The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547256
46 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2026 2026-27 BASKETBALL PREVIEW BY ANTHONY BROOME U -M head coach Kim Barnes Arico has a problem most coaches would happily trade for: she can't get through a conversation about her roster without leaving someone out. "It's so funny, because you talk about one, and then every time I leave the table, I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I forgot to men- tion this player, and I forgot to mention this player,'" Barnes Arico said at Big Ten Women's Basketball Media Day. "We're deep, and we're talented in multiple spots and multiple positions." That depth carried the Wolverines to one of the best seasons in program history last year. U-M won 28 games, finished tied for second in the Big Ten and set program records for wins, Big Ten wins (15) and scoring average (82.3 points per game). It also tied the deepest NCAA Tournament run in program his- tory, reaching the Elite Eight for just the second time before losing to Texas. Most of that team is back for Barnes Arico's 15th season at the helm, looking to keep add- ing to the winningest re- sume in program history with goals of going further than it has before. It starts with winning the Big Ten championship. "We always talk about leaving your leg- acy," Barnes Arico said. "You talk about the first Sweet 16 and the first Elite Eight, and that was the Naz Hillmon era. [Ju- nior guards] Syla Swords and Olivia Olson came because they watched Naz Hillmon achieve what she achieved. But they know they want to do something different." Michigan returns its top five scorers: Olson (18.9 ppg), Swords (14.6), junior guard Mila Holloway (12.3), junior guard Te'Yala Delfosse (8.7) and senior forward Ashley Sofilkanich (7.7), which should help it stay in title contention in what Barnes Arico called the best league in college basketball. "We've been in a position before to be right at the top, playing for a chance to win it, but we haven't," she said. "Now we have experience. We have experience returning. We have experience at the top." Swords said the team's goals go well beyond a conference title. "We want to win, and we want to go undefeated," Swords said. "We want to go through March Madness and finish with the championship." Swords and Olson were both first- team All-Big Ten selections as sopho- mores, and Olson earned All-America honors from The Athletic (second team), ESPN (second team), Associated Press (third team) and Sporting News (third team). Barnes Arico said Swords kept improving over the summer with Can- ada's national team. But Barnes Arico shared some of her stronger praise for two other members of the junior class. She said Holloway came back this summer "as good as any player in our gym," and noted how much that means on a roster that includes Swords and Olson. She also spoke at length about Delfosse. "She walks into my office with her shoulders back and sits down and has the conversation of a grown woman," Barnes Arico said. "As a coach, those are the special things that I love: watching these players grow up on the basketball court but watching them grow up as people." Barnes Arico also held one-on-one meetings with every player before the first practice of the season. Delfosse's meeting is one that stood out for a team that wants to maintain its hard-nosed mentality. "Tay came in and said, 'Coach, I don't care how many shots a game. I want to be the best defender in our league. I want to aver- age 10 rebounds a game,'" Barnes Arico said. "Who says that?" The depth goes beyond the juniors, though. Kendall Dudley, who transferred in last season, had a "fabulous offsea- son." Sofilkanich is playing more com- Junior guard Olivia Olson, who scored 18.9 points per game in 2025-26, is among the strong set of Wolverine returners with eyes on a Big Ten title. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR UP Star Power, