#4 Michigan Game Preview & How to Watch

The Huskies host potentially the best team in the country coming off their 1st loss of the year

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

How to Watch (and bet)

Date: Wednesday, 1/14/26

Tip-Off Time: 7:30 pm PT

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: Huskies Gameday App, Sports Radio KJR

Location: Seattle, Washington

Betting Line: Washington Huskies +12

Michigan Wolverines 2025-26 Statistics:

Record: 14-1 (4-1)

Points For per Game: 94.6 (2nd)

Points Against per Game: 68.5 (48th)

Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 125.4 (7th)

Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 89.4 (1st)

Strength of Schedule:

4th

Michigan Key Players:

G- Elliot Cadeau, Jr. 6’1, 180: 10.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 5.2 apg, 45.6% FG, 42.6% 3pt, 67.6% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +7.6 BPR (41st nationally)

It didn’t seem like North Carolina fought very hard to keep Cadeau around where he was 13th nationally in assist rate but turned the ball over a lot and didn’t shoot it that well. Both his assist and turnover rates are down a little playing at Michigan and it’s no surprise his 3-pt% has gone way up given how much attention the Michigan big men command from the defense. Coming into the season only about 33% of Cadeau’s shots were from beyond the arc and this season that’s closer to 60% with fewer driving lanes.

G- Nimari Burnett, Sr. 6’5, 195: 8.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 47.2% FG, 37.5% 3pt, 82.8% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +5.2 BPR (172nd nationally)

There are 3 SG/SF types who each play about half the game but Burnett technically starts so I’m putting him here even though he averages the fewest points per game of the bunch. Burnett though is the best shooter of that group and is 32nd nationally in offensive efficiency since he never turns the ball over and shoots 64% on 2-pointers as well. He’s not a great rebounder or defensive maven though so more of a 3 guy than a 3 and D guy.

F- Yaxel Lendeborg, Sr. 6’9, 240: 14.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 3.3 apg, 54.5% FG, 35.4% 3pt, 86.4% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +12.8 BPR (2nd nationally)

Yaxel could’ve been a borderline 1st round pick in last year’s draft but instead is one of the best players in college basketball. The raw counting stats are underwhelming only because he doesn’t have to play very many minutes since Michigan is usually up 30+ in the second half. He ranks in the top 500 nationally in defensive rebounding rate, assist rate, turnover rate, block rate, free throw rate, 2pt%, and FT%. That includes being 8th nationally in offensive efficiency. Yaxel is the ultimate Swiss army knife as a versatile 3/4 combo forward that can shut down the opponent on defense, play point guard if needed, and score efficiently. He’s 2nd nationally in Evan Miya’s player rating system and 6th in KenPom player of the year.

F- Morez Johnson Jr., So, 6’9, 250: 14.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 68.9% FG, 44.4% 3pt, 80.4% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +9.2 BPR (10th nationally)

Johnson was a breakout freshman at Illinois last season averaging a physically dominant 7 points and 7 rebounds per game as Illinois’ big man off the bench. He transferred to Michigan and has seen his rebounding totals go down a little due to the # of bigs on the court at the same time but has been fantastic on both ends of the court. Through 5 Big Ten games so far, Johnson is shooting 77% on 2-pointers, 67% on 3-pointers, and 80% from the free throw line. For a springy, physical PF/C. Nuts.

C- Aday Mara, Jr. 7’3, 255: 10.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.5 bpg, 65.6% FG, 41.9% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +6.8 BPR (73rd nationally)

Husky fans will recognize Mara who spent the last 2 seasons at UCLA. Last year was Mara’s breakout when he looked unstoppable while leading the country in block rate but Mick Cronin refused to play him more than absolutely necessary. Now Mara is merely 10th in block rate while shooting nearly 70% from the floor. His free throw shooting has been an absolute adventure and has somehow gone down every year (70% to 58% to 42%) while his 2-point shooting has gone up (43% to 59% to 69%). Mara is the college basketball version of Wemby on defense and there’s no going into the paint while Mara is next to the basket.

