The (#3) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won both of them.  On Tuesday (01/27/2026), they beat (#5) Nebraska 75-72 in Crisler Arena, then on Friday (01/30/2026), they won at (#7) Michigan State 83-71.  Michigan’s record improves to 20-1 (10-1 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

The Gauntlet: two games in four days against two Top-10 teams.  Undefeated Nebraska (20-0 coming into the game), ranked #5 in the AP Poll.  Michigan State (19-2 coming into the game), ranked #7 in the AP Poll.  Could Michigan beat both these teams in such a short time period, especially when the MSU game was in Breslin, where Michigan hasn’t won since 2018?  The answer is a resounding “YES”.  Both games felt like Sweet 16/Final Four games, and Michigan had to come from behind in both games, but they did it.  They passed the tests.  They ran the gauntlet.

Game Flow

The Nebraska game was nerve-wracking.  Nebraska led for almost the entire game, never by too much, but enough to be worrisome.  Fortunately, Michigan came from behind and won the game in crunch time.  Nebraska led 2-0 and 2-1, before Michigan got their only lead (3-2 at the 18:38 mark) until late in game.  Nebraska pulled ahead again, but not very far, and Michigan tied the game up (10-10) with 14:08 to go in the half.  Nebraska pulled away again, this time by up to 11 points (31-20 at the 10:19 mark).  They kept the lead in the 6-8 point range for a while, but Michigan got within 2 points (44-42) with 2:59 left in the half.  Nebraska pushed their lead back to 8 points, but Michigan trimmed it back to 2 points at halftime, 50-48.

I need to pause here for some context:

• Last season, Michigan beat Nebraska in Lincoln 49-46.  It was one of the ugliest wins in recent Michigan basketball history.  It was also less points than Michigan and Nebraska scored in the first half of this season’s game.
• Michigan is not used to playing from behind.  In most of their games this season, Michigan has led for the entire game, often by 20-30 points for most of the game.  Even in the close games, Michigan has usually been ahead for most of the game, just not very far ahead.
• Michigan is not used to being behind at halftime, even just 2 points down.

On to the 2^nd half:  Michigan stayed close for the first 6 minutes of the 2^nd half, although they never tied it up or went ahead.  They were still within 2 points (54-52) at the 14:09 mark, when Nebraska started to pull away.  They got their lead up to 9 points (63-54) with 11:25 to go, and kept it in the 6-8 point range for a while.  They were still up 6 points (66-60) at the 7:37 mark, when Michigan finally made their move.  They got within 2 points again (66-64) with 7:12 to go, then tied it up (72-72) with 2:16 left.  Look at the final score (75-72); Michigan held Nebraska scoreless the rest of the game, to win by 3 points.  It was very exciting.

The MSU game was very different from the Nebraska game.  Michigan went out in front early (2-0), MSU tied it up (2-2), then Michigan went ahead for the next 30 minutes.  They were up 10-2 at the 15:01 mark, before MSU finally scored again.  Yes, MSU only scored 2 points in the first 5:23.  Michigan kept the pressure on, and stretched their lead to 20-7 with 8:52 to go.  Yes, MSU only scored 7 points in the first 11:20.  State finally started scoring, and the game settled down a little.  Michigan kept the lead in the 8-10 point range for a while, until a key moment in the 1^st half: Michigan was up 8 points (29-21) at the 2:53 mark.  They missed a corner 3-pointer, and Yaxel Lendeborg was called for a foul on the scramble for the rebound.  The refs missed a clear hook-and-hold (a Flagrant 1 foul) on the MSU player battling for the rebound, so Coach May used his Head Coach’s Challenge to get them to look at it again.  When they did, they saw the flagrant foul on MSU, reversed the foul on Lendeborg, and gave him 2 free throws (which he made) and gave Michigan the ball.  On the inbounds play, Lendeborg got the inbounds pass, made a layup through contact, and drew the “and one” foul.  He made that free throw as well, for a personal 5-point play.  That made the score 34-21 at the 2:28 mark, and that opened the floodgates.  Michigan pushed the lead up to 18 points (40-22) with 47 seconds left, settling for a 16-point lead (42-26) at halftime.

Hey, a 16-point lead at halftime on the road is great, right?  Michigan has been strong in the first 4 minutes of the 2^nd half all season, right?  Well, someone forgot to tell MSU.  They came out blazing to start the 2^nd half, and they quickly cut Michigan’s lead down to 10 points (42-32) at the 18:12 mark, then 3 points (48-45) with 13:11 to go.  Michigan kept the lead in the 2-4 point range for a bit, but MSU finally tied the game (55-55) at the 7:57 mark, and went ahead (57-55) with 7:27 to go.  Michigan tied it up again (57-57), but MSU went back on top for the last time (59-57) at the 6:55 mark.  A Michigan 3-pointer with 6:39 left put Michigan back on top for good, 60-59.  State hung around for a couple minutes, but another Michigan 3-pointer at the 3:08 mark pushed the lead up to 6 points (69-63), and that was the game.  Michigan pushed the lead as high as 14 points, winning by 12.  It was a glorious victory.

