CBS Sports ranks Michigan basketball as 'title contender' in 2025-26 season

Just two Big Ten teams were listed in this category.

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Even after losses to Danny Wolf, Vlad Goldin, Tre Donaldson, and Rubin Jones, head coach Dusty May has Michigan men's basketball in as good of a position -- if not better -- heading into 2025-26 as they were last season. Entering Year 2 under May, the Wolverines landed a couple of solid recruits and used the transfer portal better than anyone else in college basketball.

With the additions of UAB transfer Yaxel Lendeborg, North Carolina guard Elliott Cadeau, Illinois' big Morez Johnson, and UCLA 7-footer Aday Mara, Michigan will likely be considered a title contender next season.

And that's exactly what CBS Sports thinks. Ranking all the Big Ten basketball teams into tiers, Issac Trotter ranked two Big Ten teams as 'title contenders': Michigan and Purdue.

Michigan's money moves have the Wolverines poised to be one of the elite rebounding teams in the country. That glass-cleaning edge should fuel an outstanding transition offense that can be triggered by the speedy Cadeau or the grab-and-go Lendeborg. Burnett's shot-making and Johnson's rim-rocking should be accentuated in the open floor.

Michigan does have some shooting questions, but its recipe looks ironically similar to rival Michigan State who won the Big Ten last year while actively not taking or making many triples. Lendeborg, Johnson, Mara and Tschetter give Dusty May one of the special frontcourts in college basketball. All do different things at a high level and keep the Wolverines' floor extremely solid because of the two-point dominance and rebounding edge.

A ceiling-level outcome is likely determined by this backcourt. Can Cadeau eliminate the F-minus decisions? Can Gayle use the Year 2 transfer jump to eliminate the freezing-cold streaks? Can Cason become an effective bucket off the bench? If things coalesce, Michigan can absolutely win this league because its strengths travel every single night.

Isaac Trotter (CBS Sports)

RELATED: Predicting Michigan basketball's rotation in 2025-26 version 1.0

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Barring any shooting woes or excessive turnovers like last season, Michigan should be loaded for next season. The Wolverines have veteran returners who will keep the continuity together, like Nimari Burnett, Roddy Gayle Jr., Will Tschetter, along with LJ Cason. Pairing them with the incoming transfers, and talented freshmen like Trey McKenney and Winters Grady, will give Michigan a really deep rotation.

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