On Saturday night, Michigan and Dusty May had the opportunity to send a statement to the rest of the country against Duke. At the time, the Wolverines were the No. 1 ranked squad and the Blue Devils were No. 3.
Michigan has dream matchup to get back to its identity after loss to Duke
In disappointing fashion, however, the Wolverines weren't able to pull off the win in Washington D.C., with Duke coming out on top - the Blue Devils are now the new top team in the land via the AP Top 25 Poll, which is a little disappointing.
Season over, pack everything up and head home. Nope, not by a long shot. It was a see-saw battle and despite not coming away with a head-turning win, it doesn't take away from the fact that Michigan is still a contender to win it all. CBS' Matt Norlander made that much clear, as he's still got UM as his top team in the college basketball world:
"I still favor Michigan... I would still vote Michigan as the overall best team in the country." ✍️@MattNorlander has Michigan as the best team in the country despite their loss to No. 1 Duke. pic.twitter.com/yNvu33HY4v
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 23, 2026
Michigan's loss to Duke is not going to even come close to defining its season
If you were still down in the dumps over the loss to Duke and Jon Scheyer, hopefully this video and positive words from Norlander calm you down a bit. At the end of the day, one loss is not going to define the campaign for Michigan.
The Wolverines were never going to be perfect this campaign and not lose at least a few games. That does not matter at all. What does matter is that this team keeps improving and positive steps are taken in the Big Ten Tournament and the Big Dance.
As things stand, Michigan is on the verge of winning the Big Ten regular season title and then the focus will shift to the postseason. No one and we mean no one can overlook Michigan. Right now, they're looking to be a lock to be a No. 1 seed and they'd love nothing more than to get some revenge on Duke should they meet again in the Final Four.
There's simply no question that Michigan has what it takes to push for the natty. From our chair, them and Duke meeting once again with the title on the line would be absolute cinema. Michigan will have extra motivation for that game if it happens, using what happened in D.C. to light a bit of a fire inside of them.