

The Wolverines could certainly work back up to the No. 1 in the AP Poll. If Duke loses one of its final four games and Michigan wins out, No. 1 is probably headed back to Ann Arbor, especially considering it has No. 10 Illinois and No. 13 Michigan State still on the horizon.

Next up, however, the Wolverines are set to take on Minnesota on Tuesday. Normally this game wouldn’t draw a ton of attention, but with Illinois’ loss to UCLA on Saturday, Michigan can clinch the Big Ten Title with a win. 

The last time Michigan won a Big Ten regular season title was in a COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. There was controversy surrounding the Wolverines’ crowning, given that some games had to be cancelled due to illness. Illinois ended the season with more Big Ten wins, but Michigan had a better winning percentage.

With a Big Ten Title potentially under their belt, the Wolverines could still be in a good position to claim the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament if they win the games in front of them. That’s easier said than done, of course, but Michigan certainly has the ability to pull it off.

It wasn’t the result that Michigan wanted, but the top-3 showdown in Washington D.C. delivered high-intensity basketball.

Both teams played strong defensive games, but ultimately, Duke made more shots when it mattered. The Blue Devils snuck by the Wolverines, winning 68-63.

The game was a simulated March Madness bout: a neutral site, two of the best teams in the country, and a raucous crowd. Regardless of the outcome, both squads gained valuable experience as tournament season quickly approaches. 

Here are five key takeaways from Michigan’s second loss of the season…

The biggest culprit to the Wolverines’ defeat was its lack of rebounding. There have been times this season where Michigan has been out-rebounded, but Duke took it to another level. The Blue Devils collected 41 rebounds to the Wolverines’ 28. Duke also scored 18 second-chance points.

Outside of giving Duke second chances, Michigan’s rebounding troubles limited its ability to get out in transition. The Blue Devils play slow, and they forced Michigan to play that way too. When the Wolverines are at their best, they’re grabbing the board and immediately running the floor, but with Duke’s offensive rebounding prowess, they had to focus on simply securing the board.

Down three with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game, the Wolverines forced a miss. But instead of getting the ball back with a chance to tie the game, they were unable to corral the rebound, ultimately slashing any chance they had at a comeback.

It’s not often a team as big as Michigan gets out-rebounded, but Duke pulled it off.

In the first half, it was the Yaxel Lendeborg show. The graduate forward scored 10 of the Wolverines’ first 14 points and finished the half with a game-high 16 points. While he slowed down in the second half — finishing the game with 21 points, seven rebounds, and three assists — he was Michigan’s heart and soul on offense.

Nine of his 15 shot attempts came from beyond the arc. Most of those were good looks, though, and he wasn’t forcing the issue. Duke was daring him to shoot, and he did, knocking down three of those nine. 

The confidence to take those shots is a good sign for the Wolverines. While it probably shouldn’t be nine attempts every game, Lendeborg making teams respect his jumper opens up the offense for his teammates. 

Junior center Aday Mara only played six minutes in the first half, because in those six minutes, he picked up three fouls. And when sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. picked up his second foul, the Wolverines were forced to play very small down the stretch of the first half. 

Mara also had to sit to start the second half, with senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. taking his place. While this isn’t a big deal on paper, it threw off head coach Dusty May’s usual rotations and hindered Michigan’s defense.

Even when Mara did get back out on the court, he couldn’t be as physical as he normally is, fearing he would pick up his fourth foul. It wasn’t the singular thing that doomed the Wolverines, but it threw them out of their normal routine.

In the second half, Michigan shot 8-for-28 from the field, good for just 28.6%. On the other hand, Duke shot 13-for-29 (44.8%). It’s very difficult to win a close game with second-half splits like that.

The Wolverines missed a few easy ones, but a lot of the credit goes to Duke’s defense. The Blue Devils are ranked second in the country in defensive efficiency — behind only Michigan itself — and they showed why on Saturday night. 

They made Michigan’s guards uncomfortable with constant ball pressure, and they recovered very nicely down to the Wolverines’ forwards. Michigan didn’t get many open opportunities, and when it did, it couldn’t take advantage.

At this high level of basketball, there really isn’t such a thing as a moral victory. Still, this game can be very valuable for the Wolverines moving forward. 

The environment very closely resembled that of a March Madness matchup, and they got to take on a fellow top-ranked team outside of the Big Ten. The loss doesn’t hinder their push for the Big Ten title, and it provides a bench mark for where they stand as of right now.

Michigan learned that it isn’t unbeatable, and it still has to grow if it wants to make a push for the national championship.

This monster matchup lived up to all of the hype.

In a rare top-3, non-conference matchup in February, the No. 1 Michigan men’s basketball team (25-2) couldn’t scrounge up enough offense to take down No. 3 Duke (25-2), losing 68-63 in a physical defensive battle.

For Michigan, it was graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg getting off of the blocks hot. He scored 10 of the Wolverines’ first 14 points and looked extremely comfortable in the big-time environment. He started his scoring by forcing his way into the paint, finishing two and-1s and a fastbreak layup. But he also showed off his range, hitting two 3-pointers early in the half as well.

While the numbers evened out as the half progressed, in the early stages, Michigan was seeking high-percentage looks on the interior, while Duke was more content firing from the outside. So, while the Wolverines were shooting a better percentage from the field, the Blue Devils were able to keep pace with the occasional 3-pointer.

Michigan’s junior center Aday Mara picked up three early fouls and was only able to play six minutes in the first half. This forced Lendeborg and sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. to play extended minutes. But when Johnson picked up his second foul late in the half, the Wolverines had to go small.

Duke’s star freshman forward Cameron Boozer took advantage Michigan’s lack of size on the court. With senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. drawing the matchup down the stretch, Boozer used his frame and footwork to collect nine points in the first period. Lendeborg finished the half with a game-high 16 points, keeping the Wolverines right in the game.

Neither team opened up a lead larger than five points, and Duke entered halftime with a slim 35-33 lead.

The Blue Devils tested the Wolverines’ fight early in the second half, opening up a 41-35 lead in the opening minutes, but Michigan wasn’t going to hang its head that easy. Johnson nailed a top-of-the-key 3-pointer for the Wolverines’ first field goal of the half, settling things down and making the score 41-38.

Both squads started to struggle offensively. In the first eight minutes of the second half, Michigan shot 3-for-10 from the floor while Duke shot 5-for-6. The biggest difference was the Blue Devils’ ability to clean the glass. In that span alone, Duke outrebounded the Wolverines 13-to-6, with seven of those being offensive. So, with 12-minutes to play, the Blue Devils held a 47-42 lead.

As the clock ticked under 10 minutes to play, Michigan’s struggles from the field continued, and Duke continued to work the ball inside. The Blue Devils were exposing the Wolverines’ defense, continuously running the pick-and-roll to get favorable mismatches down low. Even so, Michigan got to the line and made its free throws to keep the deficit manageable, and at the under-eight minute timeout, it trailed 53-48.

After Duke opened up a 57-49 lead, the Wolverines finally made their move. Mara collected a tip-in layup and then knocked in two free throws to cut the lead to four, then Lendeborg closed the deficit to just one with a right-wing triple off of two offensive rebounds. With just under four minutes to play, Duke was only up by one point, 57-56, and the Wolverines had the momentum on their side.

