The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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48 THE WOLVERINE ❱ FEBRUARY 2026 BY ANTHONY BROOME M ichigan's trip to the West Coast for Big Ten games against Ore- gon and Washington during New Year's Week pushed the program, which split the two-game slate and returned to Ann Arbor with a 11-2 record (2-1 B1G). The win came in a 92-87 double- overtime thriller in Eugene, with the Wolverines battling through a raucous environment to get it done. "There are a lot of things that we can talk about, and obviously, we have to get better at, but we won the game, holy cow," Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said after the Dec. 29 victory. "We won the game, on the road, in front of a hos- tile crowd after they went up. They were up in regulation, in overtime, and both times we found a way to persevere." The second game was a slog, how- ever, with Washington handing U-M its second loss of the season and first in Big Ten play in a 64-52 defeat on Jan. 1 in Seattle. Getting home and resetting were all they could do from there, and they responded by holding off Minne- sota for a 70-60 victory at home on Jan. 5. "I was really proud of our team and the bounce back," Barnes Arico said. "We have been away since the day after Christmas on the West Coast trip, play- ing against two tough opponents, two great teams. And we had another great team in Minnesota come here to play us. We always talk about protecting the Block M and how important that is. "They jumped on us right away. We're trying to figure out against really great defensive teams how to score and how to change tempo. … Just proud of our squad. Sometimes I have to remind myself that they're still really young — there aren't a lot of seniors out there all the time. They're mostly sophomores. They went tonight against experience and had to finish." Sophomore guard Mila Holloway said that the West Coast trek challenged the team and helped reset the expectation for what needed to come next. "I would say those two games on the West Coast were eye-openers for us," Holloway said. "It exposed our flaws and opened our eyes to what we needed to come back and work on. I feel like we did that just by working on playing in the flow of the offense, being able to press when teams are expecting it and just keeping that going." Barnes Arico is still navigating the new Big Ten like many other coaches, play- ers and administrators across the league. U-M being able to weather that storm and get back to a comfortable place is a feather in the cap for all involved. "The West Coast trip is really chal- lenging," Barnes Arico said. "Life on the road in the Big Ten is challenging, and they're still so young. You go out to Or- egon, and you play in front of their fan base, which was intense. Double over- time, we figure out a way to win. And then the next day, we get on a plane to Washington. Two days later, we have to play at someone else's home court again, with that type of atmosphere. "They're growing, they're learning what's left in the tank. Can you find a way? I think it definitely teaches us a lot about ourselves, but they're so darn competitive. They leave there, and they think they're the worst basketball play- ers in America. I have to remind them that they're actually pretty good." Following the win against Minnesota, the Wolverines notched a blowout win (105-65) on the road at Penn State Jan. 8, followed by an 86-60 home victory over Wisconsin Jan. 11, improving to No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. ❏ ❱ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Eighth-Ranked Wolverines Respond To Adversity As 2026 Begins Sophomore guard Mila Holloway was dishing out a team-high 4.4 assists through 16 games while also averaging 12.8 points per contest, third-best on the squad. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY ❱ 2025-26 Women's Basketball Schedule (14-2 overall; 5-1 B1G) Date Opponent Time (TV) Jan. 15 ILLINOIS 7 p.m. (Peacock) Jan. 19 vs. Vanderbilt% 2:30 p.m. (FOX) Jan. 22 at Rutgers 6 p.m. (BTN) Jan. 25 USC 2 p.m. (BTN) Jan. 29 at Indiana 7 p.m. (Peacock) Feb. 1 at Michigan State Noon (FS1) Feb. 4 NEBRASKA 7 p.m. (B1G+) Feb. 8 UCLA 3 p.m. (FOX) Feb. 12 at Northwestern 9 p.m. (Peacock) Feb. 15 MICHIGAN STATE 4 p.m. (FS1) Feb. 22 at Iowa TBA Feb. 25 at Ohio State 8 p.m. (Peacock) Feb. 28 MARYLAND 2:30 p.m. (FOX) Mar. 4-8 Big Ten Tournament$ TBA % at Coretta Scott King Classic, Newark, N.J. $ at Indianapolis All times Eastern