Last week, we started our offseason series of ranking the best Michigan men’s basketball players since the first time the Wolverines won a national championship back in 1989 to celebrate a 37-year history of Michigan basketball between titles. Today, we look at the next tier up, and it’s a significant one from our scoring model from a batch of already quality list of players in the first rendition of this series.
Michigan
Eastern Michigan men's basketball games being investigated for suspicious betting activity
A men’s college basketball game between Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan on Tuesday was flagged by multiple sportsbooks for suspicious wagering activity. Betting integrity firms are investigating the unusual wagers, ESPN reported.
The activity in question a suspiciously high bet on the first-half point spread for Tuesday’s EMU-CMU game. Several betting integrity monitors across multiple states noticed the wager and the spread increasing significantly and atypically before the game.
The first-half point spread went from CMU by 3.5 to 6.5 in the hour before tipoff. Central Michigan hit a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining in the first half to take a 39–33 lead. EMU eventually lost the game, 82-63.
Sports betting monitor Integrity Compliance 360 sent an alert to clients including sportsbooks, state gaming regulators, leagues and NCAA conferences noting the wager — the “largest wager to date” placed by this bettor — on CMU covering the spread in the first half, according to ESPN. The monitor’s investigation also discovered two high wagers from accounts in different jurisdictions on CMU’s first-half point spread.
IC360’s alert also noted that Tuesday’s game was the second flagged by sportsbooks this season that involved Eastern Michigan. The other EMU game that was flagged for suspicious betting activity was the Eagles’ matchup versus Wright State on Dec. 21.
Like the CMU wager, the Wright State bet was placed against EMU. The first-half spread for Wright State was 2.5 and the Raiders held a 38–27 halftime lead. EMU eventually won the game, 86–82.
“We became aware of the matter on Wednesday,” said Greg Steiner, EMU’s senior associate athletics director for external affairs at EMU, in a statement to ESPN and the Detroit News on Friday night. “At this time, we do not know anything further about what may have precipitated the suspicious activity. We are working with the Mid-American Conference and will provide further details as we learn additional information.”
Unusual wagering on first-half lines has been monitored on college basketball games going back to last season. Another school that has had multiple games flagged for suspicious activity is Temple, reports ESPN. First-half lines are typically about half the total of a game’s full line.
Any movement higher than that usually draws attention. If the first half line closes higher, that often indicates that something is wrong. The full line for the EMU-CMU games was -8 and the first half line closed at -6.5.
The Eastern Michigan men’s basketball team hasn’t played since that Jan. 14 game versus Central Michigan. EMU’s next game is scheduled for Saturday against Bowling Green.
No. 22 – F Morez Johnson Jr. – Score: 78.4
The first player from Michigan’s 2025-26 team has made it on the list, and it’s the bodyguard himself, Morez Johnson Jr. His stint in Ann Arbor was short, but impactful. After transferring in from Illinois, he found his way into a starting lineup with two other players 6-foot-9 or taller in Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara. The trio wreaked havoc all season long thanks to their length and athleticism in a scheme tailor-made by head coach Dusty May.
Johnson was one of the most efficient players in the country, averaging 13.1 points per game on a 62.3 percent clip. He also led the team with 7.3 rebounds per game and was commonly considered one of the best defensive players on the floor with his ability to guard all five positions. He was a Second-Team All-Big Ten and was on the All-Big Ten Defensive Team as well.
No. 21 – F Deshawn Sims – Score: 78.9
In the transition from Tommy Amaker to John Beilein, Deshawn Sims was a part of a special group that propelled the program to relevancy again. Sims was the 19th player in program history to reach 1,500 career points, and the 15th to surpass 700 rebounds. Consistency was key, as he played in 129 consecutive games over four seasons, starting 92 of them.
Everything came together for the Wolverines in the 2008-09 season when Sims and co-star Manny Harris led the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in more than a decade. The team underperformed in 2009-10, but Sims’ play stayed consistent.
Along with the elite company Sims established with his longevity, he was also a three-time All-Big Ten honoree and averaged 16.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game over his final two seasons.
No. 20 – F Ray Jackson – Score: 81.6
Not only did we have the introduction to the 2026 championship team, but this stretch also introduces us to the Fab Five with forward Ray Jackson, the final member of the historic 1991 class.
