Michigan basketball saved its best game for last in Europe.
However, a potential significant injury clouds the result.
The Wolverines rallied in the second half Thursday, Aug. 27, in Igalo, Montenegro, to beat Mega Superbet − a professional men's basketball club based in Belgrade, Serbia − 84-81 to wrap up their three-game exhibition series overseas.
Trey McKenney scored a team-high 25 points, J.P. Estrella added 16 despite fouling out in 16 minutes and Elliot Cadeau scored 15.
Yet the primary story from this game came in the first minute, when five-star freshman guard Brandon McCoy Jr. suffered an injury on a fastbreak near the basket. He grabbed at his right knee and had to be carried off the court.
He did not return to the bench for the entirety
of the game.
McCoy covered his face when he went down and couldn't put any weight on his leg after he tried to stand up. It would be a massive blow for the Wolverines, but there has not yet been an announcement from Michigan on the severity of the injury.
Was wrapping up football coverage from this afternoon, but this is a potentially very bad development for Michigan hoops.
— Tony Garcia | Detroit Free Press (@RealTonyGarcia) August 27, 2026
Five-star freshman Brandon McCoy Jr. went down in today’s game in Europe and had to be carried off the court by staff and players. pic.twitter.com/8XsTlwlASG
McCoy, a McDonald's All-American, was the No. 2 shooting guard in the country, the No. 3 player in California and No. 10 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class, according to 247 Sports' composite rankings.
He leads U-M's six-man recruiting class, rated No. 4 in 247 Sports' composite rankings behind Arkansas, Kansas and Duke.
“We are really grateful and thankful for the opportunity to come out here and represent Michigan," coach Mike Boynton Jr. said in a statement after the game. "Thank you to our administration for giving us this chance to be out here for a week or so, bonding as a team, but also playing basketball and representing what our program has built us up to be.
"This is a program of high character, hard work, improvement and development. I think our guys really got better over this week, and we look forward to getting back and seeing how we can build off it.”
U-M trailed by as much as 14 in the first half and went into the half down 49-38.
It opened the second half with a 12-4 run behind 3-pointers from Oscar Goodman, Quinn Costello and McKenney to pull within three, before Marcus Moller drilled a 3 later in the quarter to knot the game at 59.
U-M trailed 67-64 early in the fourth quarter, then secured a 13-0 run. Cadeau made five straight free throws for the lead, then whipped a cross-court pass from the top of the key to Costello in the corner for a 3.
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After a McKenney layup, Cadeau hit a 3 for a 10-point lead. A slashing and-one layup by McKenney gave U-M a comfortable lead, 83-74, only for Mega to score seven straight.
McKenney split from the line, a last-second heave missed and U-M survived.
U-M finished the trip 1-2, and in many aspects got what it wanted out of the time together overseas.
"We had a meeting a couple days ago just talking about Michigan culture and Michigan basketball," McKenney said in a release by the team. "I think we really showed tonight what we could be throughout the season. I’m excited to get back to Ann Arbor, get the group under one arena, practice for a couple months and get ready for the season.”
A Maize & Blue boat day 〽️🇭🇷 pic.twitter.com/dCQ5bf95KU
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) August 27, 2026
The concern, of course, is the health of McCoy.
Moustapha Thiam played just the first six minutes of the first game, then did not see action again he suffered what appeared to be a lower body injury to his right leg. A person within the program told the Free Press it was not a major injury.
U-M is scheduled to return home Saturday.
You can rewatch the entire game on Mega Superbet's YouTube page.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Brandon McCoy injury update: Losing 5-star freshman would be massive blow
