Michigan

On-the-rise Michigan gets biggest test yet in No. 1 UConn: ‘Our kids want this’

Published

2 months ago

November 20, 2025

On-the-rise Michigan gets biggest test yet in No. 1 UConn: ‘Our kids want this’

Kim Barnes Arico had plenty of questions about her still-very-young Michigan women’s basketball team heading into last Saturday’s game against then-No 18 Notre Dame, and the Wolverines answered every last one of them.

Michigan was more than ready for Notre Dame, walloping the Fighting Irish, 93-54, at Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit, for arguably the signature regular-season victory of Barnes Arico’s 14-year tenure in Ann Arbor.

Now it’s on to the next test ― and, well, this one makes Notre Dame look like a pop quiz.

No. 6 Michigan (4-0) plays No. 1 Connecticut (4-0), the defending national champion, in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut at 8 Friday night. The game will air on Fox, the latest taste of national exposure for a Wolverines team whose win over the Fighting Irish was on NBC.

“It’s really exciting. I think it’s a great opportunity for us,” Barnes Arico said earlier this week. “Our kids want to be in this situation and they want to match up against the best.”

This game marks the first meeting between Michigan and Connecticut, the 12-time national champion, in women’s basketball. But it’s not the first meeting between Barnes Arico and Connecticut legendary head coach Geno Auriemma. When she was coaching at St. John’s, her team beat Connecticut on Feb. 18, 2012, to snap the Huskies’ 99-game home winning streak. That was one of just 22 losses for Connecticut in a 13-year span.

This will be the fourth time Michigan ever has played a top-ranked team, and third time in the last two seasons ― after losing to South Carolina and UCLA last regular season. UM also lost to No. 1 Iowa in 1988.

Michigan did beat No. 5 Baylor in the 2021 Hall of Fame Showcase, a win that first helped signal that the program was starting to arrive. A win over Connecticut ― which has four more national championships than the second-best team (Tennessee, with eight; nobody else has more than three) ― would obviously mean even more than that.

“We’ve kind of been working all year for these kinds of games,” sophomore guard Olivia Olson, last season’s co-freshman of the year in the Big Ten, said after the win over Notre Dame, in which she had 20 points.

“We want these games. We want these top matchups.”

Michigan is led by three sophomores, who also led the team last season as freshmen ― Olson (17.8 points per game) and fellow guards Mila Holloway (14.2) and Syla Swords (12.2). But while the Wolverines often played all guards last season, they’ve got more size and inside presence this season, with the additions of forwards Ashley Sofilkanich, a junior transfer from Bucknell, and Te’Yala Delfosse, a freshman. Both also are averaging in double digits scoring.

Michigan is averaging 92.3 points a game, 11th in the nation, fresh off scoring 120 against Binghamton, the second-most points in program history, and most under Barnes Arico.

In Connecticut, Michigan will face a team that has four players on the watch list for the Wooden Award, which goes to the season’s top college basketball player: grad-student Azzi Fudd, senior Serah Williams and sophomores Sarah Strong and Kayleigh Heckel. Michigan has one, Olson.

Connecticut just scored 100 against Ohio State; it also has wins over No. 20 Louisville, Florida State and Loyola-Chicago, the latter which the Huskies held to 31 points.

“Can we handle their pressure?” Barnes Arico said in listing off the keys to the game. “The defensive intensity in the halfcourt is something that I don’t know if our kids have ever faced. I do have a recollection of it. It’s been a minute, but I still can remember how hard it is to even get in your offense because they’re so physical and so aggressive.

“Can we rebound with them? We’re going to have to have this toughness and this grit about us to do that. I know we did against Notre Dame (50-28), but not it’s even going to be dialed up to No. 1.

“I think it will be an unbelievable test for us.”

To be fair, the same might just hold true for Connecticut. Michigan has moved up to No. 6 in the Associated Press poll, its highest ranking since it was No. 6 in February 2022. (Fun fact: With the UM men’s team ranked No. 7, it’s the first week both teams have been in the top 10 at the same time.)

The Huskies have the tradition, with all those national championships, 24 Final Fours and 36 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

The Wolverines are building something in their own right, with seven consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (a program record). They made their first Sweet 16 in 2021, and their first Elite Eight in 2022.

Last season ended up with a second-round loss to Notre Dame, and, well, UM exorcised those demons last weekend.

Now, it’s time for the next test ― and it’s a doozie.

“After seeing what we did today, you know, you want to say, ‘Oh, you know, this is the year,’ but we can’t get comfortable,” Michigan’s Alyssa Crockett, a senior forward, said after the win over Notre Dame. “We know what we want. We’re going to go get it.”

Michigan is one of seven Big Ten teams in the top 25, along with UCLA (3), Maryland (9), Southern Cal (11), Iowa (19), Michigan State (22) and Washington (25).