Stats

The stats for the Nebraska game were decent.  Michigan shot pretty well overall (25/53 = 47.2%), they didn’t shoot 3-pointers very well (6/26 = 23.1%), and they shot free throws very well (19/23 = 82.6%).  They won the rebounding battle handily (35-23), but lost the turnover battle badly (19-11).  They won this game with free throws and rebounding, but almost lost it with all those turnovers.

The stats for the Michigan State game were mediocre.  Michigan didn’t shoot very well overall (26/59 = 44.1%), they shot 3-pointers pretty well (8/21 = 38.1%), and they shot free throws very well (23/26 = 88.5%).  The rebounding battle was a tie (36-36), and Michigan barely won the turnover battle (13-14).  Michigan won this game with good 3-point shooting and tough defense.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Nimari Burnett, Elliot Cadeau, Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg, and Aday Mara.

Who Looked Good?

Lendeborg had a very good week, with 10 and 26 points.  His 26 points were the team-high for Michigan in the MSU game.  He also had 12 rebounds vs. MSU, for an impressive double-double.  The only downside for him this week: 3-point shooting.  He was 0/6 vs. Nebraska, and 1/4 vs. MSU.

Johnson also had a good week, with 17 and 12 points.  His 17 points were the team-high for Michigan in the Nebraska game.  He also had 12 rebounds vs. Nebraska, for an impressive double-double.

Trey McKenney was the only other player to hit double figures in both games this week, with 11 and 10 points, off the bench.  He has become a very valuable 6^th man for Michigan.

Mara almost had double figures in both games, with 10 and 8 points.  He did a nice job at rim protection.

Cadeau had one decent game (7 points vs. Nebraska) and one very good game (17 points vs. MSU).  He also had 7 and 6 assists.

Will Tschetter had a very productive week off the bench, with 7 and 5 points.  He hit a big 3-pointer in each game.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Burnett had a quiet week, with 9 points vs. Nebraska, but 0 points vs. MSU.  He was 0/1 in 12:30 of “action” vs. MSU.  Michigan needs a lot more from him.

Roddy Gayle Jr. also had a quiet week off the bench, with 2 points in each game.

L.J. Cason also had a quiet week off the bench, with 2 and 3 points.

Who Else Played?

No one else played.

Who Didn’t Play?

The scholarship players who didn’t play were: Oscar Goodman, Winters Grady, and Malick Kordel.

The Scout Team players who didn’t play were: Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

These were two very important wins, especially in the race for the Big Ten regular season championship.  Michigan is now in 1^st place, tied with Illinois at 10-1.  All the other teams have at least 2 losses in Big Ten play.  Since Michigan still plays Illinois in a couple weeks, they control their own destiny.  There are still a lot of games left to play, and Michigan has several significant challenges ahead: at Ohio State, home vs. UCLA, at Purdue, Duke (neutral court), at Illinois, at Iowa, and home vs. MSU.

The other reason these were important games is that it showed the Michigan team that they can overcome adversity against top-level competition.  They were behind for most of the Nebraska game, and came back to win in crunch time.  They lost a good-sized lead (16 points) vs. MSU, and came from behind to win that game in a hostile arena.  Those are important lessons.

This Week

This week, Michigan plays 2 games.  On Thursday (02/05/2026, 6:30 p.m., FS1), they play Penn State in Crisler Arena, then on Sunday (02/08/2026, 1:00 p.m., CBS), they play at Ohio State.  It’s “Replay Week”, since Michigan has already played (and beaten) both of these teams this season.  Each Big Ten team plays 14 teams once and 3 teams twice.  The 3 teams that Michigan plays twice this season are the 3 “State” teams: Michigan State, Ohio State, and Penn State.

Penn State is currently 9-12 (0-10 in Big Ten), with 6 more sad losses since Michigan beat them in Happy Valley on 01/06/2026.  This is the ultimate “trap” game: they’re 0-10, Michigan beat them on the road, and the game is in Crisler.  Looks like an easy win, right?  That’s what we thought in 2019, when (#6) Michigan lost to an 0-11 PSU team.  On paper, Michigan should handle them easily, but the game is played on the court, not on paper.

Ohio State is currently 14-7 (6-5 in Big Ten), with a win and a loss since Michigan beat them 2 weeks ago.  You can bet that they weren’t happy losing to Michigan in Ann Arbor, and it’s going to be a lot more challenging to beat them in Columbus.  Once again, on paper, Michigan should be able to get by them, but it’s going to take a solid performance.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!

