Michigan basketball pops champagne after clinching Big Ten title outright with victory vs. Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 3-ranked Michigan Wolverines can officially pop champagne as they’ve captured the Big Ten championship outright following their 84-70 road victory, taking down the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Following Friday’s (Feb. 27) victory, the Wolverines have won their 16th conference title and their first since the Juwan Howard-led 2021 team while improving to 27-2, 17-1 Big Ten.

The Wolverines have now won 17 of 18 Big Ten games with 15 of those coming by way of double-digits, including road victories against Illinois, Purdue, and Michigan State, who Michigan will play on Senior Day, on March 8.

Morez Johnson Jr. returned to his old stomping grounds inside the State Farm Center to drop 17 points, while grabbing 11 rebounds, one assist, and one steal in the victory.

He spent his freshman year with the Fighting Illini before joining Michigan for his sophomore season in Ann Arbor.

Big man Aday Mara followed suit, helping the men in maize with 19 points while grabbing five rebounds and two assists.

Yaxel Lendeborg chipped in with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Head coach Dusty May is building a legacy, having won the Big Ten Tournament and the regular-season championship in his first two seasons with the basketball program.

The victory, combined with the conference’s expanded tournament format, gives the Wolverines a triple-bye into the quarterfinals beginning Friday, March 13.

The program last claimed an outright title in 2014, when Nik Stauskas led the Wolverines to a 15-3 league mark and clinched the championship with an 84-53 victory at Illinois on March 4.

The Big Ten title is Michigan’s 16th regular-season championship and brings the program’s overall Big Ten titles to 20, including four Big Ten Tournament crowns.

Michigan’s recent tournament title came in 2025 in Indianapolis.

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The victory on Friday snapped a nine-game losing streak against Illinois, their first since 2019.