CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – It’s the battle for the Big Ten regular season championship as the No. 3-ranked Michigan Wolverines (26-2, 16-1 Big Ten) travel to Champaign to face No. 10 Illinois (22-6, 13-4 Big Ten) at the State Farm Center.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET) on Friday, Feb. 27, in the return of Wolverines big man Morez Johnson Jr., who spent his freshman year with the Illini.
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Head coach Dusty May and his Wolverines secured a share of the 2026 Big Ten regular-season title after a 77-67 win over Minnesota.
That share, combined with the conference’s expanded tournament format, gives the Wolverines a triple-bye into the quarterfinals beginning Friday, March 13.
A win at No. 10 Illinois would give Michigan an outright Big Ten regular-season title since 2021.
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 would be Michigan’s 16th regular-season championship and bring 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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A victory on Friday would be the men in maize’s first against Illinois since 2019, as they’ve lost nine straight games.
Currently, Michigan is riding a nine-game losing streak against the Fighting Illini.
Michigan’s resume this season includes 22 wins by 10 or more points, 13 by 20-plus, 10 by 30-plus, seven by 40-plus (a Big Ten record), and one by 50-plus.
The Wolverines have won 12 straight Big Ten games and are 6-1 against ranked opponents this season.
Individually, Yaxel Lendeborg is listed as a Big Ten Player of the Year candidate, averaging 14.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.2 steals per game.
Elliot Cadeau has posted five or more assists in each of his last 10 games and has 18 games this season with at least five assists, including three games with 10 or more.
Michigan closes a nine-game, 28-day stretch that featured six road contests and four top-10 opponents.
The Wolverines will play seven road games in their last 11 regular-season contests.
Cadeau is the second known player to win regular-season conference championships in both the Big Ten (2026, Michigan) and ACC (2024, North Carolina).
Mason Gillis previously accomplished the feat, winning back-to-back Big Ten titles at Purdue (2023, 2024) before using his COVID year at Duke in 2024-25 and capturing the ACC regular-season title.