A march toward madness — the good kind

The Dusty May era of the University of Michigan men’s basketball team opened the regular season with a victory at home on Nov. 4, defeating Cleveland State 101-53. It was a great beginning to what is shaping up to be a thrilling season. Enjoy these highlights so far — and let’s forget that loss to MSU for a moment — as the team forges a hopeful path toward the annual March Madness tournament. (Captions were sourced from mgoblue.com.)

Close call

In his return to Columbus Feb. 16, Roddy Gayle Jr. scored nine points and pulled down eight rebounds to beat Ohio State 86-83. With the game tied at 80 with less than two minutes to go, Gayle gave Michigan an 82-80 lead. The Wolverines’ win over the Buckeyes marked its 20th victory of the season, the 32nd time in program history the Wolverines have reached 20-plus wins and the first time since the 2020-21 season. (Image credit: Rick Osentoski, Michigan Photography.)
Take that, Purdue

Leading by four points with under a minute to play on Feb. 11, Rubin Jones slammed home a missed layup, giving Michigan a 73-67 lead with 39 seconds to go. Despite two three-point baskets from Purdue, Danny Wolf made two free throws to close out the game, securing the win. (Image credit: Andrew Mascharka, Michigan Photography.)
A point per minute

The Wolverines defeated Oregon behind five double-figure scorers and 25 points off turnovers in the annual Breast Cancer Awareness game on Feb. 5. Will Tschetter led the way with 17 points in only 17 minutes. (Image credit: Andrew Mascharka, Michigan Photography.)
And they called it the streak

Tre Donaldson led U-M to victory against Penn State on Jan. 27 with 21 points, seven assists, and four steals. Meanwhile, the Wolverines showcased a deep bench, with nine players contributing to the scoring effort. With this victory, Michigan hit 10-0 at home, the program’s longest home winning streak since the 2020-21 season. (Image credit: Daryl Marshke, Michigan Photography.)
Team highs

Vladislav Goldin’s 31 points led U-M to an 80-76 win in overtime against Northwestern on Jan. 19. It was his second game with 30 or more points. Goldin led all scorers in the matchup, including a career-high 10 free throw makes on 10-for-12 shooting from the line. (Image credit: Christina Merrill, Michigan Photography.)
Welcome to the Big Ten, Cali

Career highs took Michigan to a 94-75 victory against UCLA on Jan. 8. Vladislav Goldin led all scorers for a career-high of 36 points. Tre Donaldson scored 20 points, six three-pointers, and seven assists (a tie for his career best). Donaldson came through in the clutch, hitting two crucial three-pointers while Goldin and Danny Wolf were on the bench with four fouls each. (Image credit: Katelyn Mulcahy, Michigan Photography.)
California, here we come

On Jan. 4, the Wolverines used a pair of 10-0 runs late in the second half to defeat USC 85-74 at the Galen Center. Danny Wolf led all players with a 21-point, 13-rebound double-double along with seven assists and six blocks. The game marked the start of Michigan’s first trip to the West Coast to battle USC and UCLA as conference opponents. (Image credit: Katelyn Mulcahy, Michigan Photography.)
Dusting Western Kentucky

Dec. 29 was a bad day for Western Kentucky, who lost to the Wolverines 112-64. U-M outscored the Hilltoppers 13-6 in the first four minutes and had 72 points by the first media timeout. At the 6:05 mark, Danny Wolf’s three-pointer gave Michigan 19 for the game, tying a program record. (Image credit Andrew Mascharka, Michigan Photography.)
Oh, you’re a holiday

At the annual Holiday Game at Crisler Dec. 7, the Wolverines defeated Iowa 85-83. The nailbiter was tied 83-83 with 16 seconds to go when Roddy Gayle Jr. drove to the right side of the hoop for an attempted layup. Goaltending was called on a shot block to give Michigan the lead with 4.6 seconds to go. Iowa’s three-point attempt at the buzzer was no good, giving Michigan the win. (Image credit: Jaime Crawford, Michigan Photography.)