Jackson not only has the pedigree tied to the culture that surrounded the Fab Five and their two runner-up finishes in the NCAA Tournament, but he was also a great player. One could argue he was the most unheralded of the bunch and deserves more credit than he does. Somehow, he was only a two-time All-Big Ten performer, but he averaged 17.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in his final three seasons with the program.
He ascended from the last of the Fab Five to a premier Big Ten player during his four-year career, helping guide Maurice Taylor — an honorable mention in this series — to being a member of the All-Big Ten freshman team when Jackson was a senior.
Jackson’s impact was profound, not just for his role in the Fab Five but for the transition out of it with future players who had impossible shoes to fill. The Wolverines not only stayed afloat, but remained tournament teams in the years following, which would have meant more had that era not been tarnished with “scandal” for a fraction of what is being done today in the NIL world.
- The Top 25 Michigan men’s basketball players since 1989: No. 25-23
Enter your email and we’ll send a secure one-click link to sign in.
WLNS 6 News is provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., and uses the My Nexstar sign-in, which works across our media network.
Learn more at nexstar.tv/privacy-policy.
WLNS 6 News is provided by Nexstar Media Group, Inc., and uses the My Nexstar sign-in, which works across our media network.
Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is a leading, diversified media company that produces and distributes engaging local and national news, sports, and entertainment content across its television and digital platforms. The My Nexstar sign-in works across the Nexstar network—including The CW, NewsNation, The Hill, and more. Learn more at nexstar.tv/privacy-policy.
As temperatures rise in Michigan each summer, so to do the chances of harmful algal blooms (HABs) developing in our lakes, causing a risk to both ecosystems and public health.
HABs are formed wherever there is rapid growth of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, which are naturally found in lakes, rivers and ponds. Some cyanobacteria found in blooms contain toxins that can be harmful to people and animals, and often present as blue-green, yellow or brown streaks, foam, or thick paint-like scums on the water surface, according to the Michigan Departments of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)
To help keep track of these harmful algal blooms across the state, EGLE has teamed up with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to update its online reporting form to include harmful algal blooms. Now the public can easily report suspected HABs to the state by filling out the form at Michigan.gov/HABs. Individuals can also make a report by calling EGLE’s Environmental Assistance Center at 800-662-9278.
“This new online form is an easy and efficient way for Michiganders to help monitor and safeguard our water resources,” said Jerrod Sanders, director of Water Resources Division at EGLE, in a news release. “This tool improves efficiency and helps us respond to potential risks more effectively.”
It will also allow EGLE and MDHHS staff to better understand how HABs develop, and creates the potential to send out public notifications about what areas to avoid as a way of keeping people and pets safe when they’re detected.
Breathing in or swallowing water with HAB toxins can cause asthma-like symptoms, difficulty breathing, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, runny eyes and nose, weakness, headaches or dizziness. Skin contact can also cause rashes, blisters or hives.
“If you had contact with or swallowed water with a suspected HAB and feel sick, call your health care provider or seek medical attention as soon as possible,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive.
Locations of HAB reports verified by EGLE and results of cyanotoxin testing will be displayed on the Michigan Harmful Algal Bloom Reports Map for the public to review.
For more information on health effects, causes and reports on the occurrence of HABs in Michigan lakes, visit Michigan.gov/HABs.
Copyright 2026 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit – All rights reserved.
-
Movie Reviews4 minutes agoAnother Look At Curry Barker’s ‘OBSESSION’ (2026) – Movie Review – PopHorror
-
World15 minutes agoBox Office: ‘Backrooms’ Scares Up $38 Million on Friday, Already Shattering Record for A24’s Best Opening Weekend
-
News19 minutes agoIn a Quiet Corner of America, Greyhound Racing Hangs On. For Now.
-
Lifestyle57 minutes ago‘Wait Wait’ for May 30, 2026: Our Endless Summer with Tiffany Haddish, Lucy Dacus, and more!
-
Education59 minutes agoVideo: Can California Convince Teens to Work in Construction?
-
Technology1 hour agoBackrooms is a certified blockbuster with a $38 million opening day
-
World1 hour agoHamas struggles to fill leadership ranks as Israel hunts Oct 7 terrorists
-
Politics1 hour agoAnti-ICE agitator charged with allegedly biting officers during Delaney Hall clashes