The teams continued to trade blows, tit for tat. A 3-pointer for a 3-pointer. But with under a minute to play, Duke had still the upper hand, 66-63.

Down three with less than 30 seconds left, the Wolverines forced a miss, but they couldn’t corral the rebound. Michigan was forced to foul, and the game was over from there. Duke knocked down its free throws, and the Wolverines couldn’t execute a miraculous comeback.

Michigan’s No. 1 ranking is probably now short-lived, but its attention turns back to Big Ten play and the quest for a conference title.

Mackey Arena is one of the toughest places to play in the country. It’s loud, it’s rambunctious. But against the Wolverines, it was quiet.

The No. 2 Michigan men’s basketball team (25-1 overall, 15-1 Big Ten) silenced No. 7 Purdue (21-5, 11-4) in West Lafayette, winning by a final score of 91-80.

With such anticipation for the matchup, the energy in the gym was tense, and it showed with the play on the court. Both teams were playing tight, and the score reflected that. Purdue fared a little better in the opening minutes taking a 7-2 lead four minutes in, but 3-pointers from graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg and senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. kept the Wolverines in the game.

The Boilermakers’ offense is one of the best in the nation, but it primarily runs through star point guard Braden Smith. In the first half though, forward Trey Kaufman-Renn was the only release valve. The Wolverines took Smith out of the game, and that makes Purdue one-dimensional.

It was a low-scoring game considering the two prolific offenses, and with 13 minutes left in the first half, the Boilermakers held a slim 11-10 lead.

But Michigan snapped out of the daze first. From the 13-minute mark to the 4:23 mark, the Wolverines ripped off a 32-11 run to take a 42-22 lead, stunning Purdue and the crowd alike.

The Wolverines were attacking the offensive glass, collecting eight offensive rebounds and cashing in 14 second-chance points in the first half. Lendeborg, freshman guard Trey McKenney, and sophomore guard L.J. Cason all knocked in 3-pointer reloads off of offensive rebounds. They also utilized their size, finding junior center Aday Mara in several post isolation scenarios against smaller defenders.

Michigan also continued to shut down Smith, holding him to zero points in the first half and limiting his success in Purdue’s usually-productive pick and roll game. The Wolverines’ offense got going, and Purdue’s never did.

Entering halftime, Michigan flaunted a 16-point cushion, leading 48-32.

Out of the break, Purdue looked much more confident than it ever did in the first half. Smith scored his first four points of the ball game and Kaufman-Renn added six more of his own in the first five minutes of the period. But junior guard Elliot Cadeau‘s two 3-pointers and graduate guard Nimari Burnett‘s dunk kept the lead safe. As the clock ticked under 15 minutes, the Wolverines were up 14 points, 56-42.

After a relatively quiet first half in which he scored just three points, Cadeau took over in the second. He added three more buckets on top of his two 3-pointers, scoring 12 of Michigan’s first 14 points in the period. While Purdue was finding its stride on offense, mainly by force-feeding Kaufman-Renn down low, Cadeau’s spurt was instrumental in keeping the Boilermakers out of true striking distance.

The squads were more or less trading buckets, but Michigan was more than happy to tread water with a 69-54 lead and just eight minutes to play.

Every time Purdue seemed poised to go on a run, the Wolverines had a response. Whether it was Cason’s tough finishes around the rim or a pair of crowd-silencing 3-pointers from McKenney, they simply wouldn’t let Purdue back into the ball game.

Very slowly, the Boilermakers shrunk the lead from 15 points, then to 13 points, then to 11 points, but Michigan didn’t back down. Instead, it came back and used offensive rebounds and a 3-pointer from Lendeborg to raise the lead right back up to 16 points at 79-63 with 4:16 to play.

Purdue whittled its deficit down to eight points with under two minutes to play, but the Wolverines’ previously accrued lead was too much to overcome in such little time.

The once-raucous crowd was mum was the clock hit zeroes. Michigan had passed the first of the week’s two top-10 tests, acing this one with flying colors in a convincing 91-80 win.

Led by its star sophomore guards, No. 7 Michigan (22-4 overall, 12-2 Big Ten) took down No. 13 Michigan State (20-6, 9-5) by a final score of 86-65, marking just the fifth season sweep over the Spartans in program history.

Sophomore guard Syla Swords led the way, finishing with 24 points, two rebounds, and two assists. Fellow sophomore guard Olivia Olson scored 23 points alongside her eight rebounds and four assists.

The pace was frenetic from the start, but that was expected. With two of the top three scoring offenses in the Big Ten squaring off, it only makes sense that both teams come out firing. The only difference between the two squads was that Michigan State was hitting its shots early while Michigan wasn’t.

Off of both makes and misses, the Spartans were immediately pushing the ball down the court. They were largely unconcerned with setting up an offense, and they didn’t need to, as they collected easy layups in transition. Michigan State began the game 7-for-10 from the field, opening up a 19-11 lead.

The Wolverines were also pushing the pace, but they weren’t converting at the same clip. They finished the quarter shooting just 6-for-20, and amassed a 21-15 deficit.

Michigan found an offensive spark to open the second quarter, though, outscoring Michigan State 19-4 in the first six minutes. The Wolverines didn’t get particularly hot in that span, they simply prevented the Spartans from getting any opportunity to score. In those first six minutes, Michigan forced six turnovers and collected five offensive rebounds. As a result, the Wolverines attempted 14 shots to the Spartans’ three, which led to Michigan opening a 34-25 lead.

Things didn’t get much better for Michigan State, finishing with 12 turnovers in the second quarter alone. The Wolverines won the second quarter 26-9, and took a 41-30 lead into halftime. Swords finished the half with a game-leading 14 points, while Olson and fellow sophomore guard Mila Holloway followed with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Michigan started the second half feeling good, making all four of its first four shots, but just as Michigan State did in the first half, the Wolverines started to turn the ball over.

In the opening five minutes of the half, they turned the ball over three times, but were still able to open the lead up to 53-38. Swords scored six early points to push her game total up to 20 points, while Olson scored four to put her total at 15 points.

With just under three minutes to play in the third quarter, however, Swords picked up her fourth foul, forcing head coach Kim Barnes Arico to sit her star guard for an extended period.

That didn’t slow the Wolverines down, however, as they continued to maintain control of the game. As the fourth quarter began, they were nursing a 15-point, 65-50 lead.

And after four minutes of play in the fourth quarter, Michigan State’s chance of a comeback had completely withered, as Michigan owned a commanding 73-54 lead. In every way, the Wolverines were better than the Spartans. Michigan got to every loose ball, forced Michigan State into rushed possessions, and executed on offense when it needed to.

The Wolverines were able to coast to the final buzzer, collecting both an impressive 86-65 win and a series sweep over the Spartans.

With two more wins — and two Arizona losses — the Michigan men’s basketball team will almost certainly be America’s new No. 1 team in the AP Poll come Monday afternoon.