The Outlook

This looked for much of the season like it was destined to be one of the all-time ass kickings the Huskies had ever received at home. Michigan had one of the most dominant stretches we’ve ever seen in college basketball having won 9 consecutive games with (6 coming against top 70 KenPom teams) by an average of 35.6 points. The Wolverines were tracking to be the best team in the history of KenPom with an absolutely absurd efficiency rating.

Then they went to Penn State last week and barely eked out a 2-point win despite PSU missing their leading scorer. Okay, maybe that was just finally taking their eye off the ball in a conference road game and surely Michigan would bounce back. But then Michigan lost by 3 at home to Wisconsin to drop from the ranks of the unbeaten. 10 days is an awful short sample size but since January 3rd, Michigan ranks 50th nationally in BartTorvik (1-1 record) while Washington ranks 60th (1-2 record). Suffice to say, if we see most of the season Michigan then this is a cakewalk but if something really broke for the Wolverines then the Huskies have a shot.

Michigan’s secret sauce all season long has been the best frontcourt in college basketball. All three of Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson, and Aday Mara could be star players if featured on their own team but yet are all starting next to one another. It’s sometimes an awkward fit but you can’t argue with the results. Michigan is 1st nationally in 2-point percentage on offense and 1st nationally in 2-point percentage on defense. That’s insane. They’re shooting nearly 25% better than their opponents from inside the arc this season. Franck Kepnang staying on the court is absolutely imperative to have any chance of keeping Michigan from just scoring at the rim time and again.

There aren’t any areas where Michigan is outright bad on offense but they also aren’t quite dominant in any other area either. They shoot a perfectly respectable 36% from the outside and are fairly balanced in terms of where their points come from between 2pt/3pt/FT shots. You might think that Michigan would lumber down the court with a 3 big starting lineup but they with the 4th quickest offensive tempo in the country. They’ll quickly pass the ball inside and score so they can get back on defense. This is just an incredibly well-rounded offense that is a juggernaut scoring the ball in the paint.

The impact of Mara and Johnson means Michigan is always playing at least one if not two rim protectors. They rank 1st on defense in opponent 2-point distance as no one has felt comfortable getting all the way into the paint. If the Huskies are able to stay in this game it’s because Zoom Diallo (and maybe Desmond Claude if he plays) is feeling it from the midrange and is able to pull up from the free throw line and hit jumpers without taking it into the swatting hands of Mara. Teams have been able to knock down 3-point shots in conference play against Michigan so far but that’s of course no guarantee for Washington.

There’s a chance that Washington has reinforcements for this game. Both Wesley Yates III and Jacob Ognacevic were questionable on Sunday and it appears from press conference comments that Coach Sprinkle feels they’re ready and is itching to have them back. Yates had gotten off to a bit of a slow start this season before the broken hand but he’ll be needed to knock down 3’s as soon as he’s back. Ditto for Ognacevic who has yet to appear in a game this season but was being billed as UW’s best shooter before breaking his foot. Getting your first action of the season and having to guard Yaxel and Morez sounds like an impossible task but UW has to find a way to knock down 3’s if they have any chance of keeping it close.

(Coach Sprinkle said Desmond Claude would be in uniform but wouldn’t say whether he was going to play tonight. Reading between the lines, it seems like he is still facing team discipline after being held out against Ohio State which is easier for Sprinkle to keep up when Claude has the worst on/off splits on the team and the Huskies played well without him against OSU and the 2nd half against Purdue.)

I’d like to believe that there was some secret crack in the armor from Michigan’s last 2 games that UW will exploit. This would be a season-altering win (and potentially career-altering for Coach Sprinkle) if it could somehow happen. But the truth is Wisconsin made 15 three-pointers against Michigan to pull their upset. Washington’s season high this season is 11 and the most they’ve made against a power conference opponent is 9 total. It’s hard making this pick before knowing about the availability of Yates and Ognacevic but I’ll say we unfortunately once again see hungry and motivated Michigan.