Last season, Michigan basketball left Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, after making a statement against UCLA: “The Big Ten runs through Crisler,” they said.
And for a while it did, until a 2-4 stretch over the final six games torpedoed any chance the Wolverines had of winning the Big Ten regular season title.
This year, it’s No. 2 Michigan’s turn to welcome UCLA to town on Saturday, Feb. 14 (12:45 p.m., CBS) and the Wolverines no longer need to make any grand declarations.
With a win over UCLA (17-7, 9-4 Big Ten), No. 2 Michigan (23-1, 13-1 Big Ten) will in all likelihood move up to No. 1 in the nation after Arizona lost earlier this week at Kansas.
While Michigan’s main goals include league championships and banners from the 2026 NCAA Tournament, players would be lying if they said being No. 1 wasn’t on their mind.
“Obviously, you think of that,” freshman Trey McKenney said following U-M’s 87-75 win over Northwestern. “It’s crazy to be number one in the country. So we did, obviously, talk about that.”
Michigan has won nine straight, eight of those by double digits, with five road victories and two over top-10 teams. It’s now been more than a month since U-M’s lone loss on a the year, a 91-88 upset against Wisconsin in Ann Arbor.
While the Bruins’ season has been a bit more up-and-down with losses to Indiana, Gonzaga, Iowa and Ohio State, among others, Mick Cronin’s team has played better lately, winning five of its past six.
The Bruins have a starting five who all play 28 minutes or more per game (for perspective U-M only has one player who plays even 25 minutes per game in Yaxel Lendeborg). Nobody means more to the team than Tyler Bilodeau, a stretch-four who averages 18.3 points and 5.5 rebounds and shoots a lights out 45% from 3.
Donovan Dent, a New Mexico transfer who was one of the most sought after players in the portal this offseason, hasn’t translated the way many thought he would to the Big Ten. He plays a team-high 34.7 minutes per game and is second in scoring at 13.7 points a night, but much of it comes from volume: he’s shooting 41.3% from the floor and just 20.0% on 3s.
Cronin also has three others in double figures in Skyy Clark (13.5), Trent Perry (12.6) and Eric Dailey Jr. (11.3). The top player off Cronin’s bench is former MSU five-star Xavier Booker, who had 12 games in a row scoring in single digits before popping off for 24 against Rutgers last week.
One thing UCLA doesn’t have is a true rim protector, since Aday Mara transferred to Ann Arbor this past offseason. Cronin was asked about his emotions facing him his former big man but dismissed the question.
“Another game, buddy, that’s life in the portal,” Cronin recently told reporters. “I’m scouting Michigan, I’m not scouting Aday … He’s older, but I mean you’d have to ask Dusty May stuff like that. I don’t see him every day.”
If the Bruins are going to pull the upset, it will be dictated from long range. UCLA is No. 2 in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting (38.1%) and No. 1 defending 3s (29.2%). The Bruins are generally pretty good at taking care of the ball and forcing turnovers, No. 3 in the league in both categories, however they’re willing to settle for mid-range and long jumpers, which plays directly into Michigan’s hand.
KenPom gives U-M a 92% chance to win this game, but if Northwestern offers any lessons, Michigan cannot afford to look towards to a tough schedule that looms ahead.
“Guys, 1% of teams can find a way to win that one,” May told his team in the locker room in Evanston. “Way to find a way. We need everybody in this locker room to stay locked in. Our maturity, our approach has to get even better.
“They’re going to get more difficult than this every single game, there’s not going to be any easy nights.”
Michigan vs UCLA prediction
If Mara was on UCLA, this would be closer to an even matchup. Bilodeau will find his way onto an All-Big Ten team but he will likely have a tough night trying to get past Morez Johnson Jr. Dent has scored in double figures in 20 of 24 games, but shot better than 50% in just three of those. It will take a lights-out shooting performance for UCLA to cancel out an afternoon where Michigan should feast down low. U-M wanted to win for Roddy Gayle Jr. last week at OSU and there are likely similar conversations happening around Mara for this one. The pick: Michigan 86, UCLA 73.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
Next up: Bruins
Matchup: No. 2 Michigan (23-1, 13-1 Big Ten) vs. UCLA (17-7, 9-4).
Tipoff: 12:45 p.m. Ssturay, Feb. 14; Crisler Center, Ann Arbor.
TV/radio: CBS; WCSX-FM (94.7).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball, with No. 1 on its mind, welcomes UCLA to town
Reporting by Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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