There are a lot of ways to illustrate just how awesome and overwhelming Michigan has been this season. On this second day of 2026, perhaps my favorite is to tell you that the Wolverines are playing Friday night against a Big Ten team that’s 12-1 and ranked 24th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll — and Michigan is a 21.5-point favorite in the game!
That’s a massive number for a contest between ranked teams. And though one explanation for the big spread is that USC — with zero wins over teams in the top 45 at KenPom.com and a loss to unranked Washington on the resume — shouldn’t actually be ranked 24th in the AP poll, truth is, this has more to do with Michigan being 12-0 with nine wins by at least 25 points.
The Wolverines beat Gonzaga by 40 and Auburn by 30. So they’re 2-0 against teams also in Friday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings — with those victories coming by an average of 35 points. And that’s the biggest reason the Wolverines are 21.5-point favorites over USC, not to mention No. 1 in the Top 25 And 1 for the 23rd consecutive day.
If you watch this one, the player to watch is Yaxel Lendeborg. He’s Michigan’s transfer from UAB who is averaging a team-high 15.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game. The 6-foot-9 forward got 29 points, nine assists, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the Wolverines’ most-recent game against a power-conference opponent, which resulted in a 101-83 victory over Maryland. That performance is among the reasons he’s now fifth in the KenPom Player of the Year standings.
/Winners%20&%20Losers%20header%20template%20(2).webp?ssl=1 "5 Winners and 2 Losers from the first 2026 pre-season test in Bahrain – who was left itching to make up for lost ground?")
