DETROIT – Two years ago, the University of Detroit Mercy Titans men’s basketball team won only one game all season.
This year, the Titans have put together one incredible turnaround.
Detroit Mercy finished the regular season with 15 wins in 2025-26, the team’s most in 10 years.
“This program earned a lot of respect,” Titans freshman guard Tyler Spratt said. “We’re starting to see what we can do, and we’re embracing it.”
In year two under head coach Mark Montgomery, the Titans closed out the regular season with a 7-2 record.
Detroit Mercy was projected to finish ninth in its conference in the preseason, but earned the No. 3 seed in the Horizon League Tournament this week.
“Anytime that you can be 12-8 in the conference and you’re in the top three, it’s a special season,” said Montgomery.
The Titans are a team playing for each other and their city.
Five of the top six scorers on the roster grew up in or around Detroit.
“You know the history that’s going on here, and to be a part of the change is a dream come true,” Spratt, a Farmington native, said.
“I grew up 15 minutes from here, and I saw a lot of games in this building,” Montgomery said. “When we get it going, it’s a special place.”
The Titans are playing with confidence heading into the conference tournament this week. Detroit Mercy hosts UW-Milwaukee on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Calihan Hall.
Detroit Mercy has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2012.
If the Titans can win their next three games, they will be heading back to the big dance in 2026.
“That’s every kid’s college basketball dream,” Spratt said of potentially making the NCAA Tournament. “Doing it at a mid-major, that’s huge. That’s not something that’s given. It has to be earned.”