In the first half of the Wolverines 87-75 victory over Northwestern on Wednesday, however, the coveted No. 1 spot seemed far, far away. But a masterclass of a second half salvaged Michigan’s brief trip to Chicago, and the squad returned back to Ann Arbor to prepare for the arrival of UCLA on Saturday.

Michigan made easy work of the Bruins, picking up yet another 30-point win, this one by a final score of 86-56. With that win, the Wolverines maintained their two-game advantage atop the Big Ten standings. 

Here are five key takeaways from Michigan’s undefeated week…

The Wolverines entered halftime down by nine against Northwestern, but they walloped the Wildcats 52-31 in the second half. Similarly, they were up by just two points at the half against UCLA, but dismantled the Bruins 46-18 in the final 20 minutes.

The Wolverines’ offense looked extremely solid in both second halves, but it was the defense that set everything up. They held Northwestern to 30.8% shooting in the second half, and UCLA put up an even worse 25.9%. Even if Michigan was just average on offense, those kinds of defensive performances are most likely going to result in a win.

Certainly, a complete 40 minutes is the ultimate goal, but just 20 minutes of extremely high-level play was enough for the Wolverines to collect two big wins.

With 14:22 to play in Wednesday’s game against Northwestern, Michigan was down by 16 points, 58-42. The Wolverines were being ambushed, and they were caught off guard.

But Michigan didn’t simply accept fate and take the loss. Instead, it bore down and went on the aforementioned 45-17 run to stun the Wildcats.

Head coach Dusty May would definitely prefer to never be down by 16 in the second half, but his team gaining experience in flipping a deep deficit into a double-digit win is undeniably valuable. The Wolverines haven’t had to play from behind much this season, so this win instills an unwavering belief that, no matter how bad it looks, they can always turn it around.

Come tournament time, which is rapidly approaching, this kind of game is something that Michigan might be thankful for.

Sophomore guard L.J. Cason has made an incredible leap this season, and he’s still getting better. Last season he was primarily a bench scoring spark that saw limited minutes, but this season, he’s stepped in as a true backup point guard that can lead an offense. 

Don’t get it twisted, Cason still hangs his hat on putting the ball in the basket, and that’s exactly what Michigan needed him to do against Northwestern. Junior guard Eillot Cadeau was struggling, and the deficit was steadily growing, so May turned to Cason for a spark. He scored 11 points in a five minute span which saw the Wolverines cut the deficit from 11 points to just two.

He finished the game with a team-leading 18 points, and was probably the biggest factor in Michigan’s comeback. He brought that strong performance into Saturday’s game against UCLA, too, finishing that game with 13 points and two assists in 20 minutes of play.

Cadeau is still the lead point guard, but like every player, he’s prone to cold spells. So it’s an intense luxury for May to have someone like Cason to run the offense.

Graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg started the season hot from 3-point land, but since the turn of the new year, he’s really struggled. Entering Saturday’s contest against UCLA, Lendeborg was just 8-for-49 (16.3%) from deep in his previous 12 games after starting the season 21-for-52 (40.4%).

Against the Bruins, though, he finally put together a solid night from behind the arc. He made two of his three triple tries, both from the right wing. On the first make, he found himself wide open, and he had no choice but to take it. The make must have given him confidence, because his second make was a pull-up off the bounce. 

Lendeborg is often the best player on the court even without his shot falling, but if he gets his rhythm back, there’s almost no way to stop him.

Michigan didn’t fall victim to any of the ‘trap games,’ and now a brutal stretch of matchups is imminent. The Wolverines will face four top-15 teams in their final six games, consisting of No. 13 Purdue, No. 4 Duke, No. 8 Illinois, and No. 10 Michigan State. The only reprises are games against Minnesota and a fringe-top 25 team in Iowa. 

Michigan absolutely has the talent to navigate this schedule and emerge unscathed, but the reality is that a loss at some point is probable. The key, then, is to not let one loss turn into two or three.

This stretch gives the Wolverines an opportunity to prove undeniable dominance, but it could also be demoralizing if it goes wrong. They certainly want to avoid the latter.

With a commanding second-half performance, the No. 2 Michigan men’s basketball team (24-1 overall, 14-1 Big Ten) dismantled UCLA (17-8, 9-5) by a final score of 86-56.

Michigan had control for almost the entire first half, and unlike its previous game against Northwestern, it started the game with ample energy. The Wolverines’ defense looked quite solid, and UCLA was having a hard time finding open, or even lightly-contested looks. As a result, Michigan opened up an early 14-5 lead.

With the Bruins reeling and the Wolverines feeling good, the contest was at a crucial juncture: Either Michigan would pull away and force UCLA into panic mode, or the Bruins would compose themselves and stay in the game. UCLA forced the latter.

The Wolverines weren’t shooting poorly, but they weren’t hitting at an unstoppable clip. So, the Bruins took advantage and kept the deficit manageable. Michigan’s defense was still hounding, but UCLA found a work-around. It crashed the offensive glass hard and manufactured easier second-chance opportunities. This was enough to limit the Wolverines’ advantage to no more than 11 at any point in the half.

Sophomore guard L.J. Cason parlayed his impressive second-half performance from Thursday into a nice first half against UCLA. In his nine minutes off of the bench, he scored eight points on two 3-pointers and a tough layup to keep the Bruins at an arm’s length.

Michigan had an 11-point, 39-28 lead with just under three minutes left in the period, but UCLA ripped off a 10-1 run to end the half. Despite having control for almost the entire game to that point, it only manifested a 40-38 lead entering halftime.

Separated by a 15-minute breather in the locker room, the Wolverines responded to the Bruins’ half-ending run with a half-starting run of their own. Graduate guard Nimari Burnett and junior guard Elliot Cadeau both cashed in two buckets, and Michigan pushed the lead back to 51-42 on the back of an 11-4 run.

Graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg, who had been massively struggling with his 3-point stroke, finally found his shot. UCLA left him wide open on a miscommunicated screen, and Lendeborg had no choice but to let it fly. He hit nothing but net. A couple of possessions later, Lendeborg had the ball in the same spot, and he confidently pulled up off of the dribble and sank a second one to give the Wolverines a 59-45 lead with just over 12 minutes to play.

Things fell apart for UCLA from there. Michigan was on a stretch of 12 makes on 13 shots, while the Bruins had made just one of its last nine. Cason was still playing with confidence, sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. was dominating inside, and the defense was suffocating. In the blink of an eye, the Wolverines had a 68-47 lead with 8:13 to play.

The stretch of dominance in the second half was reminiscent of Michigan’s second-half performance against Northwestern, except this time it didn’t have to overcome a 16-point deficit.

The Bruins had nothing left in them, and the Wolverines coasted to the final buzzer with very little resistance — it’s hard to find a way to lose when shooting 18-for-23 in the second half.

As the buzzer sounded on Michigan’s 86-56 win, its end-of-year gauntlet had just begun. Luckily for the Wolverines’, they’ll have quite a bit of momentum moving forward.

The Wolverines were trailing for much of the game, but somehow, they found a win to earn a win.

Struggling to find its footing early, the No. 2 Michigan men’s basketball team (23-1 overall, 13-1 Big Ten) rode a strong final 12 minutes to an 87-75 victory over Northwestern (10-15, 2-12) on the road.

