Michigan basketball raises Trey Burke jersey to Crisler Center rafters
Michigan basketball raises Trey Burke jersey to Crisler Center rafters in Ann Arbor on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026.
It’s rivalry time for Michigan basketball – again.
The Wolverines will face one of their two top foes for the third time in three weeks – and the second time on the road –as No. 2 Michigan (21-1, 11-1 Big Ten) heads down to Columbus to take on Ohio State (15-7. 7-5) on Sunday, Feb. 8 (1 p.m., CBS).
It’s the next step in what has been a historic season for U-M; the Wolverines have won 21 of their first 22 games for the first time in program history, a run that includes just U-M’s fourth win at Breslin Center this century and a 10-0 mark in games away from home.
This is Michigan’s second meeting with Ohio State this season, and the Wolverines can only hope it goes as well as their other rematch on the Big Ten slate – that came Thursday in Ann Arbor against Penn State: Michigan laid a 110-69 beatdown on the Nittany Lions in perhaps U-M’s best performance of the year.
The Wolverines have won seven straight, including six by double figures. Ohio State, meanwhile, has continued its pattern of two steps forward and one step back – the Buckeyes are 9-7 in their past 16 and haven’t won more than two games in a row since November.
The Buckeyes have wins in two of their past three games, but they were against two of the bottom three teams in the league: Penn State (84-78) and Maryland (82-62), with a loss to Wisconsin in between. The first meeting between U-M and OSU was tied at 50 with less than nine minutes to play, before Michigan finished on a 24-12 run to nab a 74-62 victory over its rival on the night Trey Burke’s jersey went into the rafters at Crisler Center.
“We were all super excited with Trey Burke being here. It’s another Michigan Wolverine legend that’s in our presence,” forward Yaxel Lendeborg said after the victory. “It definitely gave us a little extra motivation to go get a win for him and not mess up his day.”
The key to success for Michigan: Containing OSU’s leading scorer Bruce Thorton. Last month, U-M held him to 10 points on an inefficient 3-for-11 shooting performance. John Mobley Jr., however, scored 22 points (thanks to four 3-pointers) to keep the Buckeyes in it for 30 minutes. Christoph Tilly also gave Michigan trouble, scoring 17 points on 50% shooting.
The Wolverines beat the Buckeyes despite struggling on 3-pointers (5-for-23), but they’ve shot much better over the past two games, going a combined 23-for-50 (46%). The biggest difference against OSU, however, was U-M’s bench play: Trey McKenney, Roddy Gayle Jr. and L.J. Cason combined for 22 points.
“I want to give our guys a lot of credit for staying the course,” coach Dusty May said. “Early in the game, we couldn’t get shots to drop, and we couldn’t get free throws to drop either. … [The Buckeyes] were able to keep us out of rhythm, keep us in the half court, so we were in a little bit of a sludge.
“Thank goodness our second unit and our fans pulled us through tonight.”
For Gayle, Sunday will be the former Buckeye’s second return to Columbus. The first went well for him –he hit the winning basket in an 86-83 battle – so expect a less-than-friendly welcome from the Value City Arena crowd. Gayle missed his first U-M game in two years on Thursday, sitting out with an illness; he’s expected to play Sunday.
“We thought he was playing, and just, to be honest, we thought unless we really, really need you, we’re just going to hold you and get you healthy for the Ohio State game,” May said.
This game figures to be dictated by the work inside the arc. OSU is No. 5 in the Big Ten in 2-point shooting (57%) but is just No. 15 in shooting percentage allowed there (55.3%). That’s one reason U-M’s frontcourt of Lendeborg, Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. had so much success last time around, combining for 41 points and 22 boards.
Next up: Buckeyes
Matchup: No. 2 Michigan (21-1, 11-1 Big Ten) at Ohio State (15-7, 7-5).
Tipoff: 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8; Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio.
TV/radio: CBS; WCSX-FM (94.7).
Michigan vs Ohio State basketball prediction
Ohio State is 10-2 at home this year, with both losses relatively close against Big Ten contenders Illinois and Nebraska. That should be enough reason for Michigan to beware. Still, U-M has showed it can win in just about any way, with eight different leading scorers this season. It’s hard to predict who’ll do it in this one, but the Wolverines’ superior talent should shine through at some point. The pick: U-M 81, Ohio State 72.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
