ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Michigan as a 2-seed in his way-too-early Bracketology for 2025-26:
While the college basketball season ended earlier this month, ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi recently revealed his first prediction for the 2025-26 NCAA Tournament. He has the Michigan Wolverines on the two line.
It may seem a little surprising to see Michigan as a legitimate title contender, but year two of the Dusty May era is already off to a strong start.
Despite key departures like Danny Wolf, Vlad Goldin and Tre Donaldson, the Wolverines boast a top-ranked transfer class with Yaxel Lendeborg, Elliot Cadeau, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara coming to Ann Arbor. Michigan also has a pair of intriguing incoming freshmen in Trey McKinney and Winters Grady.
Let’s assume Lendeborg will stay in college. That leaves a rotation that should look something like this:
G: Elliot Cadeau, L.J. Cason
G: Nimari Burnett, Trey McKenney
G/F: Roddy Gayle Jr., Winters Grady
F: Yaxel Lendeborg, Will Tschetter
C: Morez Johnson Jr., Aday Mara, Will Tschetter (in a small-ball lineup)
The Wolverines could still use some three-point shooting, with Burnett (40 percent on 4.5 attempts last season) and Tschetter (35.1 percent on 2.6 attempts) as the top returners. Lendeborg is capable from deep (34.9 percent over his last two campaigns), but others will have to step up in this area as well.
Perhaps Cason can take that next step and develop his jumper. He showed promise as a freshman ball handler, but could be redundant on a team filled with ball-dominant players.
Regardless of how the three-point shooting goes, this is a deep, fierce lineup with plenty of defensive versatility and a nice balance of veterans and underclassmen. A second year in May’s system will also benefit returners like Burnett, Gayle, Cason and Tschetter.
Another name to watch for is New Zealand-born forward Oscar Goodman. He joined the team in January, and while this is going to be a tough rotation to crack, he already has familiarity with the program and could grow into a nice bench piece.
We are about six months away from the season opener, and this No. 2 seed ranking will only fluctuate until the actual bracket is revealed. Still, seeing a team with so many new pieces be already held in such high regard by someone who analyzes brackets for a living is encouraging news.