The 16th-ranked Michigan Wolverines will face the fourth-ranked Connecticut Huskies on Friday night in a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament championship game, part of the 2026 Hall of Fame Series at TD Garden in Boston.
Michigan, the defending champions, opened the season with an 84-68 win over Oakland on Monday, while UConn defeated Gardner-Webb 86-46 the same night. The game marks the first major test for new Michigan head coach Mike Boynton Jr., who replaced Dusty May after his departure to the Dallas Mavericks.
Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. UConn enters as a 7.5-point favorite with an over/under of 142.5 points, and a money line of UConn -300, Michigan +260.
The SportsLine projection model, which has posted an 11-1 record on top-rated over/under picks since 2025, predicts the total will go over 142.5 points, projecting 149 points with the over hitting in 68% of simulations. The model also indicates one side of the spread hits in over 50% of simulations.
Michigan's offense, which averaged 87.3 points per game last season (ninth nationally), is projected to have Kenny Noland and Moustapha Thiam each score 11 or more points. UConn, which averaged 76.6 points per game (sixth in the Big East), is expected to be led by Solo Ball, Braylon Mullins, and Silas Demary Jr., each projected for at least 11 points.
