The Michigan Wolverines are entering the Big Ten Tournament as the overall No. 1 seed this weekend and have all but locked up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The postseason is nothing new to head coach Dusty May, who led Florida Atlantic to a Final Four run, a Conference USA (CUSA) Tournament title, and consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2023, 2024) before leading Michigan to a Big Ten Tournament title in 2025 and a Sweet Sixteen appearance.
But May is still awaiting his chance to lift the
National Championship trophy. This season, he is leaning on experience and analytics to drive every decision leading into March Madness.
The Wolverines put together a competitive team in May’s first season, prioritizing size with front court duo Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin to supplement strong guard play from Tre Donaldson and Nimari Burnett. Even so, Michigan still lacked a go-to playmaker willing to put the ball in their hands and take over a game.
This season, May has multiple versions of that player — and it was no accident. The Wolverines have seen a significant uptick in production from transfers Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr., Elliot Cadeau and Aday Mara compared to their previous stops. May was methodical in targeting players who bring size, shot creation and an unselfish approach to the game. Now, he is being credited with building a “super team.”
“We’ve changed a lot over the year,” May told reporters on Monday. “Every year we change because we feel like we have to be adaptable to our personnel. Our goal is to find really good players who are also great teammates and hard workers. They match us as far as the other attributes, and then we feel very confident that because of the staff’s wide range of experiences, we can figure out the best way for this group to play once we identify who they are, what they do well, things like that in the summer.”
May is confident in the roster he has assembled. Knowing the Wolverines can beat anyone in the country, he has put it on himself to get his team ready for the final stretch of the season while staying focused on the end goal. With four days to prepare for its first Big Ten Tournament matchup, May is focused on fixing his own team’s issues rather than drawing up specific opponent game plans.
“Our post defense was horrendous (vs Michigan State), so we’ll spend some time working on that,” May said. “Challenging catches, forcing them off the block a little bit more, things like that. But we won’t start preparing for a specific opponent. We will look at things we struggled with against any of the three teams we could potentially face and work that into our 3-on-3 or 5-on-5 games. It won’t be like we’re scouting, it’ll be more about the concepts we struggle with.”
Being 29-2 can give any team immense confidence heading into the postseason, but it’s not just the number of wins that makes Michigan dangerous — it’s the quality of competition they’ve faced. May’s commitment to scheduling tournament-like games has been evident, and now the Wolverines have more experience against elite competition than perhaps any program in the country.
From sweeping three straight games over San Diego State, Auburn and Gonzaga in Las Vegas, to facing Ohio State, Nebraska and Michigan State in three straight conference games, to even slotting Duke between matchups with Purdue and Illinois, Michigan is the definition of battle-tested.
“We thought it was incredibly difficult to beat Purdue, Maryland and Wisconsin in three consecutive games in a tournament format,” May said. “That’s a hell of a tournament in itself. And so it’s gonna be the same opportunity — go play three really good teams, hopefully improve and compete for a championship.”
Part of being a top seed is being granted the “easiest” path to the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game. Most interpret that as favorable opponents, but May is thinking a step further. As a probable No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Michigan also has the ability to choose where that path is played. With Duke expected to select Greenville, and Arizona eyeing San Diego, Michigan’s choice comes down to Buffalo or Philadelphia. While fan accessibility factors in, May was already thinking weeks ahead, opting for a Friday/Sunday schedule over a Thursday/Saturday slot.
“I was happy when we were talking about the seeding and the sites and all that, but where we requested to go (Philadelphia) was playing Friday/Sunday,” May said. “Because if you get home Sunday night at midnight or 1 a.m. (from the Big Ten Tournament), playing Thursday is a significant difference from playing Friday. If you go Friday/Sunday, the next week balances out a little better, hopefully. That’s where our mindset is.”
May has been thinking 10 steps ahead all season long to get his team to where it is today. All that’s left is execution, and it starts Friday in Chicago.