The Wolverines stay in Connecticut to play Syracuse (4-0) on Sunday (noon; FS1).

They then play next Wednesday against Detroit Mercy at Calihan Hall, the site of Michigan’s WNIT championship win in 2017 ― a major turning point in the program, which hasn’t missed the NCAA Tournament since then. The Wolverines have come so far. Just how far, we might be about to find out.

“They’re really good,” Barnes Arico said of UConn, a little over a year after Michigan narrowly lost to then-No. 1 and defending national champion South Carolina, 68-62. “They will test us in every space, and this early in the season, I think it’s good for us to be tested in that way and for us to see where we need to grow and improve.”

No. 6 Michigan vs. No. 1 Connecticut

➤ Tip-off: 8 Friday, Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn.

➤ TV: Fox

➤ Records: Michigan 4-0; Connecticut 4-0

➤ Series: First meeting

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984

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Michigan

Michigan basketball isn’t invincible, and its first loss shows why

Published

5 minutes ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Michigan basketball isn’t invincible, and its first loss shows why

Michigan basketball’s first loss of the 2025-26 season – a 91-88 thriller on Saturday, Jan. 10 – was likely a surprise to most.

But U-M players and and coaches saw the seeds planted for the result over the past two weeks, with four consecutive games without the Wolverines feeling like they’d played up to their standard.

“The right team won,” Dusty May said after his team’s first loss.

Michigan led by 14 with 7:38 left in the first half, but let Wisconsin back into the game with a 20-7 run going into halftime. The run included three 3-pointers, part of the Badgers’ season-high 15 3s.

“Give Wisconsin credit,” May continued. “They came in here, took a punch early, they responded and went in at halftime with positive momentum. They came out in the second half and knocked us on our heels a little bit.

“They made plays; our plan, our coaching, our playing wasn’t up to our standard.”

It was similar to U-M’s game earlier in the week, when the Wolverines allowed Penn State to go on a 12-0 second-half run before escaping with a 74-72 victory in Happy Valley.

At Crisler Center, however, the bill came due for the Wolverines not going hard in practice – where U-M had done the work behind its 14-0 start to the season.

“To be honest, the only thing I’m disappointed in is when we started playing, competing at a high level, it looked different,” May said. “We can’t be a team, with what we’re playing for, that has two different levels of intensity.

“That’s what happened … but I don’t want to take anything away from Wisconsin. They came in here, they took it.”

‘They exposed some things’

One of Michigan’s few flaws is in dealing with stretch bigs. That’s especially apparent now after freshman Aleksas Bieliauskas drilled five 3-pointers, including four in less than three minutes of the second half.

Aday Mara is a fantastic rim protector, but he’s not built to move out to the arc; when bigs who can shoot are able to pull him away from the basket, it’s a problem.

“We changed our coverages, changed our personnel, we didn’t do a good enough job,” May said. “We worked three days on that. … We knew it was coming, you know it’s coming … When they make the first couple, there’s such an overreaction.

“They exposed some things with our plan and our team that we thought were going to be issues this year,”

The Wolverines began sticking the Badgers harder on the perimeter, fighting over screens instead of going under them. The change slowed Wisconsin’s 3-point shooting – the Badgers closed the game at just 3-for-10 beyond the arc after making 12 of their first 23 – but it also allowed more dribble-drive penetration, mostly by Nick Boyd.

He scored 22 against U-M and May, his coach at Florida Atlantic. That was second only to Wisconsin’s John Blackwell, who had 26 points – the third double-digit scoring game in four tries by the Birmingham Brother Rice alumnus against the school that passed on him.

“They did a good job of exploiting the mismatches and finding a way to get open,” said Nimari Burnett, who scored 10. “Something we’ll look at in film –we can take this lesson and apply it to other games.”

‘Processes have to improve’

Michigan solid on offense, at least, topping 80 points for the 13th time in 15 games.

Elliot Cadeau – who sat much of the first half in foul trouble – frequently thrived in one-on-one situations en route to 19 points, his second-best total this season. Morez Johnson Jr. missed just one shot and finished with 18 points.

But for the fourth game in a row, U-M shot under 33% on 3s, going 8-for-25 (32%) against Wisconsin.

“We’ve got to find some solutions to get better shots,” May said.

Shooting comes and goes, as May and Co. have tried to point out. Effort should not, though.

But on Saturday, Wisconsin got more second-chance points (15-8) and was virtually even in rebounding – U-M finished with a 32-30 edge, but Wisconsin prevailed, 15-11, in the second half.

Michigan won its first 14 games of the season in large part because of superior talent. While that’s a prerequisite for a deep March run, the grind behind the scenes is every bit as important.

Of Michigan’s three days of prep from Tuesday-Saturday, Cadeau and May said, only one was acceptable.