The (#3) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won both of them.  On Tuesday (01/20/2026), they beat Indiana 86-72, then on Friday (01/23/2026), they beat Ohio State 74-62.  Both games were in Crisler Arena.  Michigan’s record improves to 18-1 (8-1 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

On the surface, these two wins look pretty similar: victories over two middle-of-the-pack Big Ten teams by similar margins (14 and 12 points).  But, looks can be deceiving: in the Indiana game, Michigan led wire-to-wire, and could have won by 25 points if they had needed to, trading points for time off the clock at the end to get the game over with.  On the other hand, OSU led for much of the game, with Michigan coming back in the last 8:00 to tie the game and go ahead for good, winning going away.  The IU game should have been a 25-point win, and the OSU game should have been an 8-point win.

Still, these are two important wins against quality opponents, regardless of the game flow.

As a side note, I’d like to thank OSU reserve guard Colin White for his fine “bulletin board” material before the game: “We hate Michigan, so we’re coming out for blood. We’re going up there to win — and we’re going to have fun doing it.”  It certainly got the crowd fired up; they gave White the reception he deserved.  Then, he backed it up with a big 2 points on 1/2 shooting.  Nice job, Colin!

Game Flow

As I mentioned above, Michigan led IU for the entire game.  Michigan started the game playing ferocious defense, and they were up 9-0 at the 14:43 mark.  A few seconds later, with 14:29 left, IU finally scored.  Yes, they went the first 5:31 of the game without a point.  In that time, they went 0/6 from 3-point range, 0/2 from 2-point range, and committed 2 turnovers.  Nice start.  Michigan got the lead up to 10 points (14-4) at the 12:45 mark, and as high as 17 points (22-5) with 9:55 left.  They let IU creep back within 8 points (31-23) at the 5:12 mark, but pushed the back up to 11 points (40-29) at halftime.

The 2^nd half was more of the same.  Michigan finally got the lead up to 20 points (57-37) at the 14:19 mark, and 25 points (66-41) with 10:45 left.  At this point, the game was over.  Michigan kept the lead in the 19-21 point range for the next few minutes, then in the 15-17 point range for the rest of the game, winning by 14 points.

The OSU game started with a bang.  Michigan won the tip, and 2 quick passes led to a thunderous dunk for a 2-0 lead just 7 seconds in.  It really got the crowd going.  The early going was a seesaw battle, with the lead going back and forth.  The game was tied (14-14) at the 11:03 mark, when OSU hit back-to-back 3-pointers to go up by 6 points (20-14).  They led for the next 7 minutes, but never by more than 6 points.  Michigan finally tied it up again (26-26) at the 3:47 mark, and managed to squeak out a 3-point lead at halftime, 33-30.

That 3-point halftime lead didn’t last long.  OSU tied it up (34-34) at the 18:56 mark, then hit back-to-back 3-pointers again, to go up 40-34 with 17:40 left.  Once again, Michigan crept back, and tied it up (40-40) at the 16:09 mark.  The lead went back and forth again, with OSU up 48-47 with 10:45 to go.  That was their last lead.  Michigan tied it up 48-48, then went ahead 50-48.  OSU tied it up one last time (50-50) at the 8:50 mark, and that’s when Michigan finally got going.  They went ahead, and pushed their lead up to 15 points (71-56) at the 3:17 mark, coasting to a 12-point win.

Stats

The stats for the Indiana game were pretty good.  Michigan shot well overall (27/53 = 50.9%), they shot 3-pointers well (10/25 = 40.0%), but they didn’t shoot free throws very well (22/33 = 66.7%).  They won the rebounding battle decisively (41-25), but they lost the turnover battle (13-10).  They won this game with good shooting and great rebounding.

The stats for the Ohio State game were just OK.  Michigan shot well overall (27/52 = 51.9%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (5/23 = 21.7%), and they shot free throws poorly (15/25 = 60.0%).  They won the rebounding battle (36-27), but they lost the turnover battle (14-13).  They won this game with good overall shooting and good rebounding.  They almost lost it with too many turnovers and poor free throw shooting.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Nimari Burnett, Elliot Cadeau, Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg, and Aday Mara.

Who Looked Good?

Lendeborg was the most consistent player this week, with 15 and 18 points.  He also had 7 and 9 rebounds, and 4 assists in each game.

Mara also had a good week, with 13 and 11 points.  He also had 3 and 4 blocked shots.

Johnson had one pretty good game (9 points vs. IU) and one good game (12 points vs. OSU).

Cadeau had one very good game (19 points vs. IU, team high) and one decent game (6 points vs. OSU).  Even though he only had 6 points in the OSU game, they were very important points: back-to-back 3-pointers during Michigan’s big run to close out the game.

Burnett had one decent game (9 points vs. IU) and one mediocre game (4 points vs. OSU).

Trey McKenney did a great job off the bench, with double figures in both games: 10 and 12 points.  He isn’t playing like a freshman, he’s playing like a seasoned veteran.  He’s in there as much for his defense as his offense.

Roddy Gayle Jr. chipped in 2 and 5 points off the bench.

Will Tschetter chipped in 7 and 0 points off the bench.

L.J. Cason chipped in 2 and 6 points off the bench.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

All the mainstream players looked good this week.

