ANN ARBOR, Mich. – No. 3-ranked Michigan Wolverines (25-2, 15-1 Big Ten) returns to Ann Arbor to host Minnesota (13-14, 6-10 Big Ten) at a sold-out Crisler Center Pool(e) Party.
Tipoff is slated for 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24, on the Big Ten Network, and fans are encouraged to come dressed in their favorite pool attire.
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With two weeks left in the regular season, Michigan has two opportunities to clinch at least a share, or possibly the outright Big Ten regular-season title.
A conference title would be Michigan’s 16th and the program’s first since 2021.
Michigan leads the all-time series against Minnesota, 99-71, and is one win shy of its 100th victory in the matchup.
The Wolverines have previously reached the 100-win mark against three conference opponents: Iowa, Michigan State, and Northwestern.
Minnesota beat Michigan twice in recent meetings, including a 73-71 upset at Crisler Center on Jan. 4, 2024, and an 84-81 overtime win on a last-second shot at Williams Arena on Jan. 16, 2025.
The men in maize are 59-22 at home against the Gophers, though Minnesota has won two of the last three games inside Crisler Arena.
Last season’s meeting ended in dramatic fashion when Dawson Garcia hit a long buzzer-beater with seven seconds left and no timeouts to force overtime and lift Minnesota to an 84-81 victory.
Despite strong performances from Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin, the Wolverines could not close out the game.
Michigan’s 25-2 record this season features dominant margins of victory: 21 games by 10-plus points, 13 by 20-plus, 10 by 30-plus, seven by 40-plus (a Big Ten record), and one by 50-plus. The start marks the best in program history; Michigan previously reached 24-3 on four occasions, including the 2018-19 squad that advanced to the Sweet 16.
The Wolverines’ “Big Three” — Yaxel Lendeborg (14.6 points, 7.5 rebounds), Morez Johnson Jr. (13.5, 7.3), and Aday Mara (11.2, 7.0) — account for more than 40% of the team’s scoring and over half its rebounding.
Lendeborg has five consecutive games in double figures and has made nine of his last 37 three-pointers in that span.
Johnson Jr. has scored in double figures in nine straight games and added three more double-digit rebounding games in that stretch.
Mara leads the team with 73 blocks (2.73 per game) and has recorded at least one block in every contest.
Guard Elliot Cadeau has posted five or more assists in nine straight games and reached 150 assists this season, becoming the 24th player in Michigan history to record 150 or more assists in a single season.
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