The first half was the sloppiest stretch of basketball the Wolverines have played since the opening games of the year. On both ends of the floor, they were out of sync, low energy, and lacked focus.

Northwestern opened the game hot, making six of its first seven shots from the floor and setting the tone. Michigan, on the other hand, couldn’t get much of anything going at all. The usually-free flowing offense was stagnant and panicked — the Wildcats were being physical despite their size disadvantage, and the Wolverines were visibly uncomfortable.

Whether it was playing off of the back foot or forcing a tough shot, Michigan was playing nervous.

As the midway point of the half came and went, the Wolverines still hadn’t settled in, and with just under nine minutes to play in the period, Northwestern led 31-19. This was uncharted territory Michigan, as this was its largest deficit it had faced all season.

The Wolverines probably could’ve been down by more, too, but their size and athleticism kept the game within reach. Due to their 11 offensive rebounds that led to 13 second-chance points, they shot 40 times in the first half compared to the Wildcats’ 31 attempts,

The biggest discrepancy came in the efficiency department. With Michigan shooting 35% from the floor to Northwestern’s 51.6%, even the nine shot discrepancy couldn’t make up for the Wolverines’ poor shoot making.

Regardless of its poor performance, Michigan only entered the break down 44-35, and it had a fresh 20 minutes to flip the score on its head.

But the halftime break didn’t clear the slate. The Wolverines came out of the gates in the second just as flat as they did in the first. They opened up play with three turnovers in four minutes, and shot 2-for-9 from the field in that span. Instead of closing the gap, Michigan’s deficit opened up to 54-41.

The Wolverines settled in a little bit, but they needed to do more than simply settle in, they needed to erase a 15-point deficit in the second half. Trading buckets kept the deficit surmountable, but made no headway in actually surmounting it.

Out of the under-12 minute timeout, however, the Wolverines finally made their move. Northwestern was whistled for a hook-and-hold flagrant foul, and while junior center Aday Mara missed both free throws, it sparked a big 11-2 run that pulled Michigan back within two points at 60-58.

The Wolverines looked much more like themselves, using their defense to run in transition and get easy looks at the rim. Sophomore guard L.J. Cason was at the center of it all, as his 11 points in a four-minute span propelled Michigan right back into the game. With just under eight minutes to play, the deficit was 67-65.

Then the Wolverines broke through for good. Freshman guard Trey McKenney gave Michigan its first lead since it was 10-8 in the first half, knocking in a right-wing triple to make the score 68-67.

That was the single shot that put the Wolverines in front, but from the midway point of the first half, Michigan was absolutely dominant. It was as if the first 30 minutes hadn’t happened and the Wolverines of week’s past came back out to play.

Michigan ended the game on a 36-15 run, leaving Northwestern stunned. The 87-75 final score doesn’t tell the full story, but the Wolverines will take the road win any way they can get it.

Beating the Buckeyes in Columbus is never easy, but the Wolverines made it look like it was.

The No. 2 Michigan men’s basketball team (22-1 overall, 12-1 Big Ten) took care of business on the road against Ohio State (15-8, 7-6), dominating the interior and taking home an impressive 82-61 win.

From the opening tip, the Wolverines’ size advantage was evident. They started the game with a big-to-big action, with junior center Aday Mara finding sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. on a cut, but it was the offensive glass where Michigan made its mark.

Over the course of the first half, the Wolverines attempted 42 shots to Ohio State’s 30, largely thanks to a whopping 12 offensive rebounds. Johnson himself finished the half with five offensive boards, while Mara added four.

Typically, those 12 extra shot attempts would afford Michigan a large lead, but it struggled uncharacteristically from the interior. The Wolverines finished the first half just 3-for-12 on layups and dunks, with countless attempts simply rolling off the rim.

So, despite their rebound dominance, they relied on the 3-point shot to score. Throwing a true curveball, Mara actually made not one, but two 3-pointers in the half after not making a single one in his entire college career entering the game. As a team, the Wolverines shot 9-for-18 from deep in the first period.

Despite the abnormalities, Michigan held the lead for the entirety of the first half, it just couldn’t pull away like it wanted to. Its offensive rebounding and 3-point shooting prowess was enough to take a 44-34 lead into halftime.

Graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg opened the second half with a bang, throwing down a right-handed hammer off of a perimeter cut. And that play was foreshadowing for how Michigan wanted to play the rest of the game: dominate the interior.

The Wolverines extended their lead to 54-39 five minutes into the half without scoring outside of the paint. They forced the ball inside and challenged the Buckeyes to try and stop it.

Michigan wasn’t able to open up any larger lead than 15 points, and Ohio State kept the game within theoretical reach, but as the clock ticked under 12 minutes and the Wolverines led 56-43, the idea of a Buckeyes comeback became less and less likely.

Michigan wasn’t straying from its second-half plan, as 12 minutes into the period, it still hadn’t hit a 3-point shot. Everything was coming from inside the arc, and Ohio State didn’t have an answer. Mara continued his nice performance, showing off his touch on post hooks and off-the-dribble layups.

Finally, with just under six minutes to play, freshman guard Trey McKenney banged in a right-corner triple to break the theme, putting his squad up 67-52. That 3-pointer opened up the flood gates. Lendeborg finished a tough fastbreak layup, then McKenney and Lendeborg combined for three free throws to open the lead up to 20 points at 72-52 with 4:14 to play.

If it wasn’t already over, it was then. Michigan continued to run the floor and play suffocating defense and there was nothing the Buckeyes could do.

The Wolverines’ dominance this season has made 20-point wins a commonplace, but walking into a solid Big Ten opponent’s gym and winning in this fashion is rare. Michigan made it look easy, though, and as the final stretch of the season approaches, it’s playing some of its best basketball.

The football season is still half a year away, but Michigan’s 2026 schedule has already been laid out.

The Wolverines will have their hands full. From taking on the reigning national champions to road games against perennial powerhouses, their schedule is certainly not a breeze — it never is in the Big Ten. Regardless, there’s still plenty of optimism surrounding the program, especially with new head coach Kyle Whittingham and his staff roaming the sidelines.

Here’s a week-by-week breakdown of Michigan’s 2026 football schedule…

The first of three non-conference home games, the Wolverines will host Western Michigan to kick off the season. 

This will mark the eighth meeting between the programs, with Michigan entering the game with a perfect 7-0 record.

After losing to Oklahoma on the road in 2025, Michigan will look to earn the series split at Michigan Stadium in Week 2.

This game will conclude the home-and-home agreement between the two programs, and it will provide an opportunity for both teams to collect an early extra power-conference win.

Rounding out the non-conference slate, Michigan welcomes in The University of Texas at El Paso. UTEP had a season to forget in 2025, finishing the season 2-10 overall and 1-7 in Conference USA play.

This will be the first all-time meeting between the two programs.

Kicking off Big Ten play, Michigan will host the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big House. 

Since the Big Ten went away from the divisions system, the Hawkeyes have been stuck as a second-tier team in the conference. They certainly have the capabilities to beat top-tier teams and are a very solid team year in and year out, but they’re still trying to break through their recent ceiling.