Who Else Played?

No one else played.

Who Didn’t Play?

The scholarship players who didn’t play were: Oscar Goodman, Winters Grady, and Malick Kordel.

The Scout Team players who didn’t play were: Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

These were two more important wins for Michigan.  They keep Michigan in the title hunt, and they help Michigan hold onto their #3 ranking in the AP Poll.  They also help Michigan’s confidence heading into the most crucial week of the regular season.

This Week

This week, Michigan plays two huge games.  On Tuesday (01/27/2026, 7:00 p.m., Peacock), they play (#7) Nebraska in Crisler Arena, then on Friday (01/30/2026, 8:00 p.m., FOX), they play at (#10) Michigan State.

Nebraska is currently 20-0 (9-0 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over Oklahoma, (#13) Illinois, and (#9) Michigan State, and no losses.  They are one of only three teams left that are undefeated.  They have been the biggest surprise so far this season.  They haven’t been tested very much, but they have passed all their tests so far.  They have a couple noteworthy players (Pryce Sandfort and Rienk Mast), and they have plenty of height: two 6’10” players (one of them is Mast), a 6’11” player, and a 7’2” player.  This will easily be Michigan’s most challenging game to date.  Nebraska is very good, much better than any preseason predictions, and they’re on a roll.  They’re going to be trying to hang onto 1^st place in the Big Ten and their Top 10 AP ranking.  This is probably their best team ever, and they’re trying to make history.  Can Michigan beat them?  Sure, but they need to play like they did in Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival.  The way they played since the USC game in early January won’t cut vs. Nebraska.

Michigan State is currently 18-2 (8-1 in Big Ten), with impressive wins over Kentucky and North Carolina, and understandable losses to (#4) Duke and (#13) Nebraska.  MSU has only played against two ranked opponents, and they lost both games.  They have several noteworthy players (Jaxon Kohler, Jeremy Fears Jr., Carson Cooper, and Coen Carr), and they have some height: one 6’10” player (Kohler) and two 6’11” players (one is Cooper).  This game is just as challenging, and just as important, as the Nebraska game.  Can Michigan beat them in Breslin?  Yes, but it’s going to take a nearly flawless performance.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!

The (#4) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won both of them.  On Wednesday (01/14/2026), they won at Washington 82-72, then on Saturday (01/17/2026), they won at Oregon 81-71.  Michigan’s record improves to 16-1 (6-1 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Michigan went out to the Pacific Northwest and won two games in solid fashion.  They didn’t blow either opponent away, the way they had been doing for the first part of the season, but they won convincingly.  It’s not easy winning on the road in the Big Ten, and it’s even harder when you fly across three time zones.  These were both solid, impressive wins.

During their “Reign Of Terror” portion of the season, Michigan was winning every game with the same formula: get an early (10-point) lead, push it up to 20+ points by halftime, use a very strong start to the 2^nd half to push the lead up into the 30s, then coast to a 30-40 point win.  Since the USC game on 01/02/2026, Michigan hasn’t done that.  They won their next game, at Penn State, by 2 points, then lost at home to Wisconsin by 3 points.  They won the two games out West by 10 points each, but they never really pulled away in either game.

Game Flow

Washington scored the first 3 points of the game, and they were up 3-0 at the 19:30 mark.  That was it for them: Michigan went on a 12-0 run to make it 12-3 with 13:13 left.  Michigan kept the lead in the 8-10 point range for a while, up by 12 points (30-18) at the 4:34 mark.  Washington managed to trim their deficit down to 9 points (39-30) at halftime.  The 2^nd half was more of the same: Michigan kept their lead in the 8-10 point range for the rest of the game.  Washington got as close as 6 points a few times, the last time being 69-63 at the 6:57 mark, but Michigan pulled away again, up 15 points (80-65) with 3:00 to go.  Washington cut the deficit down to 10 points by the end of the game, but that was as close as they got.

Michigan started out strong in the Oregon game, up 7-2 at the 17:38 mark.  They slowly built their lead up to 11 points (21-10) with 10:08 to go, then frittered it away for the rest of the half.  They let Oregon creep back within 2 points (23-21) at the 8:09 mark, before they pushed their lead back up to 8 points (35-27) with 5:57 to go in the half.  Oregon kept chipping away, and got back within 2 points again (35-33) at the 3:57 mark.  They finally went ahead for the first time all game (38-37) with 1:56 to go, and hit a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left in the half to keep that 1-point lead at halftime, 41-40.

Michigan isn’t used to being down at halftime, and they didn’t exactly come out hot to start the 2^nd half.  They were still down 1 point (47-46) at the 17:29 mark, but they finally got going, took the lead, and pushed it up to 9 points (58-49) at the 13:20 mark.  They kept the lead in the 8-10 point range for a while, and still led by 10 points (74-64) with 5:21 left.  Oregon got as close as 6 points a couple times, but that was it.  Michigan won by 10, 81-71.

Stats

The stats for the Washington game were just OK.  Michigan shot pretty well overall (32/69 = 46.4%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (5/23 = 21.7%), and they shot free throws well enough (13/17 = 76.5%).  They won the rebounding battle (42-40) and the turnover battle (8-12).  They won this game with decent overall shooting, solid rebounding, and low turnovers.

The stats for the Oregon game were pretty good.  Michigan shot pretty well overall (25/51 = 49.0%), they shot 3-pointers well (9/23 = 39.1%), and they shot free throws well enough (22/30 = 73.3%).  They won the rebounding battle (36-30), but lost the turnover battle (14-11).  They won this game with decent shooting and solid rebounding.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Nimari Burnett, Elliot Cadeau, Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg, and Aday Mara.

Who Looked Good?

Mara looked the best this week, with 20 and 12 points.  He had a great game shooting vs. Washington: 10/11 overall.  Wow!  He also had 3 blocked shots in each game.

Johnson had one good game (18 points vs. Washington) and one decent game (9 points vs. Oregon).  He also had a career-high 16 rebounds in the Washington game, for an impressive double-double.

Lendeborg had one good game (14 points vs. Washington) and one mediocre game (6 points vs. Oregon).  He also had 7 and 10 rebounds, which really helped.

Burnett had one good game (15 points vs. Oregon) and one decent game (7 points vs. Washington).

Cadeau had one good game (17 points vs. Oregon) and one terrible game (0 points vs. Washington).  He also had 6 and 5 assists.

Roddy Gayle Jr. had one decent game (9 points vs. Washington) and one lousy game (3 points vs. Oregon).  He also had 4 rebounds and 5 assists in the Washington game.

Will Tschetter chipped in 5 and 8 points off the bench.

L.J. Cason chipped in 6 and 7 points off the bench.

Trey McKenney chipped in 3 and 4 points off the bench.  That’s kind of low for him, since he’s averaging 10.1 points/game.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

All the mainstream players looked good this week.

Who Else Played?

No one else played.

Who Didn’t Play?

The scholarship players who didn’t play were: Oscar Goodman, Winters Grady, and Malick Kordel.

The Scout Team players who didn’t play were: Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

These were two important games for Michigan to win, and they took care of business.  Washington and Oregon will probably end up finishing in the bottom half of the Big Ten race this season, but they’re good solid teams, making these two wins good solid entries on Michigan’s NCAA Tournament resume.  They also keep Michigan in the hunt for the Big Ten regular season title, just one game behind Nebraska and Purdue, both 7-0.

This Week

This week, Michigan plays two games, both in Crisler Arena.  On Tuesday (01/20/2026, 7:00 p.m., Peacock), they play Indiana, then on Friday (01/23/2026, 8:00 p.m., FOX), they play Ohio State.

Indiana is currently 12-6 (3-4 in Big Ten), with no impressive wins, and unimpressive losses to Minnesota and Iowa.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, and they only have a little height: two 6’10” players.  This is a game that Michigan should win convincingly, but only if they can get back to their non-conference form.

Ohio State is currently 12-5 (4-3 in Big Ten), with an impressive win over UCLA, and unimpressive losses to Pittsburgh and Washington.  They have one noteworthy player (Bruce Thornton), and they have some height: a 6’10” guy, a 7-footer, and a 7’2” guy.  This could be a very challenging game for Michigan, but they can win it if they stay focused.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!

The (#2) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won one and lost the other.  On Tuesday (01/06/2026), they won at Penn State 74-72, then on Saturday (01/10/2026), they lost to Wisconsin 91-88 in Crisler Arena.  Michigan’s record is now 14-1 (4-1 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

You can’t win ‘em all, but we were hoping…

After many easy, stress-free, blowout wins against opponents large and small, Michigan’s magic run just ran out of steam.  They managed to sneak out a narrow road victory at Penn State, but they couldn’t keep up with a red-hot Wisconsin team at home.  Michigan didn’t look anything like the team that was routinely blowing away all opponents by an average of 30+ points in either game this week.  They were favored by about 20 points in each game, and they won by 2 and lost by 3.  It was very disappointing.

Game Flow

Penn State led for the first 8 minutes, up by 6 points (12-6) at the 15:16 mark.  Michigan tied it up (12-12) with 12:11 to go, then went ahead.  They got their lead up to 10 points (34-24) at the 3:16 mark, and still led by 9 points (40-31) at halftime.  Michigan kept the lead in the 10-12 point range for the first 10 minutes of the 2^nd half, up by 11 points (63-52) at the 9:48 mark.  That’s when PSU went on an 8-0 run.  They got within 3 points (63-60) with 7:13 to go, but Michigan pushed back.  Michigan was up by 8 points (71-63) at the 4:01 mark, and it looked like they were going to coast home, when they gave up a 9-3 run to end the game.  A little quick arithmetic shows that they only gave up 6 of the 8 points they led by, to win by 2.  Still, it was a lot closer than predicted.  PSU got off an errant 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have won the game, so Michigan barely escaped.

