The Michigan Wolverines just completed arguably their best season in program history, and even one of the best seasons in the sport in recent memory. College basketball is not the same of college football, where blemishes are expected and easier to overcome; between strength of schedule, unluckiness, and sheer volume of games, it is nearly impossible to go undefeated.
Thus, having just three losses is quite the feat — only two champions in the past 15 years have had fewer. Still, all three of Michigan’s
defeats stung, as any loss does. None of them deterred the Wolverines from reaching their ultimate goal, and perhaps there is a butterfly effect in play here. Ignoring that, though, which loss would you take away if given the ability to do so?
Loss 1: Wisconsin, January 10
Ah, the first one. The infamous afternoon where someone named Aleksas Bieliauskas could not seem to miss and we all experienced the most painful sequence of deja vu to start the second half. Even a ridiculous 15-for-33 effort from deep was nearly able to be overcome by the Wolverines. Instead, it was the first and only loss of the Big Ten regular season, though Michigan did achieve the ridiculous 10-0 mark on the road.
Reasons to erase: In this conference, the regular season is more important than the Big Ten Tournament, so Michigan still got the banner that matters. However, 20-0 just feels so different than 19-1, and this game was painfully winnable. At the time, it also felt like a potential crack in the armor, as it was still before the Wolverines ran through the rest of the conference. Now in hindsight, it is just any annoying blemish more than anything.
Loss 2: vs. Duke, February 21
It did not take long into the season to recognize that this had the potential to be one of the greatest non-conference games ever, especially one played so late in the season. Both teams held up their end of the bargain with just three combined losses heading into the contest, and the entire country tuned in to see Cameron Boozer and Yaxel Lendeborg go at it in the top-3 showdown.
Reasons to erase: As hyped as this game was, it was clear that both teams had limited downside regardless of outcome (though it did grant Duke the No. 1-overall seed). The biggest negative is that Michigan missed a chance to unquestionably be the Team of the Century. Duke was literally the only Elite Eight team that the Wolverines did not log a win against, which would have been an amazing achievement to boast.
Loss 3: vs. Purdue, March 15
Michigan’s win at West Lafayette was one of the most important and most impressive of the season. It was very clear who the better team was from those 40 minutes, but of course it would not guarantee the outcome should the squads meet again. Obviously that did occur on Selection Sunday in the Big Ten Tournament final, where a below-average effort by the Wolverines cost them the title.
Reasons to erase: Pretty simple argument here: a lost banner. Winning both the regular season and tournament championship is not as common as one might assume in the Big Ten, and it would have been a first for Michigan. 2025-26 was still a wildly impressive season, but being able to say the Wolverines were winners of the Big Ten Regular Season, Big Ten Tournament, and NCAA Tournament would have been incredible.
This is a tough call for me. Beating Duke would have cemented this team’s place in history from an analytics and SOS perspective. Knowing Michigan was three points away from a flawless conference slate stings, especially with the win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten semis. However, it is difficult to turn down the opportunity to raise another banner, especially with the other two already there. Maybe that loss fueled the run right after it, but it still is a little annoying to have happened.
