Michigan

Michigan basketball has simple objective for 2026 Big Ten Tournament

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2 hours ago

March 13, 2026

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Michigan basketball has simple objective for 2026 Big Ten Tournament

In 2025, the Big Ten Tournament was hugely important for Michigan basketball.

The Wolverines had lost four of their final six regular-season games, falling out of the Big Ten title race in Year 1 of the Dusty May era. Putting together a competent weekend in Indianapolis was critical to take some momentum into the NCAA Tournament.

2026, however, is different. No. 3 Michigan (29-2, 19-1 Big Ten) was arguably the best team in the nation this season, dominating the Big Ten en route to a league-record 19 wins in conference play and a four-game gap between it and the next closest team.

Michigan has not shied away from discussing its ultimate goal − the national championship − and the Big Ten regular-season title was a key part of that. But what about the league tournament – a potential three games of distraction before the real postseason begins?

“Sometimes there are coaches that discredit the Big Ten tournament,” May said this week. “Whoever wins this tournament this year in what we think is the best league in the country, then we’re going to have a lot of respect for them and the job they did.

“Because whether they win three games in three days or four games in four days against really good teams, it’s not that simple.”

Michigan intends to be that team. Nimari Burnett demonstrated that this week with a social media post featuring pictures of him cutting down the net in Ann Arbor after U-M’s 90-80 senior day win over MSU, and another with the Big Ten trophy.

His caption? “1 of 3,” with an emoji of a trophy next to it.

Fellow senior Will Tschetter had the net hanging around his neck on Sunday following the final home game of a five-year career spent entirely in maize and blue. He has been on teams that needed Big Ten tourney runs − like the 2022-23 team that found itself on the wrong side of the bubble after an early loss to Rutgers − but just because U-M has a 1-seed locked up, he won’t mail it in at United Center.

“Our next goal is the Big Ten Tournament,” he said. “We’re turning our head to that, that’s one of our three [primary goals] and so we’ve got to make sure we capitalize on that.”

U-M’s postseason begins on Friday (noon, Big Ten Network) with a third matchup with rival Ohio State, a 72-69 winner over Iowa on Thursday in the third round of the Big Ten tourney. The Wolverines already have two wins over the Buckeyes: a 12-pointer in Ann Arbor in January in which they closed with a 24-12 run, and a 21-pointer in Columbus in February. This will be the eighth season in which U-M and OSU meet three times; the Wolverines have never beaten the Buckeyes three times in a season.

Former Buckeye Roddy Gayle Jr. has taken his game up a level in March − he had a game-clinching block and steal in a tight win over Iowa last week before scoring 15 points (his second-best total this season) against the Spartans last weekend.

Asked about grand goals such as April’s Final Four in Indianapolis, he didn’t even want to look past the next task on U-M’s schedule.

“Not looking too far past the opponent in front of us, because we know how easy it is for there to be an upset and how frequent it is to be upset, especially in March,” he said. “Being able to play our best ball, that’s something that we’ve been doing and hopefully we can keep it going.”

Michigan will be a 1-seed when the NCAA field of 69 is unveiled Sunday, no matter what happens in the Windy City. Perhaps the Wolverines’ primary focus should be finding new rotations without the services of L.J. Cason (out for the season with an ACL tear) and making sure no one is too worn down for the tournament that truly matters.

And yet, as May has said time and time again, his team is a group of competitors. Playing at half-speed or without full conviction simply isn’t an option.

Once the ball is tipped, his team has one simple objective.

“We’re going to go compete, we’re going to try to win,” May said. “We’re never going to go to Chicago … and not give our best and compete to win.”

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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With gas prices rising in Michigan and U.S., what other items could rise amid war with Iran?

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1 day ago

March 12, 2026

Press Room

With gas prices rising in Michigan and U.S., what other items could rise amid war with Iran?

Drivers across Metro Detroit continue to see higher prices at the pump. And the escalating war in Iran is worrying some that higher prices across the board will soon follow.

“It’s very frustrating because I don’t like these gas prices, and I want them to go down. I hate the war, and I want the war to end,” said Aywon Williams from Detroit.

It now costs an average of over $3.60 for Michigan’s motorists for a gallon of gas, which is around 20% higher than it was just 12 days ago when the war in Iran began.