Michigan led Wisconsin early, up 21-10 at the 12:49 mark.  They kept the lead in the 9-11 point range for a while, and were up by 14 points (31-17) with 7:38 to go in the half.  That was the high point of the game.  From there, Wisconsin steadily whittled away at the lead, trailing by only 1 point (38-37) at halftime.  No problem, right?  Michigan has been playing great in the first few minutes of the 2^nd half all season.  Not this time: Wisconsin came out of the locker room on fire, hitting their first 9 shots, many of them 3-pointers.  They quickly went ahead, but Michigan hung around.  When Wisconsin finally missed a shot, at the 14:33 mark, they were up by 3 points (62-59).  Look at that scoring: Wisconsin outscored Michigan 25-21 in the first 5:27 of the half.  That’s incredible.  If they had kept that up, they would have scored around 150 points.  Fortunately, they cooled down, just a little, and Michigan managed to tie the game (65-65) at the 13:17 mark.  Wisconsin went ahead for a couple minutes, but Michigan actually regained the lead (71-70) with 10:50 to go.  Michigan went ahead by 3, but Wisconsin tied it up again (73-73) at the 8:56 mark.  It was tied up again at 75-75, 77-77, 79-79, and 81-81.  Michigan had their last lead (84-83) with 4:10 to go, and stayed close to Wisconsin down the stretch, but couldn’t quite get the stop they needed or make the basket they needed.  They were only down 2 points (90-88) with 15 seconds left, and 3 points (91-88) with 9 seconds left, but they missed a 3-pointer with 2 seconds left, and that was the game.  It was a shame, especially when they had a large and vocal crowd rooting them on.

Stats

The stats for the PSU game were just OK.  Michigan shot decently overall (26/47 = 45.6%), they shot 3-pointers OK (8/27 = 29.6%), and they shot free throws well enough (14/19 = 73.7%).  They lost the rebounding battle, a rarity (43-37) and the turnover battle (12-10).  They won this game (barely) with just enough shooting and just enough defense.  They probably should have lost it.

The stats for the Wisconsin game were actually pretty good.  Michigan shot decently overall (29/62 = 46.8%), they shot 3-pointers pretty well (8/25 = 32.0%), and they shot free throws very well (22/24 = 91.7%).  They won the rebounding battle (32-30) and the turnover battle (9-10).  So, how did they lose this one?  Defense.  Wisconsin outshot them: 29/58 = 50.0% overall, 15/33 = 45.5% from deep.  Michigan got Wisconsin to shoot the shots they wanted them to shoot, but Wisconsin made them.  It’s tough to beat a team that’s as hot as Wisconsin was at the beginning of the 2^nd half.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Nimari Burnett, Elliot Cadeau, Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg, and Aday Mara.

Who Looked Good?

Lendeborg hit double figures in both games, with 10 and 14 points.  He didn’t shoot well in the PSU game (3/9 overall, 0/4 from deep), but he did better vs. Wisconsin (4/9 overall, 1/2 from deep).  Still, he wasn’t really himself in either game.  He might still be slowed down by the calf injury he suffered in the USC game.

Burnett was the only other starter to hit double figures in both games, with 12 and 10 points.  For a good 3-point shooter, he had a mediocre week: 2/4 vs. PSU and 2/7 vs. Wisconsin.

Cadeau had one good game (19 points vs. Wisconsin, Michigan’s high scorer) and one decent game (9 points vs. PSU).  He single-handedly kept Michigan in the game when Wisconsin was on their rampage to start the 2^nd half.

Johnson had one good game (18 points vs. Wisconsin) and one lousy game (3 points vs. PSU).

Mara had two decent games: 7 and 9 points.  He also had 7 and 6 rebounds, and 4 and 2 blocked shots.

Roddy Gayle Jr. chipped in some points off the bench: 7 and 9 points.

Trey McKenney had one good game (12 points vs. PSU) and one mediocre game (7 points vs. Wisconsin).  He shot pretty poorly getting those 7 points vs. Wisconsin: 2/8 overall, 1/6 from deep.

L.J. Cason had one very good game (14 points vs. PSU, Michigan’s high scorer) and one lousy game (0 points vs. Wisconsin).

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

Will Tschetter was worthless this week, with 0 and 2 points.

Who Else Played?

No one else played.

Who Didn’t Play?

The scholarship players who didn’t play were: Oscar Goodman, Winters Grady, and Malick Kordel.

The Scout Team players who didn’t play were: Howard Eisley Jr., Harrison Hochberg and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

The first loss of the season always stings, but especially after a 14-game winning streak, and especially at home.  Still, there might be a (small) upside to this loss: it might (maybe?) take some of the pressure off the team, now that their perfect season is ruined.  Maybe they can get back to playing the way they did before the holiday break.

