Ayrton Oneill
The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team has had a rich history, with a range of notable achievements. The team has won one NCAA Championship, three National Invitation Tournaments (NIT), 15 Big Ten regular-season titles, and four Big Ten tournaments. However, their recent performance has been mixed. In 2024, they lost a program-record 24 games, leading to a change in coaching staff. In 2025, under new head coach Dusty May, the Wolverines won the Big Ten tournament against Wisconsin, their first tournament title since 2018. Despite this success, they were later defeated by Auburn in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament. With a strong offseason of player recruitment, the Wolverines are looking to build on their recent successes and establish a consistent winning record.
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What You'll Learn
Michigan Wolverines' 2024-25 season
The 2024-25 season for the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team was an eventful one, with several notable commitments and some impressive wins.
The Wolverines made headlines with their recruitment of high school guard LJ Cason, who committed to the team in April 2024. They also secured commitments from New Zealand native Oscar Goodman, a top-ranked player in the FIBA Under-16 and Under-17 tournaments, and five-star guard Trey McKenney, a gold medallist with the US national team at the FIBA Under-18 AmeriCup. Additionally, the team added Vladislav Goldin, a former Florida Atlantic University centre, and retained Nimari Burnett, a tenured Wolverine.
The season saw the Wolverines face off against several ranked opponents, including a matchup with #22 UCLA in January. They recorded impressive victories, such as their 75-63 defeat of Virginia Tech in the Beach Division semifinal of the Fort Myers Tip-Off, and their 78-53 win over #22 Xavier in the Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division Championship. The Wolverines showcased their offensive prowess in the first half of this game, making 13 field goals and leading 42-38 at halftime.
The team also experienced some setbacks, including a Sweet Sixteen loss to Auburn in the NCAA Tournament. Despite this, the Wolverines' head coach, Dusty May, expressed optimism for the future, particularly with the addition of top transfer portal player Yaxel Lendeborg.
Overall, the 2024-25 season for the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team was a mix of highs and lows, with promising recruitments and notable wins, as well as some disappointing losses. The team looks to build on this season and improve their performance in the upcoming year.
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The Wolverines' 2025 Big Ten tournament win
In the semifinal, Michigan faced No. 11 Maryland. With 5.3 seconds left on the clock, Michigan guard Tre Donaldson caught an inbound pass on the run. He drove the length of the court and scored a layup with just 0.4 seconds remaining to give Michigan the victory, 81-80. Donaldson finished with 12 points and nine assists, but the Wolverines' top scorer was Vladislav Goldin, with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
In the final, Michigan faced No. 18 Wisconsin. The Wolverines were fatigued, having played three games in three days, while Wisconsin had played four games in four days. With 1:54 left on the clock, Donaldson made the go-ahead 3-pointer to give Michigan a lead they would not relinquish. The Wolverines won 59-53, claiming their first Big Ten tournament title since 2018.
First-year Michigan coach Dusty May said, "I don't remember the details of what was said at halftime, but I knew we were going to have to dig deep and find a way." May became the winningest first-year head coach in program history, with 26 wins. The Wolverines finished the year with a record of 27-10, an increase of 19 wins from the previous season.
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The Wolverines' player transfers
The Michigan Wolverines have had a successful offseason in the transfer portal, adding several key players to their roster. The Wolverines were able to secure the commitment of the top player in the transfer portal, Yaxel Lendeborg, a transfer from UAB. Lendeborg is a talented forward who averaged 17.7 points and 11.4 rebounds per game for the Blazers last season. He is a former juco All-American at Arizona Western and was an All-American Athletic Conference first-team selection and the league's defensive player of the year in the past two seasons. Lendeborg is a potential first-round pick in this year's NBA Draft but has decided to stay in college and play for the Wolverines, making them early favourites for the 2025-26 season.
North Carolina transfer guard Elliot Cadeau has also signed with the Wolverines. Cadeau averaged 9.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game as a sophomore and is expected to be the starting point guard for Michigan in the 2025-26 season. He is joined by Illinois transfer forward Morez Johnson Jr., who also officially signed with Michigan after committing in recent days.
With these additions, head coach Dusty May has put together one of the best transfer portal classes in the country, and the Wolverines are expected to be serious contenders in the upcoming season. The Wolverines' success in the transfer portal has generated a lot of reactions and excitement from fans and media alike.
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Michigan's NCAA Championship win
The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team has a rich history of championship success, with the NCAA recognising nine of their national championship wins. The University of Michigan claims a total of 11 national championship wins.
The Wolverines' first NCAA-recognised national championship was in 1901, with further wins in 1902, 1903, 1904, 1918, 1923, 1933, 1948, and 1997. The University of Michigan also claims national championship wins in 1932 and 1947, the latter of which was a perfect 10-0 season, culminating in a Rose Bowl victory.
The Wolverines' most recent national championship appearance was in 2018, where they faced Villanova in the NCAA tournament national championship game. Unfortunately, they fell short, losing 79-62. This loss brought Michigan's record in national championship games to 1-6, the worst record among teams that have previously won a title.
In addition to their national championship successes, the Wolverines have also experienced recent success in the Big Ten tournament. In the 2017-18 season, they won back-to-back Big Ten tournament championships for the first time in school history. They won four games in four days, repeating their feat from the previous year, which had secured their first Big Ten tournament win since the vacated 1998 title.
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The Wolverines' head coaches
The Wolverines have had a long and illustrious history, with many head coaches contributing to their success over the years.
The Wolverines' first recorded football game was in 1879, and since then, they have had 21 head coaches, with Mike Murphy and Frank Crawford serving as co-head coaches for a single season in 1891. In 1892, Yale graduate Frank Barbour took the Wolverines to a 14-8 record over two seasons. The following head coach, William McCauley, led the team to a 17-2-1 record from 1894 to 1895, winning Michigan's first Western football championship.
Fielding H. Yost was another notable coach, guiding the Wolverines to the 1902 Rose Bowl, the first college bowl game ever played. He returned for a second stint as head coach from 1925 to 1926. Harry Kipke, who took over as head coach in 1929, led the Wolverines to four straight conference championships and two national titles between 1930 and 1933.
In 1938, Fritz Crisler took over as head coach, introducing the distinctive winged football helmet. Crisler is known as "the father of two-platoon football," an innovation where separate units of players were used for offense and defense. Bennie Oosterbaan, Crisler's former assistant, succeeded him and led the Wolverines to success in the 1940s.
More recently, Jim Harbaugh served as the Wolverines' head coach from 2015 to 2023, leading the team to three consecutive Big Ten Conference titles and a national championship in 2023. The current head coach is Sherrone Moore.
The Wolverines' men's basketball team has also seen success, with 18 head coaches in its history. Steve Fisher is the first and only head coach to lead the team to an NCAA Tournament Championship in 1989. Juwan Howard, who led the team to a Big Ten Conference Championship in 2021, is another notable coach. John Beilein is the winningest head coach, with two Big Ten Regular Season Championships and two Big Ten Tournament Championships to his name.
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Frequently asked questions
No, Michigan Wolverines lost to Auburn in the Sweet 16 round of the 2025 NCAA Men's Tournament.
Yes, the Michigan Wolverines have won one NCAA Championship, three National Invitation Tournaments (NIT), 15 Big Ten regular-season titles, and four Big Ten tournaments.
Dusty May is the current head coach of the Michigan Wolverines Men's Basketball team.
