Can Michigan repeat? Can MSU challenge? A look at 'way-too-early' rankings
The Michigan men's basketball team is a national champion. Now, can the Wolverines do it again? According to a sampling of "way-too-early" rankings that were released following Michigan's 69-63 victory over UConn in the national championship Monday night in Indianapolis, the answer appears to be yes.
And, if not, in-state rival Michigan State just might have a say in it. The Wolverines are a popular pick among experts and analysts who already are looking ahead to the 2026-27 season, with ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, On3, and Bleacher Report among those installing Michigan as their top team. More: Sportsbooks turn page to Detroit in '27: Is Michigan favored to repeat?
Michigan will lose Big Ten Player of the Year and All-American Yaxel Lendenborg to the NBA Draft, and awaits the decisions of a few underclassmen, but the Wolverines' cupboard will hardly be bare. "The reigning national champions have a legitimate chance to go back-to-back depending on the NBA draft decisions of frontcourt stalwarts Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. ," Jeff Borzello, ESPN's basketball recruiting insider, writes .
"Entering the NCAA tournament, both players were projected in the late first round. After high-level performances in the tournament, though, both could justifiably leave. Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney are expected to return, though, while incoming five-star recruit Brandon McCoy should join them on the perimeter.
" Cadeau, a point guard, is coming off an effort in which he was named the NCAA Tournament's Most Oustanding Player . "Michigan’s program is in amazing shape as long as Dusty May stays the head coach in Ann Arbor," Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney writes . "It will be a tall order for the Wolverines to keep potential first-rounders Morez Johnson Jr.