The loss to Wisconsin knocks Michigan out of 1^st place in the Big Ten, and will certainly knock them out of the #2 spot in the AP Poll.  Still, all of their goals are still ahead of them: they can still win the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships, and they can still shoot for the Final Four and beyond in the NCAA Tournament.  They just don’t have as much “wiggle room” as they had before.

This Week

This week, Michigan plays two games, on the road, out West.  On Wednesday (01/14/2026, 10:30 p.m. EST, BTN), they play at Washington, then on Saturday (01/17/2026, 4:00 p.m. EST, NBC), they play at Oregon.

Washington is currently 10-6 (2-3 in Big Ten), with an impressive win over (#24) USC, and unimpressive losses to Baylor, Colorado, and Seattle.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they do have plenty of height: two 6’10” players, and four 6’11” players.  This could be a very challenging game for Michigan.  They haven’t played very well in true road games so far, and the travel and jetlag issues with playing out West could be a factor.

Oregon is currently 8-8 (1-4 in Big Ten), with no impressive wins, and unimpressive losses to Stanford, San Diego State, Creighton, Rutgers, and Ohio State.  They have one noteworthy player (Nate Bittle), and plenty of height: two 6’10” players, a 6’11” player, and a 7-footer (Bittle).  This will certainly be a very challenging game for Michigan, for all the reasons listed for Washington and more: Oregon’s bizarre, distracting floor.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!

The (#2) University of Michigan men’s basketball team played two games this past week, and they won both of them.  On Monday (12/29/2025), they beat McNeese 112-71, then on Friday (01/02/2026), they beat (#24) USC 96-66. Both games were in Crisler Arena.  Michigan’s record improves to 13-0 (3-0 in Big Ten).

What Happened?

Michigan won two games, by 41 and 30 points, which is dominant.  The funny thing is, now that we’ve gotten spoiled by Michigan’s dominance, the two wins don’t seem as impressive as what we’ve gotten used to.  If Michigan hadn’t put in the Scout Team for the last 7 minutes of the McNeese game, they would have surely scored at least 125 points, and won by at least 50.  Michigan didn’t shoot very well vs. USC, and they still won by 30 points.  If Michigan had shot their season average in that game, they certainly would have scored over 100 points and won by at least 40.  They’re that good: they can play their “scrubs and subs” for the last 7 minutes as still win by 41.  They can have an “off” shooting night and still win by 30.

Game Flow

The McNeese game looked like a lot of the other Michigan games this season: Michigan never trailed, got ahead early, and pushed their lead to 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and finally, 52 points.  They hit the 10-point lead (15-5) at the 15:55 mark, hit the 20-point lead (38-18) at the 7:26 mark, hit the 30-point lead (59-29) at the 0:41 mark, led by 31 at halftime (60-29), hit the 40-point lead (69-29) at the 18:07 mark, passed the 50-point lead (88-37) at the 11:27 mark, and hit the high-water mark with 9:01 left: a 52-point lead (92-40).  The Scout Team came in for the last 7 minutes, and McNeese managed to get the deficit down to 41 points by the end of the game.

Michigan had several nice scoring runs in this game, but the best was the 21-0 run that started with 1:29 left in the 1^st half.  McNeese scored to pull within 26 points (55-29).  Michigan scored the last 5 points of the 1^st half, then the first 16 points of the 2^nd half, and suddenly the score was 76-29 (a 47 point lead) with 16:49 to go.  At that point, the game was over.

The USC game was similar to the McNeese game, since Michigan never trailed, got ahead early, and pushed their lead the rest of the game, but it wasn’t as quick or as decisive as the McNeese game.  Michigan played excellent defense all game, but especially for the first 6:31 of the game, and they led 11-0 at the 13:29 mark.  In that period, USC committed 6 turnovers, missed 8 shots, and committed 5 fouls and a technical foul on their coach.  If Michigan hadn’t been cold, they would have been up by 20-25 points.  Once they finally scored, USC managed to sneak back within 5 points (15-10) with 12:08 to go.  That was as close as they got.  Michigan kept the lead around 10 points for a while, then they finally started to pull away.  With 3:23 left in the half, Michigan was only up by 10 (34-24), but they went on a nice 15-7 run to lead by 18 at halftime, 49-31.

The first 5 minutes of the 2^nd half were even, and Michigan still led by 18 points (57-39) at the 14:46 mark.  That’s when Michigan pulled away again; they pushed the lead into the 26-28 point range, and kept it there for the rest of the game, finally pushing it to 30 points with 2 seconds left.

Our old buddy Terrance Williams II played more than 25 minutes for USC, but he wasn’t much of a factor.  He scored 5 points and grabbed 4 rebounds.  He didn’t get much of a reaction, positive or negative, from the Michigan fans.  Nobody misses him.

Stats

The stats for the McNeese game were solid.  Michigan shot very well overall (37/63 = 58.7%), they shot well from 3-point range (7/23 = 30.4%), and they shot free throws pretty well (31/45 = 68.9%).  They won the rebounding battle decisively (55-32), but they lost the turnover battle (15-9).  They won this game with strong shooting and rebounding.

