Dusty May was asked about clinching a share of the Big Ten title. He was not particularly interested in the question.
“We know if we get this win, we at least, at worst-case scenario, clinch a share,” the Michigan head coach said Monday. “But I don’t think anyone in our locker room wants to share anything.”
That is the mentality carrying the No. 3 Wolverines (25-2, 15-1 Big Ten) into Tuesday night’s home game against Minnesota on Big Ten Network. May’s program is one win from at least a share of the conference title, and the only thing left to decide is whether Michigan grabs it outright or splits it with someone.
Michigan Dropped From No. 1, but Nothing Else Has Changed
The Wolverines fell to No. 3 after losing to Duke 68-63 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 21 in a game both teams treated like an NCAA Tournament preview. The AP poll shifted after that result, but the metrics did not. Michigan remains No. 1 in both NET rankings and KenPom entering Tuesday’s game.
May did not wave off the Duke loss. He acknowledged the lessons it offered. But he also zeroed in quickly on what the schedule demands next.
“It’s not done,” he said. “We’re so consumed now, and playing well against Minnesota. They’re going to play desperate. They’re shorthanded. They have five or six guys that are playing significant minutes, and those five guys can all play.”
Minnesota arrives Tuesday shorthanded, and May made clear he is not treating this as a formality. The Wolverines still have a road game at No. 10 Illinois on Friday, which May called “the second biggest game of the year” after Tuesday’s matchup. The path to an outright Big Ten title runs through both.
The Bigger Picture for Michigan’s NCAA Tournament Seeding
A Big Ten regular-season title would add significant weight to what is already one of the strongest resumes in the country. Michigan’s combination of a No. 1 NET ranking and 25 wins positions the Wolverines as a strong candidate for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, even after the Duke loss. A share of the conference title keeps that ceiling in place. An outright title pushes the argument further.
No team in college basketball has put together a more consistent body of work this season. The two losses came under very different circumstances (an early January home upset by Wisconsin and a neutral-site showdown against then-No. 3 Duke), but neither has dented Michigan’s standing in the advanced metrics.
May has turned Michigan into a legitimate national title contender in his second season, a pace of program-building that has surprised even observers who were optimistic about his hire.
Tuesday against Minnesota is the next step in proving this team is not just numbers on a spreadsheet. May wants the outright title, not because a shared banner is meaningless, but because his team has earned the right to go for more. They intend to take it.
