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There are a lot of ways to illustrate just how awesome and overwhelming Michigan<\/a> has been this season. Perhaps my favorite, on this second day of 2026, is to tell you that the Wolverines are playing Friday night against a Big Ten team that’s 12-1 and ranked 24th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll — and Michigan is a 22.5-point favorite in the game!<\/p>\n That’s a massive number for a contest between ranked teams. And though one explanation for the big spread is that USC<\/a> — with zero wins over teams in the top 45 at KenPom.com\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0a loss to unranked Washington<\/a> on the resume — shouldn’t actually be ranked 24th in the AP poll, truth is, this has more to do with Michigan being 12-0 with nine wins by at least 25 points.<\/p>\n The Wolverines beat Gonzaga<\/a> by 40 and Auburn<\/a> by 30. So they’re 2-0 against teams also in Friday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings — with those victories coming by an average of 35 points. And\u00a0that’s<\/em>\u00a0why the Wolverines are 22.5-point favorites over USC, not to mention No. 1 in the Top 25 And 1 for the 23rd consecutive day.<\/p>\n If you watch this one, the player to watch is Yaxel Lendeborg<\/a>. He’s Michigan’s transfer from UAB<\/a> who is averaging a team-high 15.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game. The 6-foot-9 forward got 29 points, nine assists, eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the Wolverines’ most-recent game against a power-conference opponent, which resulted in a 101-83 victory over Maryland<\/a>. That performance is among the reasons he’s now fifth in the KenPom Player of the Year standings.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n