Michigan will head to Minneapolis for its first road game of the season to take on Minnesota.

The Wolverines are 44-4 in the battle for The Little Brown Jug since 1968, and they’ve won the previous five meetings.

Off of the bye week, Michigan will play the first of a two-game homestand against Penn State.

The Nittany Lions boast a new head coach as well, former Iowa State coach Matt Campbell, so it’ll be two new-look teams dueling it out under first-year head coaches. 

Week 8 brings the reigning national champions to Ann Arbor. Indiana lost its Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza to the NFL Draft, but there’s been nothing to prove that head coach Curt Cignetti can’t build another contender without him.

Regardless of who is under center, the Hoosiers will be an incredibly tough matchup for any squad.

Rutgers struggled last season, going to 2-7 in the Big Ten, and next season might not bring any relief. As of the time of this writing, they still don’t have a defensive coordinator and their recruiting class falls in the bottom half of the Big Ten.

Michigan will take on its bitter in-state rival on the first Saturday of November. The Spartans, too, have a new head coach in Pat Fitzgerald, so this will be the first game between two coaches which both programs hope will be their long-term leaders. 

The Wolverines have had control of this series, as Michigan State has not won since 2021. 

For the first time, Michigan will head to Eugene to take on Oregon in a Big Ten game. The squads played one Big Ten matchup in 2024, with the Ducks winning 38-17.

Oregon returns its star quarterback, Detroit native Dante Moore, who decided to forgo the NFL Draft to return to school. Moore was a projected top-10 pick.

Michigan’s final home game on the schedule comes against UCLA. The Bruins had a tumultuous season in 2025, finishing the year 3-9. They’ll look to turn it around in 2026 under first-year head coach Bob Chesney.

Rounding out the regular season is, of course, The Game.

Ohio State broke Michigan’s four-year winning streak last season, and it will have a chance to create a streak of its own in 2026 at home in Columbus. The Buckeyes return Heisman-finalist quarterback Julian Sayin, and they will undoubtedly have a contender-level roster.

Year in and year out, The Game is a barometer for the season’s success, and there’s nothing that says that won’t remain the case in 2026.

For 32 minutes of the contest, Michigan and Ohio State were bound together. Both teams put together plenty of runs, but neither squad could truly pull away. But the Wolverines’ made one final push in the final eight minutes that ultimately put them over the edge.

It wasn’t the best Michigan had looked all season — far from it — but a 12-point win over a conference rival is not to be taken lightly. The Buckeyes are a very solid team. Entering Friday night’s game, they were ranked No. 35 in NET, meaning if over the course of the season Ohio State moves up five spots, this could be considered a Quad 1 victory. No, it wasn’t a 40-point rout, but it was a good win nonetheless.

Michigan has two massive tests next week, so any momentum it gained at the end of the game could be massive heading into bouts against two of the Big Ten’s best teams.

Here are five key takeaways from the Wolverines’ win…

For the second straight game, graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg looked more like his best self. While his 3-point shot still isn’t falling, he was hunting his own shot and was efficient from inside the arc.

He finished the game with 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Of his nine rebounds, six of them were offensive. 

On both sides of the ball, Lendeborg is a matchup nightmare. He can guard any player on the court — quite effectively, too — and is a true three-level threat on offense. Opponents have to pick and choose how to attack him, because there really is no good way to slow him down.

While he was recovering from his calf injury, he was still an effective player, but everything he did was just a little bit slower. He’s seemingly full strength now, however, and his play raises the ceiling of the entire team.

Just like Tuesday against Indiana, the Wolverines hurt themselves with early turnovers. In the first half alone, they collected eight of them, giving the Buckeyes plenty of extra possessions. 

While Michigan was still able to scratch a lead by halftime, its efficiency numbers far out-paced Ohio State’s. If the Wolverines were able to convert those turnovers into shot attempts, the halftime score would be skewed much more heavily in their favor.

These self-inflicted miscues haven’t been fully detrimental for the Wolverines so far this season, but as they start to take on tougher opponents, they may not be able to get away with mental errors.

Michigan’s shooting has been quite volatile this season — there have been soaring peaks, but also some deep valleys. Against the Buckeyes, the Wolverines were in a valley.

In total, they shot 5-for-23 from beyond the arc, good for 21.7%. Ohio State was even daring them to shoot at times, slipping into a 2-3 zone with soft spots on the perimeter.

Michigan’s identity is primarily focused on interior scoring and paint domination, but without the threat of outside scoring, forcing the ball down low gets much harder. They don’t need to be shooting lights out from deep, but they need to at least be a threat. 

The Big Ten’s leader in blocks per game, junior center Aday Mara is as good of a rim deterrent as they come. He finished Friday night’s game with four blocks, and he nabbed two steals as well.

When Mara is on the court, he allows Michigan’s perimeter defenders to have quite a bit of freedom. They can gamble on passing lanes or press up tight on shooters because in the back of their mind, they know Mara is behind them. Even if a player gets into the paint, they still have to get the shot off around the 7-foot-3 center.

Mara certainly has his limitations, primarily his lack of lateral quickness, but even when he’s not actively blocking shots, his mere presence makes the Wolverines’ defense better.

Next Tuesday, Michigan will face No. 7 Nebraska, and then it takes on No. 10 Michigan State in East Lansing three days later on Friday.

So far this season, the Wolverines haven’t had to face top competition in the Big Ten. Most of their opponents have been low- to mid-level teams in the conference, but that’s about to change big time. They get Nebraska at home, but taking on a top-10 Spartans squad in Breslin Center is one of the hardest games to play in the country.

Michigan definitely has the capability to go 2-0 next week, but it has a lot of things to clean up before that can happen. Whether it be taking care of the ball or shooting it better from three, The Wolverines will have to be in top shape in order to survive this two-game gauntlet.

In many ways, the 86-72 score of this game doesn’t tell the full story — Michigan looked much more than 14 points better than Indiana.

From the opening tip, the Wolverines’ energy was simply too much for the Hoosiers, and this disconnect led to Indiana opening the game shooting 1-for-15 from the field. That poor efficiency didn’t last the entire game, but Michigan came out in a blitz and Indiana never recovered.

The Wolverines did a lot of things really well, but there were also plenty of things that head coach Dusty May would love to clean up. The combination of these two opposites merged to create the final 14-point margin.

Here are five key takeaways from the win…

Michigan’s defense looked more like the version of itself that held No. 8 Gonzaga to 61 points. What it may lack in true fundamental discipline, it more than makes up for in energy and chaos — hands everywhere, jumping the passing lanes, switching every screen.

It’s hard to blame Indiana for starting the game looking befuddled. When the Wolverines come out with that kind of energy, it’s nearly impossible to settle into any semblance of an offense. The Hoosiers became stagnant and isolation-heavy, and that’s exactly what Michigan wants.

Indiana settled in midway through the second half, but it was far too late to make any meaningful difference. The next step for the Wolverines is to keep the energy at that level for all 40 minutes.

The reason Michigan hadn’t amassed a much larger lead by halftime was its own mistakes. In the first half alone, it turned the ball over nine times and went 1-for-8 from the free throw line.

