Michigan basketball eyes history against Penn State

Michigan basketball is one game away from making program history.

The No. 2 Wolverines (20-1, 10-1 Big Ten) have tied their best start in their 110-year existence and with a win over Penn State on Thursday, Feb. 5 (6:30 p.m., FS1) at Crisler Center, would have 21 victories through 22 games for the first time.

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This will be Michigan’s second matchup with the Nittany Lions and their intention is to play a much cleaner game than the last time around. In the game in Happy Valley last month, U-M allowed a 15-point lead evaporate into a two-point game in the final 30 seconds. Penn State had two looks to tie or take the lead, which included a 3-point heave at the buzzer that clanged off the back iron to allow Michigan to survive, 74-72, at Bryce Jordan Center.

“I heard a coach say it the other day, ‘it’s not who you play, it’s when you play them’,” May said. “The ebbs and flows of the season, where you catch them in their schedule and your schedule, you know those things all matter. We’ve got a Penn State team [coming in] that gave us everything and then some [in our last meeting].”

Michigan also didn’t have to contend with freshman guard Kayden Mingo, Penn State’s leading scorer, who was out in that contest. Mingo enters this game averaging 14.1 points per game and oozing with confidence after he hit the game-winning floater in the final second to beat Minnesota, 77-75, in PSU’s most recent game on Sunday.

Freddie Dilone V, who missed the 3-pointer in the last game that would’ve given Penn State its biggest win in years, also comes in with some juice, having tied a season-high with 25 points against the Gophers.

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But the man who U-M likely has honed in on for this scout is Ivan Jurić, the 7-foot Croatian who scored a career-high 20 points vs. the Wolverines last time around and banged home a pair of 3-pointers while stretching the floor and testing Aday Mara’s perimeter defense.

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Publish date : 2026-02-05 10:11:00

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