But experts like Kevin Ketels, an associate professor in Global Supply Chain Management at Wayne State, say that the costs of food, housing, clothing, and more should soon be, if not already, on the rise as well.

“So there is a very large ripple effect, you simply can’t avoid it when 20 percent of the World’s crude oil comes out of this part of the world,” said Ketels.

Ketels says if crude oil’s price continues to climb because of the Strait of Hormuz being under attack, so will the prices of most widely used products, because of the need for crude oil, which keeps equipment, delivery trucks, airplanes, and more running.

“And that cost is almost immediately being felt by us, by everyone globally and it will be reflected in higher prices in anything that requires transportation,” Ketels said.

Theo Pinson from Southfield told CBS Detroit he’s seen increasing costs all over the place.

“Food and everything, I just came over here from Meijer, and everything is sky high,” Pinson said.

It’s uncertain when the war against Iran will end, but experts say it will take time to smooth out supply chain disruptions, even when it does, so price increases could persist for weeks or even months.

“What’s had to happen in the Middle East is that they’ve had to shut down production because there’s nowhere to put all the oil, so when you shut down production, it takes time to get everything restarted,” said Ketels.

President Trump has said that rising gas prices are a very small price to pay for the U.S., the world and peace.

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Michigan-based Stryker hit with cyberattack

Published

2 days ago

March 11, 2026

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Michigan-based Stryker hit with cyberattack – CBS Detroit

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Michigan-based medical equipment company Stryker said on Wednesday that a cyberattack is causing a “global network disruption.”

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Michigan hockey vs Notre Dame time, channel in Big Ten Tournament

Published

2 days ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Michigan hockey vs Notre Dame time, channel in Big Ten Tournament

Michigan hockey may be the No. 1 team in the nation in the USCHO and NPI rankings, but they fell short of a regular-season title and don’t have the clearest path to a Big Ten Tournament win.

But three wins can help the Wolverines solidify their status as the best in the nation, even if they’re No. 2 in the Big Ten as of now.

The Wolverines (26-7-1) face Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Big Ten Hockey Tournament on Wednesday, March 11, at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor. The game is set to start at 7 p.m. ET and will not be televised on a traditional channel, but streamed exclusively on BIG+.

Michigan finished with the most overall wins (26) and most conference wins (17) in the Big Ten, but finished second to Michigan State in points, relegating them to the No. 2 seed. As a result, the two-time defending-champion Spartans got a bye and head right into the semifinals, while the Wolverines play last-place Notre Dame to kick off the tournament.

Since the tournament reseeds winners for the semifinal round, it is not clear who Michigan will play if it wins. However, with the Spartans holding the No. 1 seed, a rematch between the top two teams in the conference can only happen in the final game, which will take place on Saturday, March 21.

Here’s what you need to know as Michigan hockey begins its quest for a Big Ten tournament title.

Michigan hockey vs Notre Dame, Big Ten tournament time

Date: Wednesday, March 11.
Time: 7 p.m. ET.
Location: Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor.

Michigan hockey vs Notre Dame, Big Ten tournament channel

Time: 7 p.m. ET.
Channel: N/A.
Streaming: BIG+.

Wednesday’s game against Notre Dame will not be on a traditional television channel, but can be streamed on the BIG+ app.

Big Ten hockey conference tournament bracket

The Big Ten hockey conference tournament uses a three-round, single-elimination bracket that involves all seven conference teams, with the top seed earning a first-round bye. The remaining six teams then play a knockout round with the winners advancing to the semifinals.

Big Ten hockey 2026 standings

Michigan State (51 points).
Michigan (49 points).
Penn State (41 points).
Wisconsin (39 points).
Ohio State (29 points).
Minnesota (27 points).
Notre Dame (16 points).

Big Ten Tournament hockey 2026 quarterfinals schedule: March 11

No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 2 Michigan, 7 p.m. ET (BIG+).
No. 6 Minnesota at No. 3 Penn State, 7 p.m. ET (BIG+).
No. 5 Ohio State at No. 4 Wisconsin, 8 p.m. ET (BIG+).

Big Ten Tournament hockey 2026 semifinals schedule: March 14

Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 Michigan State, time TBD (Big Ten Network).
Second-lowest remaining seed at second-highest remaining seed, time TBD (Big Ten Network).