Michigan basketball‘s West Coast sweep was an interesting one.
On the one hand, the Wolverines picked up two Big Ten wins on the road – a respectable result for any team. On the other hand, U-M clearly isn’t clicking as it once was. Michigan was unable to pull away from a Washington team in the bottom third of the league on Wednesday, Jan. 14 and got outhustled early by shorthanded Oregon in the first half Saturday in a game in which it was favored by nearly 20.
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Now, No. 2 Michigan (16-1, 6-1 Big Ten) returns to Crisler Center for three in a row – and doesn’t leave the state for three weeks – as it looks to play a bit sharper on Tuesday (7 p.m., Peacock) against Indiana (12-6, 3-4) – which probably doesn’t want to pivot to hoops after its football team defeated Miami (Florida) in Monday night’s College Football Playoff championship game.
Michigan guard Roddy Gayle Jr. (11) makes a layup against Wisconsin during the second half at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.
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Veteran guard Nimari Burnett liked what he saw in the second half against Oregon, though, calling the energy “night and day” from the first half.
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“I’m very excited for this group,” Burnett said in Eugene. “Once we really hit that standard, then we’ll get back to, you know, what we were doing just a month ago.”
The first task for U-M: Find a way to get Yaxel Lendeborg going again. The star forward has been held to 10 points or fewer in four of seven games, and hasn’t shot better than 50% in any of them – a far cry from his first 10 games of the season, in which he scored less than 12 points only twice and made more than half his shots eight times.
After U-M’s win over Washington, he detailed just how much his calf is bothering him, saying he’s lacking the explosion he’s used to. An ultrasound, though, confirmed there were no blood clots, just severe swelling. He’s not planning to take any time off – a choice he made with the help of coach Dusty May and doctors – so if he is going to continue to play, he needs to get back to his aggressive, attacking mentality.
Elsewhere, Michigan has to make sure Elliot Cadeau and Morez Johnson Jr. stay out of foul trouble. Cadeau has been limited a few times in recent weeks after picking up two quick fouls – he was scoreless against Washington – while Johnson played just five minutes in the first half against Oregon after three whistles.
Michigan Wolverines head coach Dusty May during the second half against the Washington Huskies at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026.
The last of those calls led to a May boilover – he picked up his second technical foul in 54 games at the helm in Ann Arbor.
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“Just express my frustration with someone I think is more as caliber of player being on the bench with what I felt like were three fouls that he may or may not have [warranted],” he said. “I was emotional about him not being able to play and expressed that.”
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Hoosiers update
It has been a struggle for Indiana on the court of late, losing three in a row with each seemingly worse than the last. On Jan. 10, the Hoosiers led unbeaten Nebraska by 16 in the second half at home, then blew the lead. Three days later, IU was tied with MSU in East Lansing midway through the second half before allowing a 19-0 finish. Then, on Saturday, Indiana trailed Iowa – not hardly a Big Ten contender – nearly start to finish at home in a 74-57 loss.
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IU is in its first season under Darian DeVries, fresh from one year at West Virginia after building a winner at Drake, who is learning the gantlet that is Big Ten play. Sam Houston State transfer Lamar Wilkerson (19.6 points per game) is one of the top scorers in the league while Tucker DeVries, the coach’s son, is a stretch-four averaging just shy of 15 points per game.
IU is No. 37 in KenPom and is capable offensively – No. 2 in league play in 2-point shooting (59.4%), No. 3 in 3-point shooting (36.7%) and No. 4 in field goal efficiency. The Hoosiers are dangerous mostly because of their volume of 3s –49.9% of all shots – but they haven’t been able to hang with teams defensively; opponents are shooting 58.1% on 2s and the Hoosiers rank 17th of 18 Big Ten teams in blocks.
May called Indiana “very skilled” and said it will be a “nice challenge” for his team on a short turnaround. The Wolverines will look to keep the Hoosiers as cold as the current vortex sweeping through the Midwest.
Michigan Wolverines guard Elliot Cadeau (3) drives to the basket against the Oregon Ducks during the second half at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon, on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026.
Michigan vs Indiana prediction
In Michigan’s lone loss, Wisconsin ran a five-out offense and used it to draw the bigs away from the rim. The Badgers then either fired from beyond the arc – and hit those tries – or used a speedy guard to slash through the paint. Indiana has a somewhat similar scheme, but doesn’t have the same horses. Michigan will likely have learned from its most recent home game and should have its way down low. The pick: U-M 89, Indiana 72
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Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball pick, prediction for less-threatening Indiana
