The 2025-’26 ‘BTPowerhouse Season Preview’ series will take an in-depth look at all 18 teams in the Big Ten heading into the 2025-’26 season with analysis on each program’s previous season, roster overhaul,
and top storylines. Each post will also include predictions on each team’s postseason potential.
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After a few hectic seasons with Juwan Howard at the helm, things settled down considerably for the Michigan Wolverines last year. Dusty May arrived preseason, recruited the lights out in the spring, and led the Wolverines to a surprise Big Ten Tournament title and a Sweet 16 in March. He then went back to work last spring, adding a ton of talent to the roster. The question is now whether he can exceed that mark in his second season.
Let’s take a look.
1. Last Season.
It’s hard to complain much about the 2024-‘25 season in Ann Arbor. Despite relatively underwhelming preseason expectations, Michigan hit the ground running, jumping out to an 8-1 record in early December and then eventually reaching 13-3 overall by the start of the new year. The team eventually used that success to lead a surprising run in the Big Ten Tournament and to win two games in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan eventually finished at 27-10 overall.
The brightest spots in the season clearly occurred in March, with the Big Ten Tournament title and the Sweet 16. Few thought the Wolverines would make much noise then after the group lost four of six heading into the postseason. However, Michigan proved the doubters wrong, knocking off Purdue, Maryland, and Wisconsin in Indianapolis and then beating a feisty UC San Diego team in the Round of 64 and Texas A&M in the Round of 32 before falling short to Auburn in the Sweet 16.
Perhaps the most interesting part of Michigan’s campaign was how many games the Wolverines won by close margins. It’s how a team that won nearly 30 games only finished 21st on KenPom. Many have debated how the Wolverines accomplished that feat — some say luck while others say skill — but it became a refrain for the squad by March. Fans with cardiac conditions are certainly hoping Michigan doesn’t repeat that trend.
2. Roster Overlook.
Michigan lost a total of nine players from last year’s roster in Phat Phat Brooks, Ian Burns, Tre Donaldson, Vlad Goldin, Jace Howard, Rubin Jones, Justin Pippen, Sam Walters, and Danny Wolf. That includes the team’s three leaders in total minutes, four of its top six, and five of its top nine. The impact of Goldin and Wolf also can’t be underrated upfront, where the two big men dominated much of the league.
The good news for Wolverine fans is that Michigan adds arguably the best class of newcomers of anyone in the conference.
The program adds four high school prospects in Oscar Goodman, Winters Grady, Malick Kordel, Ricky Liburd, and Trey McKenney and four transfers in Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina), Morez Johnson (Illinois), Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB), and Aday Mara (UCLA). Notably, Goodman was on last year’s roster, but redshirt as an international prospect.
Yaxel is the newcomer receiving the most attention. He was one of the more productive players in the country last year at UAB and is considered a serious All-American prospect coming into this season. However, there’s plenty more coming around him as well. Cadeau was a productive guard for the Tar Heels last year and should start for the Wolverines this season, McKenney is a top 25 high school prospect, and Johnson was already a really good player for another Big Ten team in Illinois. This group alone would probably field a decent team.
3. The Schedule.
-Non-Conference Schedule:
- 10/17 – Cincinnati (Exh.)
- 10/25 – St. John’s (New York, NY) (Exh.)
- 11/3 – Oakland
- 11/11 – Wake Forest (Detroit, MI)
- 11/14 – at TCU
- 11/19 – Middle Tennessee
- 11/24 – San Diego State (Las Vegas, NV)
- 11/25 – Auburn (Las Vegas, NV)
- 11/26 or 27 – Players Era Championship (Las Vegas, NV)
- 12/9 – Villanova
- 12/21 – La Salle
- 12/29 – McNeese
- 2/21 – Duke (Washington, DC)
-Conference Schedule:
- 12/6 – Rutgers
- 12/13 – at Maryland
- 1/2 – USC
- 1/6 – at Penn State
- 1/10 – Wisconsin
- 1/14 – at Washington
- 1/17 – at Oregon
- 1/20 – Indiana
- 1/23 – Ohio State
- 1/27 – Nebraska
- 1/30 – at Michigan State
- 2/5 – Penn State
- 2/8 – at Ohio State
- 2/11 – at Northwestern
- 2/14 – UCLA
- 2/17 – at Purdue
- 2/24 – Minnesota
- 2/27 – at Illinois
- 3/5 – at Iowa
- 3/8 – Michigan State
-Postseason Schedule:
- March, 2026 – Big Ten Tournament (Chicago, IL)
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Everything about this slate reeks of a team that thinks it could make serious noise in March. Michigan has clearly gone out of its way to “schedule up” this season, adding a handful of marquee opponents to the slate, beginning with the trip to Vegas in November and concluding with a rare non-con tilt against Duke in February. It’s going to be a tough slate, but the opportunities are there to built quite a resume if the team plays well.
Perhaps the most intriguing stretch will be in February, when the team goes through an absolutely brutal stretch of the following, with KenPom odds noted alongside each game:
- 2/8 – at Ohio State (49%)
- 2/11 – at Northwestern (66%)
- 2/14 – UCLA (60%)
- 2/17 – at Purdue (27%)
- 2/21 – Duke (Washington, DC) (45%)
That’s a five-game stretch with four of the games away from home, including what could be a colossal matchup against Purdue on February 17th. If Michigan can find a way to survive those games, a Big Ten title could very well be within reach.
4. Biggest Obstacle.
Michigan’s biggest obstacle this season will be chemistry. Like last year’s squad, the team has the talent and pieces to win at a high level. In fact, most of the new additions are proven players. Yaxel is an elite prospect, Cadeau and Johnson arrive with plenty of fanfare, and Michigan also returns productive players like Nimari Burnett and Roddy Gayle. Add in someone like McKenney and there’s even more upside.
However, the question is whether these pieces fit together. For example, three of the new additions (Yaxel, Johnson, and Mara) are natural frontcourt options. However, can two (or even three) of them play at the same time? It seems like quite an ask, particularly considering none of the three are natural shooters. But finding a way to get that talent on the floor is going to be the challenge for May and his staff this season. If he can find a way to get those three going, the sky is the limit for this team.
The other major question will have to focus on the team’s perimeter shooting. Michigan finished 205th nationally in three-point shooting percentage last year and it’s hard to see that going up substantially this time around, considering most of the new additions are not elite shooters. Burnett was a great shooter last year, but he’ll need some help around him. Fans are going to have to hope LJ Cason or McKenney can step up there.
5. Realistic Expectations.
This has all the makings of an elite squad. Nothing is ever guaranteed in college basketball, especially when it comes to teams reliant on new pieces. However, it’s hard to look at this group and see much missing. The roster has a likely star in Yaxel, a litany of star quality players around him in players like Burnett, Cason, Gayle, and Johnson, and a handful more guys with upside like Mara and McKenney. If the pieces are even 75 percent of what Wolverine fans are hoping for, Michigan is likely looking at the second weekend in March.
All that talent will mean the pressure is on May to get the job done. It’s up to him to fit the pieces together and make the sum as valuable as its parts. And that won’t be easy, with questions on shooting and plenty of rotational questions in the backcourt. The team is also reliant on a lot of players who are almost sure things, but not quite. For example, players like Cason and Cadeau look exciting on paper, but neither has played at an All-Big Ten level before for a full season. Can they live up to the hype? We’ll have to wait and see.
Still, all told, this looks like a second or third weekend team in March. Michigan should compete for the Big Ten title and more. It will likely come down to how the Wolverines perform against the Boilers to decide who gets the crown.
