Michigan
Michigan State
Battle at Breslin: Wolverines, Spartans to Play for Big Ten Lead
1/29/2026 8:35:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The third-ranked University of Michigan men's basketball team (19-1, 9-1 Big Ten) will travel to East Lansing for a battle with seventh-ranked Michigan State (19-2, 9-1 Big Ten) at the Breslin Center on Friday (Jan. 30) in a nationally televised game on Fox. Tipoff against the Spartans is scheduled for 8 p.m. with Gus Johnson, Bill Raftery and Allison Williams on the call.
Notes
• Michigan heads to East Lansing for its first matchup with Michigan State. U-M will host MSU in the regular-season finale at Crisler Center (March 8).
• Both standing at 9-1 in Big Ten play, Michigan and Michigan State square off for the conference lead as league play heads into the second half of the regular season.
• Michigan leads the all-time series, 104-92, but has lost the last four games. U-M has only three wins in its last 25 games at the Breslin Center. The Wolverines last won in East Lansing with an 82-72 victory on Jan. 13, 2018.
• Michigan and Michigan State have played 18 times when both teams were ranked, with the Wolverines trailing 6-12 in those games. This season's matchup at the Breslin Center is the fifth time the rivals have met as top-10 teams, and it is the highest-ranked matchup ever for both programs.
• After the home loss to Wisconsin snapped U-M's winning streak at 14, U-M has rebounded with five straight wins -- at Washington (82-72, +10), at Oregon (81-71, +10), Indiana (86-72, +14), Ohio State (74-62, +12) and Nebraska (75-72, +3).
• Michigan wrapped up its three-game homestand with an exciting 75-72 comeback win over No. 5 Nebraska. The Wolverines trailed for 36 minutes but tied the game with 2:16 left and took their first lead at 74-72 after Trey McKenney scored on a baseline layup with 1:07 to go. Up by three, U-M stopped Nebraska on three late attempts to give the Cornhuskers (20-1) their first loss of the season.
• Michigan's 19-1 start matches the best 20-game record in program history, tying the 2012-13 and 2018-19 teams. The 2013 and 2019 squads each improved to 20-1 before their second loss.
• Michigan starts its road-heavy end to the regular season in East Lansing, with seven of the last 11 games played away from Ann Arbor. This stretch includes a marquee game against Duke in Washington, D.C.
• Aday Mara has been on a hot streak, scoring in double figures for five games in a row and making 78 percent of his shots (25-for-32) during this run. Additionally, he has been a steady presence on defense, blocking at least one shot in every game this season (52 total; 2.60 bpg) and recording multiple blocks in 16 games.
• Elliot Cadeau (5.3 apg) had seven assists against Nebraska, marking his third straight season with at least 100 assists (now at 105). He is just 14 away from reaching 500 career assists (currently at 486).
• McKenney (10.0 ppg) has been a reliable player off the bench, scoring in double figures in 13 games and averaging 10 points per game. He is second on the team with 32 three-pointers and leads at the free-throw line, making 88.2 percent (45-for-51).
• Yaxel Lendeborg continues to make an impact across the board, averaging 14.2 points, 7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. He is shooting 50.3 percent from the field and 84.6 percent from the free-throw line.
• Morez Johnson Jr. leads the Big Ten in field-goal percentage at 69.3 percent, which is also third-best in the country. He averages 13.9 points per game, has scored in double figures 14 times, and has posted his first four games with over 20 points.
