Michigan’s Athletic Excellence: A Legacy of Champions

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The 24th-ranked University of Michigan men’s basketball squad (11-3; 3-0 B1G) will wrap up its West Coast journey with a matchup against 22nd-ranked UCLA (11-3; 2-1 Big Ten) at the renowned Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday (Jan. 7) at 7 p.m. PST (10 p.m. EST). The contest will be broadcast on Peacock, featuring Terry Gannon and former Fab Five member Jalen Rose as commentators.

Highlights

• Michigan commenced its West Coast ventures with an 85-74 triumph at USC (Jan. 4) during the Wolverines’ maiden visit to the Galen Center. Now, the Wolverines will finalize their week-long Los Angeles journey against UCLA (Jan. 7).

• In the twentieth encounter with the Bruins, the Wolverines stand at 6-13. U-M faces UCLA for the first occasion since the 2021 Elite Eight at Lucas Oil Stadium, where the No. 1-seeded Wolverines fell 51-49 to No. 11-seeded UCLA. Despite Franz Wagner’s pair of free throws reducing the deficit to one in the closing minute, U-M missed its last two attempts and lost.

• Michigan holds a 1-6 record at Pauley Pavilion, with their sole victory coming in 2002 — an 81-76 result (Dec. 28). Daniel Horton scored seven three-pointers and achieved a game-high 24 points, while Bernard Robinson Jr. and LaVell Blanchard each contributed 18.

• UCLA, which secured victories against Washington (69-58) and Oregon (73-71) to initiate its first Big Ten season, resumed conference play at Nebraska (Jan. 4) and encountered a 66-58 loss at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

• Scoring in double digits during four of his last five outings, Nimari Burnett‘s 10.1-point average further balances the Maize and Blue scoring as five Wolverines are now averaging in double figures.

• Michigan is shooting at a clip of 51.3 percent from the field. Five Wolverines boast shooting percentages exceeding 50 percent, led by Vladislav Goldin, who stands at 67.6—ranking first in the Big Ten and fifth overall nationally.

• Michigan currently leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth nationally in effective field goal percentage, a metric that adjusts field goal percentage to recognize the higher value of three-pointers compared to two-pointers.

• All five Wolverine starters have achieved double-figure scoring in the previous two matches.

• The Wolverines have made 39 three-pointers in their last three games (45.8 percent), including a recent program-record-tying 19 against Western Kentucky. Throughout the four games preceding this stretch, U-M totaled 22 and shot 24.1 percent. This season, U-M has recorded 10 or more three-pointers in eight of 14 contests.

• Michigan has suffered three losses by a combined total of five points: falling to Wake Forest by two (72-70; Nov. 10 in the Deacon-Wolverine Challenge), to Arkansas by two (89-87; Dec. 10 at the Jimmy V Classic), and to No. 14 Oklahoma by one (87-86; Dec. 18 at the Jumpman Invitational). U-M has achieved victories with an average margin of +16.9.