Limiting turnovers and making free throws are two things that are controllable. It wasn’t that Indiana’s defense was so hounding that the Wolverines were forced to cough up the ball, rather, they simply were careless at times. They gave up free possessions, thus free chances to score. And it goes without saying that missing free throws leaves points on the board as well.

In the end, these mistakes didn’t hurt the Wolverines, and they cleaned it up significantly in the second half, but they don’t want these miscues to become a habit.

Junior point guard Elliot Cadeau has really found his footing on offense. Known primarily for his passing prowess, Cadeau has shown plenty of scoring chops in recent games, scoring at least 17 in three of his last four contests.

He finished with 19 points, four rebounds, and one assist. While his assist numbers have been down, his passing has still been quite good. He makes the right pass, and even if it doesn’t directly lead to a score, it sets up his teammates to make the right play.

Cadeau doesn’t need to be a scorer, but when he is, he’s just one more weapon that the opposition has to worry about.

Michigan out-rebounded Indiana a whopping 41 to 25. This wasn’t unexpected, as the Wolverines are massive on the interior, while the Hoosiers are quite small. But a 16-rebound margin is still impressive.

At times this season, Michigan has allowed too many offensive rebounds, but it did a great job at limiting Indiana’s second-chance opportunities. The Hoosiers nabbed just five offensive rebounds the entire game and scored just four second chance points.

This dominance on the boards is exactly what Michigan hangs its hat on, and it’s a big reason why they were able to comfortably beat Indiana.

Graduate forward Yaxel Lendeborg has been scuffling a bit offensively as of late. While his defense remains elite, his calf injury at the start of the month seemed to set his offensive game back a step. Against Indiana, however, he looked much more like his pre-injury self.

He finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks. Both offensively and defensively, he looked great. He’s still not where he wants to be efficiency wise, but he got to the line a few times and got the monkey off his back with a made 3-pointer.

Lendeborg’s defense alone is enough to make him a top player on the court, but when he’s clicking offensively, he’s one of the best players in the country.

After picking up two wins on a trip to the Pacific Northwest, the Michigan men’s basketball team is slowly moving back up toward the top of the AP Poll Top 25 rankings.

The Wolverines sank to No. 4 in last week’s poll following a loss to Wisconsin, but this week, they were granted a one-position boost up to No. 3.

Michigan won both of its games last week by ten points. The first one came against Washington, with the final score tallying 82-72. The win was a nice bounceback following the loss to Wisconsin, especially in the first half. The Wolverines missed their first 10 3-points and shot just 36% from the field in the first 20 minutes, but they shot over 60% in the second half to collect the road win.

A similar story took shape against Oregon. A rough first-half performance against the short-handed Ducks gave Michigan a first-half deficit, but a rejuvenated second-half showing was enough to take home the 81-71 win.

The wins weren’t of the dominant variety that the Wolverines have grown accustomed to collecting, but going to the West Coast and picking up two 10-point conference wins is nothing to scoff at.

Michigan’s boost in the rankings is largely due to then-No. 2 Iowa State’s rough week. The Cyclones lost two games in a row, the first to No. 19 Kansas, and the second to unranked Cincinnati. Iowa State dropped all the way down to No. 9, giving room for the Wolverines to sidle back into the top three.

Two non-power conference teams round out the rankings, with Saint Louis debuting at No. 24 and Miami (OH) taking the No. 25 slot.

Here are the complete AP Poll rankings from Week 11:

Other teams receiving votes: Wisconsin, St. John’s, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, Utah State, UCF, Miami, George Mason, Saint Mary’s, SMU, Villanova, Texas A&M, NC State.

The simplest, and best, answer will always be, “Just keep winning.” But that’s a given, and since No. 1 Arizona is undefeated, Michigan will most likely need the Wildcats to pick up a loss as well.

The biggest thing that the Wolverines can control, however, is putting together a complete 40 minutes. When they were demolishing teams on a nightly basis, their success was largely due to their constant energy and complete performances. In their games that have been closer, that hasn’t been the case.

Their last three games have followed the same pattern: an inefficient first half followed by a much-improved second half. They’ll have two chances at home against Indiana and Ohio State this week to put it all together before going into a gauntlet the following week, facing No. 7 Nebraska and No. 10 Michigan State.

Michigan already has the benefit of the doubt, but if it wants to keep climbing, it has to erase all of the doubt.

After a sluggish first half, Michigan was able to overcome its own detriments in the second half to complete a 2-0 West-Coast road trip.

Even though this matchup heavily favored the Wolverines, they were surprisingly down by one point entering halftime. The game was on the road at Oregon, but the Ducks were without their two best players — forward Nate Bittle and guard Jackson Shelstad —  and were struggling to win games even with them healthy.

Despite the circumstances, Oregon put up a very solid fight, and Michigan was forced to put together a strong second half to escape with a win.

Here are five key takeaways from the contest…

The biggest culprit behind Michigan’s slim first-half deficit was its turnovers. In the first half alone, the Wolverines turned the ball over nine times, allowing Oregon to score twelve points off of them.

The effect of turnovers is two-fold. For one, it takes away a chance at points on offense, and second, it gives the opponent an extra opportunity to convert themselves. Giving away free possessions will always be detrimental, and it certainly was for Michigan in that first half.

The Wolverines cleaned up the act significantly in the second half, only turning the ball over five times, and they were rewarded for it. They consistently got better looks, converted possessions into points at a higher rate, and didn’t allow the Ducks to get free run-outs off of live-ball turnovers.

There have been times this year where graduate guard Nimari Burnett fades into the background on the offensive end. It’s no indictment of Burnett as a player, rather, a consequence of the depth and play-style of this squad — he’s not always asked to be at the forefront of the offensive attack.

Saturday afternoon, however, he found an opportunity to step up, and he took it.

In his 25 minutes of play, Burnett collected 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block. Both offensively and defensively, Burnett was dialed in. Burnett is a player that is incredibly poised within his role, but when the Wolverines need an offensive spark, he’s proven that he’s plenty capable of providing it.

This isn’t the first time Michigan has come out of the gates looking sluggish. In fact, its last three games have followed the same pattern.

In the loss to Wisconsin Jan. 10, the Wolverines shot 39% in the first half followed by 63% in the second. Wednesday against Washington they shot 36% in the first and 60% in the second. Saturday, it was 39% in the first and 60% in the second.

What has made Michigan so dominant for much of this season is the constant, 40-minute pressure that the offense puts on opponents. In recent games, however, it hasn’t been putting together complete games. If the Wolverines want to return to dominant form, the answer lies in these efficiency numbers. 

Allowing offensive rebounds has been a bit of a nagging issue for much of this season. When Michigan was blowing teams out by 40 points every night, it was fairly easy to look past it, but in closer games, those offensive rebounds can be the difference between a win and a loss.

Oregon grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and converted 20 second chance points on the game. With Michigan’s size and physicality, that’s more than it should allow. 

The Wolverines love to run in transition, so schematically, they aren’t sending as many players to crash the defensive glass as other teams would. Trading some extra offensive boards for several open run-outs is a trade they are seemingly willing to make. It’s worked so far, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t strike a better balance. 

