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.
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. and Aday Mara, but even keeping one would make the Wolverines a serious title threat on paper. … The proof of concept of turning Danny Wolf and now Mara and Johnson into NBA prospects out of the portal should help make Michigan an extremely attractive sell to this year’s class of transfers.”
The Wolverines won’t have to look far for challengers capable of unseating them. Michigan State is considered a top-10 team — or better — in these early projections, with USA Today ranking the Spartans as their early No. 1 team, joining Seth Davis, editor in chief of basketball site Hoops HQ.
Michigan State is coming off a 27-8 season in which it reached the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 before falling to eventual national runner-up UConn.
“Despite losing twin big men Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper, this could be a special season for the Spartans if — as expected — it brings back point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. and forward Coen Carr,” write Erick Smith and Paul Myerberg of USA Today, who have Michigan at No. 3. Those give them two standouts to build around. Michigan State will also have great depth with most of this year’s rotation back in the fold. Tom Izzo will add in a very impressive recruiting class that ranks second nationally.”
Here’s a sampling of where Michigan and Michigan State sit in some of the “way-too-early” rankings.
▶ The Athletic: Michigan No. 2, Michigan State 7
▶ Bleacher Report: Michigan No. 1, Michigan State 7
▶ ESPN: Michigan No. 1, Michigan State 6
▶ FOX Sports: Michigan No. 3, Michigan State 4
▶ Hoops HQ: Michigan State No. 1, Michigan 4
▶ On3: Michigan No. 1, Michigan State 5
▶ Sports Illustrated: Michigan No. 1, Michigan State 5
▶ USA Today: Michigan State No. 1, Michigan 3
▶ Yahoo Sports: Michigan No. 1, Michigan State 3
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Where Michigan, Michigan State sit in ‘way-too-early’ 2026-27 rankings
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