Michigan

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

Published

4 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-based Stryker hit with cyberattack

Published

5 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

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

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

Published

17 hours 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).

Big Ten Tournament hockey 2026 semifinals schedule: March 21

Lowest remaining seed at highest remaining seed, time TBD (Big Ten Network).

Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!

You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.

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Does Kyle Whittingham face ‘win now’ pressure at Michigan?

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Does Kyle Whittingham face ‘win now’ pressure at Michigan?

For some programs, spring football has started in earnest, but for Michigan football, it will have to wait another week. But with practices on the horizon, college football pundits are starting to ask questions about what the upcoming season may look like, and among the questions is what Kyle Whittingham’s Wolverines will be in his first year.

On3’s popular show ‘Ari & Andy’ attempted to ask and answer that question on their latest episode.

As the duo of Ari Wasserman and Andy Staples mulled over various storylines in the coaching realm, once they got to the ‘newcomers’ — coaches who have taken over new programs — they started with Whittingham. For Wasserman, the big question is how quickly Whittingham can win in Ann Arbor?

“How much pressure is Kyle Whittingham to make sure that Michigan doesn’t lose whatever momentum that it had from winning the national championship and falling back into another 25 year period of being pretty good, but not great?” Wasserman said. “Because on one hand, this is a very critical moment in their program arc. But on the other hand, don’t you also have to give him the benefit of the doubt that, hey, what happened at the end of or during last year was highly dysfunctional in a way that we don’t really see very often in sports in general, let alone college sports? And you got hired during a weird time on the calendar. You probably weren’t anticipating coaching this year.

“Like, do you get a year to try to get your bearings of a new place that expects to win a championship? Like, I don’t know how Michigan fans are viewing this season. Now you’ll tell me what you always tell me. They demand excellence, and they expect excellence. There’s no honeymoon. I think that’s true. But from a rational analysis of this, I don’t know how to view what the (expectations are), like what is a successful season for Kyle Whittingham in year one, make the playoff?”

Staples is a little less about the questions and more about the answers. Because in his mind, regardless of how he got there, Whittingham to Michigan might be the best hire of the entire cycle.

“This really isn’t about Michigan’s expectations. It’s more about Kyle Whittingham’s expectations,” Staples said. “And the fact that Kyle Whittingham did this and the fact that Michigan did this, this was Michigan going out and getting the best coach they could get. But it’s very interesting because let’s say Michigan had fired Sherrone Moore in a more conventional way. And it had been just for losing and had been at the end of the season. And Kyle Whittingham had been one of the coaches that was available, but one of many that was available that the whole cycle hadn’t already been done. I still would have called hiring Kyle Whittingham, maybe the best hire of the cycle. I don’t think a 66-year-old guy goes to this place to build, to rebuild it. He’s going to win now. That’s the whole point of this. He’s not doing this except it is to win now.”

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