This week is a historic one in college basketball, due to four top-10 matchups this week. The first was No. 6 Iowa State winning 70-67 at home versus No. 2 Houston. Then, on Tuesday, we have No. 7 Purdue hosting No. 1 Michigan in a massive Big Ten battle.
It was a game that started out tight, with both teams tied at 11 early on. However, the Wolverines went on a 15-0 run to blow the game wide open. From there, it was complete domination, with the road team up 48-32 at the midway point.
The second half was uneventful, with the Boilermakers slowly clawing back to trail by as few as nine points late in the game but time ran out, with Michigan winning 91-80 to move to 25-1 overall and 15-1 in Big Ten play.
Six players were in double figures for the Wolverines, led by 17 points and seven assists from Elliot Cadeau. His backup, LJ Cason, had 13 points off the bench, while all three starting forwards, Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson, and Aday Mara, combined to produce 35 points, 24 rebounds, and 12 assists in the win. As a team, Michigan shot 53% from the field and went 13/23 from three-point range.
Michigan just had their best three-point shooting game in the Dusty May era.
— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) February 18, 2026
The Wolverines connected on 13 threes, hitting 56% of them. It's the only game under May they have ever hit 13+ with a 3PT percentage of 54% or better.
If this trend continues, it's a PROBLEM.
The way the Wolverines dominated the game isn’t unusual, considering that they have blowout wins over the likes of Gonzaga, Auburn, Villanova, UCLA, and USC. The only blemish for Michigan to this point remains the home loss to Wisconsin. From a bracketology standpoint, the Wolverines now have 10 Quad 1 wins and remain No. 1 in the NET. Plus, with Arizona, arguably the only other team with a comparable resume, losing two straight games in the past week, it’s now Michigan with the clear advantage in the race for the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament.
Michigan has the chance to truly leave no doubt this weekend, taking on the Duke Blue Devils on a neutral site. Duke is also in contention for a 1 seed and a win over the Wolverines is the ultimate signature victory to have for a resume. But if Michigan gets this win and does so convincingly, the talk about the “top tier” of college basketball may be just one team.