Michigan has struggled a little bit from behind the 3-point line recently — with the exception of the loss to Wisconsin — but that wasn’t an issue against Oregon.

The Wolverines shot 9-for-23 from deep, good for 39%. It appeared as though they were being more selective about the 3-pointers they took, which always helps the percentage. They shot less early-shot clock or contested shots and focused on getting in-rhythm looks.

This team has plenty of capable shooters, but its identity revolves around paint dominance. If Michigan can establish a paint presence, the 3-point shooting will follow, and it did a better job of that against the Ducks, particularly in the second half.

It took a first-half scare, but the Wolverines escaped their West-Coast road trip unscathed.

Oregon’s (8-10 overall, 1-6 Big Ten) two best players — forward Nate Bittle and guard Jackson Shelstad — were out due to injury, but the Ducks still gave the No. 2 Michigan men’s basketball team (16-1, 6-1) a run for its money. Regardless, the Wolverines weathered the storm and walked away with an 81-71 win.

For a moment in the first half, it looked like the Wolverines might just pull away early. Michigan took an early double-digit lead, and with Oregon down Shelstad and Bittle, everything was pointing toward a Ducks collapse, and the Wolverines’ return to dominance.

Halfway through the period, Michigan held a 21-10 lead. Its offense didn’t look particularly dominant, but its defense was drowning Oregon’s offense. But from that point onward, it was all Ducks in the first half.

The Wolverines became careless with the ball, giving up valuable possessions that led to scores the other way, and their defense suffered as a result. In the final 10 minutes of the half, Michigan allowed Oregon to score 31 points, a rate of concession that the Wolverines’ defense rarely descend to.

To make matters worse, sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. picked up three early fouls and was forced to sit much of the half on the bench. Johnson’s unavailability was a major factor in Michigan’s lack of paint presence — the very identity of this Wolverines’ team. When Michigan is at its best, its dominating the paint-scoring battle, but Oregon finished the first half with the advantage near the rim, scoring 16 paint points to the Wolverines’ 10.

Michigan’s turnover problems, combined with its lack of interior presence and energy, culminated in a first-half deficit at 41-40.

Graduate forward Will Tschetter started the second half in place of Johnson due to his foul trouble, but it didn’t seem to have any immediate adverse effects, as the Wolverines started the second half looking rejuvenated.

They made five of their first seven shots, opening up a 53-47 lead with just over 15 minutes to play. Graduate guard Nimari Burnett carried his strong first half into the second, knocking in a 3-pointer along with a dunk. Junior center Aday Mara also got much more involved in the offense, as Michigan was making a concerted effort to correct its lack of paint presence from the first half.

Slowly, the Wolverines began to retake control of the game. Utilizing the fastbreak and the paint, they started to wear Oregon down. They forced the Ducks to expend so much energy getting back on defense and trying to grapple with Michigan’s immense size that Oregon’s offense began to stagnate.

With just under eight minutes to play, Johnson slammed in a dunk off of a wild shot by sophomore guard L.J Cason to push the score to 68-56. Just like that, Michigan held a 12-point lead.

Some timely Ducks 3-pointers off of empty Wolverines’ possessions indicated a potential comeback push. Oregon managed to get the deficit back down to seven points at 71-64 with 5:27 to play, but Tschetter calmy canned a left-corner 3-pointer to extend the lead back to double digits.

The Ducks were putting up quite a battle, but every time they got too close, Michigan was able to muster a response. And as the clocked ticked under one minute to play, the Wolverines still held a 10-point lead, 78-68, and Oregon was going to need a miracle to pull off the upset.

No miracle appeared, and the Wolverines were able to ride a productive second half to a 10-point win. The short-handed Ducks gave it their best shot, but Michigan did enough to head home with a 2-0 record on its West-Coast road trip.

Michigan’s coaching staff under new head coach Kyle Whittingham is officially set.

Much of Whittingham’s staff comes with him from Utah, but some staff was retained from the previous regime, and some were brought in from other programs. While the roster still remains in flux, Michigan has found some stability in a fully-filled out coaching staff.

Here’s a look at the Wolverines’ new sideline personnel…

Whittingham brought a lot of his offensive staff with him from Utah, and Jason Beck is at the top of the list. He only spent one year as Utah’s offensive coordinator, but he led the Utes to the second-ranked rushing offense in the country, a style that fits well in Ann Arbor.

Prior to his one-year stint at Utah, Beck made stops as an offensive coordinator at New Mexico and Syracuse.

Offensive line coach Jim Harding is the gem of the positional-coach hires. In his 12 seasons as an offensive line coach at Utah, he turned Salt Lake City into an NFL O-Lineman breeding ground, sending 13 players to the next level.

The high-level offensive line play under Harding was a big reason for Utah’s success running the ball as well, making him a great fit for the Wolverines.

Also from Utah, Micah Simon takes over as the wide receivers coach. A former standout receiver himself at BYU, Simon has spent the last two seasons under Beck as a wide receivers coach.

Freddie Whittingham, Kyle Whittingham’s brother, assumes the position of tight ends coach, the same position he held for 10 seasons at Utah.

During his time with the Utes, Freddie turned them into a hotbed for tight end development, with current Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid as the prized protege. 

Rounding out the Utah transplants on the offensive side, Koy Detmer will serve as the quarterbacks coach, a position that did not exist in Sherrone Moore’s tenure.

Detmer has followed Beck from Syracuse to New Mexico to Utah, and now to Michigan. With a young quarterback in Bryce Underwood under center for the Wolverines, he’ll figure to be heavily involved in his development.

Whittingham retained running backs coach Tony Alford from the previous staff. Alford is one of the most respected running backs coaches in the country, so retaining him was massive for the Wolverines. A very good recruiter alongside his coaching prowess, Michigan’s running back room is in great shape under Alford.

Jay Hill will take over defensive coordinator duties at Michigan after serving the same role for three years at BYU. Despite working at Utah’s rival, Hill actually worked under Whittingham with the Utes from 2001 to 2013, working in various capacities.

In 2024, BYU’s defense ranked 13th in the country, but it took a step back in 2025, falling to 35th. The Cougars led the country in interceptions in 2024 and finished seventh in 2025.

Hill brings defensive backs coach Jernaro Gilford with him from BYU after he spent 10 years as the defensive backs coach in Provo.

Gilford himself was a great defensive back at BYU, and brings a wealth of experience to Whittingham’s staff.

Defensive ends coach Lewis Powell also comes over from Utah. He’s spent the last 11 years in the same role under Whittingham and has produced a wealth of NFL talent over his tenure, including six draft picks.

The son of Kyle Whittingham, Alex Whittingham worked with the Kansas City Chiefs defense from 2018 to 2025. He spent time working with the defensive line and secondary, but worked with linebackers from 2020 to 2024.

While with the Chiefs, he was a part of three Super Bowl wins in 2020, 2022, and 2023.

Kerry Coombs was hired just four days before Moore’s firing, but Whittingham was able to keep him on staff. Coombs has been successful wherever he’s coached — whether it be college or NFL — and the Wolverines hope that trend continues in Ann Arbor.

