Have The Michigan Wolverines Peaked Too Early?

Thus far, Michigan’s men’s basketball team has put up some huge numbers throughout the 2025-26 season. In fact, you could say they have achieved historic numbers, from scoring more points in a single game (121) than they have in 35 years to becoming the first team in AP Poll history to defeat three consecutive ranked opponents by 30+ points. After starting the season 14-0, the Wolverines quickly became a favorite for the National Championship.

It was certainly an extraordinary start for Dusty May’s second season in Ann Arbor.

However, how you start isn’t always how you finish. Michigan got a little taste of that last Saturday. Their hot start came to a screeching halt after losing to Wisconsin (91-88) at home. Now, as they embark on a West Coast Trip, this team looks like it has lost a little mojo.

Have The Michigan Wolverines Peaked Too Early?

When Michigan kicked Gonzaga’s butt in the Championship Game of the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, that sent shockwaves throughout the country. It appeared that the Wolverines had built themselves into a contender. Following that win, they just continued to blow out foes left and right.

The Big Ten is no joke though and, with 18 teams, you’re going to get everyone’s best. That’s exactly what Michigan is going through now. That isn’t to say that they can’t still be the team that cuts the nets at the end of the season, but how do you respond when you’ve had trouble in your last two games — a close win and a defeat?

Penn State May Have Been A Rude Awakening

Something seemed to have changed about the demeanor of this team when Michigan visited Happy Valley to face Penn State. Not only did the Nittany Lions give them everything they could handle, but the big three of Aday Mara, Morez Johnson Jr, and Yaxel Lendeborg all dealt with foul trouble. They ultimately won that game, 74-72. Nevertheless, it certainly opened the playbook for other teams to try and exploit the Wolverines.

It’s no coincidence that Wisconsin nabbed a win against Michigan the very next game, as they also forced their bigs into foul trouble. Combined with the foul trouble, the Wolverines haven’t been shooting the ball as well as they did during the nine-game stretch in which they defeated all but two teams (Villanova, Maryland) by 30 or more points. Across those nine games, Michigan made 54.3% of their field goal attempts, including 38.4% of their 3-point attempts. In their past two games, they’ve only knocked down 46.2% of their shots (30.8% of their 3s).

Feels Like Last Season

In a way, this feels a lot like what happened to Michigan down the stretch in the 2024-25 regular season. They had a lead atop the Big Ten standings early on, and slipped up midway through, before losing the conference title to rival Michigan State. No, this is not the same group and boy, are they talented. But if they can’t get it right during their trip to Washington and Oregon, Michigan may have peaked too soon once again.

Bearing that in mind, Lendeborg is exciting to watch. However, he hasn’t looked the same since dealing with a calf injury. Perhaps he’s limited by that, and that’s why his production has dipped below 20 points per game. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, he has to score more than 20 points a night to ensure this group can make a deep run.

To sum it all up, Michigan has a lot of games left, but I’m not as sold on this team as some others out there.