The stats for the USC game were just OK.  Michigan shot decently overall (31/65 = 47.7%), they shot 3-pointers poorly (6/30 = 20.0%), and they shot free throws pretty well (28/39 = 71.8%).  They won the rebounding battle (40-35) and the turnover battle (11-21).  They won this game with decent shooting and lots of defense.

Who Started?

The starters for both games were Nimari Burnett, Elliot Cadeau, Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg, and Aday Mara.

Who Looked Good?

It was Morez Johnson Jr. Week!  He tied his career high with 24 points vs. McNeese, then set a new career high the next game with 29 points vs. USC.  In both games, he was unguardable.  He was too quick and agile for the big men who tried to stop him, and too strong for the shorter players when they tried.  He had excellent shooting stats: 8/12 overall vs. McNeese, and 10/12 overall, 1/2 from deep vs. USC.  He also had 11 rebounds vs. McNeese, for a nice double-double.  He was awesome.

Lendeborg had one good game (16 points vs. McNeese) and one decent game (8 points vs. USC).  In all fairness, he only played for 18 minutes vs. USC, due to some sort of injury.  He’s been nursing a sore back all season.  Still, his normally good shooting was “off” in the USC game: 3/10 overall, 1/7 from deep.  He shot fine in the McNeese game: 6/10 overall, 1/2 from deep.

Mara also had one good game (13 points vs. McNeese) and one mediocre game (5 points vs. USC).  Once again, he was very valuable on defense, guarding the rim.

Cadeau didn’t score as much as usual (7 points in each game), but he did a nice job running the offense and playing tough defense.

Burnett had one good game (12 points vs. McNeese) and one lousy game (3 points vs. USC).  Once again, in all fairness, he only played 14 minutes vs. USC, due to an injury.  He banged his forehead against Roddy Gayle’s knee, then against the floor.

Trey McKenney had a good week coming off the bench.  He hit double figures in both games: 13 and 10 points.  The only downside: He was 0/6 shooting 3-pointers, but 7/7 from 2-point range.

Roddy Gayle Jr. had a good week coming off the bench.  He hit double figures in both games: 10 and 12 points.

L.J. Cason had a good week coming off the bench.  He had 7 points vs. McNeese and 10 points vs. USC.  His steal and layup with 2 seconds left in the USC game gave Michigan the 30-point win.

Will Tschetter had one good game (10 points vs. USC) and one quiet game (2 points vs. McNeese) coming off the bench.

Who Looked Not-So-Good?

All the mainstream players looked good this week.

Who Else Played?

Howard Eisley Jr. played in the final minute of the McNeese game, and missed his only shot attempt, a 3-pointer.

Oscar Goodman played for 7 minutes vs. McNeese and 3 minutes vs. USC.  He missed all 3 of his shot attempts.

Winters Grady played for 7 minutes vs. McNeese and 3 minutes vs. USC.  He missed his only shot attempt (a 3-pointer) vs. McNeese, but made 4/5 free throws, for 4 points.  He shot 1/2 overall, 0/1 from deep, vs. USC, for 2 more points.

Malick Kordel played for 6 minutes vs. McNeese and 2 minutes vs. USC.  He shot 2/2 vs. McNeese, for 4 points, and didn’t attempt a shot vs. USC.

Who Didn’t Play?

The Scout Team players who didn’t play were: Harrison Hochberg and Charlie May.

What Does It Mean?

These were two very important wins for several reasons: they were both against quality opponents, they were both by impressive margins, they kept Michigan undefeated overall and in Big Ten play, and they kept the team’s confidence up there.  Both these wins will look very nice on Michigan’s NCAA Tournament resume.

The only bad news was the injuries to Lendeborg and Burnett.  At this point, there isn’t much information about how serious they are or if they’ll miss any games.

This Week

This week, Michigan plays two games.  On Tuesday (01/06/2026, 7:00 p.m., FS1), they play at Penn State, then on Saturday (01/10/2026, 1:00 p.m., CBS), they play Wisconsin in Crisler Arena.

Penn State is currently 9-5 (0-3 in Big Ten), with no impressive wins, and unimpressive losses to Providence, Indiana (113-72!), and Pittsburgh.  They don’t have any noteworthy players, but they do have some height: a 6’10” player and two 7-footers.  This is a game that Michigan should win convincingly, even on the road.  If Indiana can beat them by 31 points, Michigan can do the same.

Wisconsin is currently 9-5 (1-2 in Big Ten), with no impressive wins, and unimpressive losses to Oklahoma, TCU, and Villanova.  They have a couple noteworthy players (John Blackwell and Nolan Winter) and quite a bit of height: three 6’10” players and two 7-footers.  This should be a pretty challenging game for Michigan, but Wisconsin isn’t any better than USC, so if Michigan can stay focused, they should be fine.

Check back next week to find out what happened and why.

Go Blue!