The odds were that, eventually, Michigan was going to lose a game. Many thought a Big Ten juggernaut like Michigan State, Purdue, Illinois, or even Nebraska would be the ones to do it. Instead, Wisconsin stole the honor.

Battling back from a 14-point first-half deficit, the Badgers rode an explosive second half to stun the Wolverines in Crisler Center, 91-88.

Michigan drops to 4-1 in conference play and has a chance to rebound on a west-coast road trip to Washington and then Oregon next week. Over their last few games, the Wolverines haven’t looked like the dominant version of themselves that they were in December and January, but they’ll try to return to that form before the most grueling stretch of Big Ten play rolls around.

Here are five key takeaways from Michigan’s first loss of the season…

Out of halftime, Wisconsin was on fire from deep. It hit all seven of its first seven 3-pointers, most of which were wide open. It wasn’t by pure chance, Badgers head coach Greg Gard used the Wolverines’ scheme against them.

Michigan switches one-through-four, and puts Mara into drop-coverage on ball-screens. This has worked quite well for the Wolverines this season, but Wisconsin’s pick-and-pop exploited the weakness. 

With Mara immediately dropping into the lane on ball-screens, the Badgers’ big guys — forwards Aleksas Bieliauskas and Nolan Winter, both of whom are capable shooters — faded to the 3-point line. If they didn’t have an open shot themselves, they had forced Michigan’s defense into scramble mode, creating a wide-open look elsewhere.

With this tape out there, other Big Ten teams now have a blue print on how to beat the Wolverines. Not every team will shoot lights out like the Badgers did, and Michigan will certainly make adjustments, but the cat’s out of the bag.

With less than eight minutes left in the first half, Michigan held a 14-point lead at 31-17. When they’ve been at their best, the Wolverines bury their opponents at this point, not letting them back into the game. Instead, they let Wisconsin close the half on a 20-7 run and shrink the halftime deficit to just one point.

What has made Michigan so good so far this year has been its ability to demoralize teams early, and it couldn’t do that Saturday. The energy level fell when the lead got comfortable, something that hasn’t been an issue to this point. 

The Wolverines were able to stay in the game even when the Badgers couldn’t miss from three, and junior guard Elliot Cadeau is the reason.

After going scoreless in the first half, Cadeau scored 17 points in the first seven minutes of the second half, putting the team on his shoulders and keeping Wisconsin within striking distance. He hit two threes, was able to get to the rim at will, and hit big free throws.

The performance didn’t result in a win, but seeing Cadeau’s confidence scoring the ball is a great sign moving forward.

One of Michigan’s main advantages is its bench depth. It doesn’t simply rely on starters for production, and often, the bench unit comes in and takes the play to another level. That wasn’t the case Saturday.

Senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. had nine points on 4-for-10 shooting, and freshman guard Trey McKenney added seven points on 2-for-8 shooting. That was the extent of the bench production, as senior forward Will Tschetter had just two points, and sophomore guard L.J. Cason had none. 

The starters took the majority of the load on offense while the bench had an off night. When the Wolverines are at their best, the two units play off of each other, and they didn’t against Wisconsin.

After all of the dominance of Michigan’s first 14 games, this loss gave some whiplash, but the Wolverines were inevitably going to drop a game. Every good team goes through ups and downs, and in tournament season, both the peaks and the valleys provide lessons to draw upon.

The good news for the Wolverines is that they are still 14-1, and everything they want to achieve is still right there in front of them. One loss at the start of January is hardly a reason for panic, so long as it doesn’t precede a total breakdown. And head coach Dusty May and his track record provides no reason to assume that Michigan won’t bounce back.

The Wolverines’ unbeaten streak is over.

Wisconsin (11-5 overall, 3-2 Big Ten) shocked No. 2 Michigan (14-1, 4-1) in Crisler Center on Saturday afternoon, handing the Wolverines their first loss of the season. Both teams had electrifying offensive second halves, but the Badgers were able to edge out the Wolverines by a score of 91-88.

Michigan made a point to pound the paint early, despite Wisconsin’s size on the interior. On the first two possessions of the game, junior center Aday Mara finished off a lob and scored on a face-up floater — the tone was set.

Graduate guard Nimari Burnett knocked in a second-chance left-wing 3-pointer, but that was the anomaly in the opening minutes, and the Wolverines went right back to forcing the ball inside. Sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. was the leader of the charge in the first half, asserting his superior size consistently for easy buckets.

It wasn’t just on the offensive end either, he came flying from behind to send a transition layup try from Wisconsin flying into the stands.

Wisconsin started to take early shots, playing right into the Wolverines pace, and as a result, the Badgers went cold. Michigan took advantage, taking the opportunity to slowly open up a sizable lead, leading 31-17 by the under-eight minute timeout.

From that point onward, the Wolverines began to unravel. Johnson still remained consistent, but a flurry of turnovers, missed shots, and defensive breakdowns allowed Wisconsin to end the half on a 20-7 run.

On the back of John Blackwell’s 16-point first half performance, the Badgers only entered the break down one point, 38-37.

Wisconsin kept the momentum going out of halftime, making all nine of their first nine shots, including four 3-pointers from froward Aleksas Bieliauskas. The Badgers just kept piling on, but the Wolverines stayed attached. They made seven of their first eight shots themselves, with junior guard Elliot Cadeau carrying the load. As the clock ticked under 15 minutes to play, Wisconsin had opened up a slim 62-59 lead

Wisconsin had figured out Michigan’s switch-heavy defense, and it was getting constant wide open threes as a result.

Cadeau continued to put the Wolverines on his back, scoring 17 points in the first seven minutes of the second half. He got to the rim at will, drew fouls, and knocked in his free throws. Single handedly, he willed his squad back into the game, knotting the score at 65-65 with 13:00 to play in the game.

The back-and-forth effort continued: Wisconsin was still blazing hot from behind the arc, and Cadeau was getting buckets wherever he wanted. At the under-12 minute timeout, the Badgers were shooting 12-for-14 from the field in the second half, and Michigan wasn’t far behind them, shooting 10-for-12.

Both teams started to cool off — if only just a bit — and neither squad was able to make a push for a lead more than five points. Both teams were unwilling to let the game slip out of reach. Out of the under-eight minute timeout, the score remained tied at 75-75.

With the squads trading tough buckets, a nail-biting finish was conspicuously foreshadowed. It was possession after possession, neither team giving any headway.

With 1:27 remaining, the Wolverines trailed by four points, 88-84. Blackwell missed the front end of his 1-and-1, Michigan grabbed the board, and senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. put in a tough layup to bring the score to 88-86. On the next possession, a basket interference call negated Mara’s potential game-tying layup, and Wisconsin got the ball back up two points with 33 seconds left.

Cadeau fouled on a baseball-pass inbound, and the Badgers hit both free throws to extend their lead to 90-86. With 20 seconds left, Michigan had to make up a four-point deficit.

The Wolverines got the deficit down to three with nine seconds left, and Michigan chose not to call a timeout. Wisconsin smothered the 3-point line, and Gayle had to force up an off-balance, heavily-contested triple. It hit off the back of the rim, and time expired before Michigan could get off another shot.

The Wolverines are undefeated no longer.