“Our processes have to improve, our practice habits, our day-to-day habits have to be at a championship level,” May said. “Or we’re simply going to rely on the other team not playing up to their standard, or our talent. That’s not a real healthy way to get through the Big Ten season.”

The Penn State win offered solace that when the going got tough, the Wolverines would find a way. Faltering against Wisconsin wiped away that illusion.

Michigan’s goals – a Big Ten title, a March Madness run – are all still attainable. But only if U-M feels this sting and plays with the same desire opponents are now bringing against the Wolverines, night in and night out.

Even in practice.

“It’s like a smack in our face,” Burnett said. “No team is going to go undefeated – obviously, we hoped to do it – but like I said, just need to learn from it.”

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.

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What time is Michigan basketball’s game vs Wisconsin today? TV, stream

Published

12 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

What time is Michigan basketball’s game vs Wisconsin today? TV, stream

Michigan basketball finally got tested last game for this first time in almost two months.

Ever since a tough win on the road at TCU on Nov. 14, the Wolverines have been absolutely steamrolling everyone on their schedule. But Penn State finally offered some resistance that Michigan just hasn’t been seeing.

In Michigan’s third true road game of the season, the Wolverines were pushed to the brink in University Park, Pennsylvania, as the Nittany Lions found a way to keep it close without their leading scorer, freshman Kayden Mingo, who was scratched just before the game.

Michigan led by as much as 15 in the second half against the Nittany Lions, but Penn State just kept chipping away. Ultimately it came down to a final shot for Penn State’s Freddie Dilione V, who seemingly lost track of the clock and was forced to jack up a prayer that didn’t go in. As they say, an ugly win is better than an ugly loss, especially for a Michigan team who has been nearly flawless in every other game.

On Saturday, the Wolverines will return to the friendly confines of the Crisler Center for an early afternoon tipoff against the Wisconsin Badgers (CBS, 1 p.m.) for a chance to get back to the dominant style they were playing before.

Here’s what you need to know for Michigan’s game against Wisconsin on Saturday:

What channel is Michigan basketball vs Wisconsin

Michigan basketball will face Wisconsin in a nationally televised game on CBS.

How to stream Michigan vs Wisconsin basketball

Michigan basketball vs Wisconsin start time today

Date: Saturday, Jan. 10.
Time: 1 p.m. ET.
Where: Crisler Center, Ann Arbor.

Michigan basketball schedule 2025-26 next 5 games

Find the Wolverines’ full 2025-26 schedule.

Saturday, Jan. 10: Wisconsin, 1 p.m. ET, CBS.
Wednesday, Jan. 14: at Washington, 10:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network.
Saturday, Jan. 17: at Oregon, 4 p.m. ET, NBC.
Tuesday, Jan. 20: Indiana, 7 p.m. ET, Peacock.
Friday, Jan. 23: Ohio State, 8 p.m., Fox.

Michigan vs Wisconsin prediction

Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press: Morez Johnson Jr.’s early foul trouble against Penn State was a big factor in that close finish; as deep as U-M is, it does not have a replacement for his motor and ability to switch on defense. Presumably, that narrow win was a wakeup call for Michigan, and while it’s hard to expect the Wolverines to beat teams by 30 or 40 a night, this one could be lopsided by the end. The pick: U-M 92, Wisconsin 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.

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Butler WR transfer Braydon Alford commits to Michigan football

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Butler WR transfer Braydon Alford commits to Michigan football

Butler wide receiver transfer Braydon Alford, the son of Michigan offensive run game coordinator and running backs coach Tony Alford, has committed to U-M under new head coach Kyle Whittingham, he announced on social media Friday evening.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound Dublin, Ohio, native didn’t appear in any games in his two seasons at Butler and has three years of eligibility remaining.

From Alford’s bio while at Butler: “Set his school’s single-season receptions record with 90 catches during his senior year… Had 1,487 all-purpose yards that year and scored 10 touchdowns… Named First Team All-Conference, First Team All-District and Third-Team All-State as a senior… Team captain… Had an outstanding game against Hilliard Bradley in Week 5 which included 14 catches for 195 yards and three touchdowns.”
Alford entered the transfer portal earlier this week and quickly became a Michigan commit.
Whittingham took the Michigan job Dec. 26 and quickly built his staff. One of three holdovers on the group of assistant coaches was Tony Alford, who’s entering his third season in Ann Arbor. Whittingham had a previous connection with Tony Alford’s family.
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“Tremendous football coach. I was blessed to have at Utah, his brother, Aaron Alford, before he passed away, worked for us for several years,” Whittingham said at his introductory press conference. “So I know the Alford family. Great family. Tony, I got a ton of respect for him and we’ll see how things work out in that direction.”
Alford was an unranked recruit out of Dublin (Ohio) Jerome.

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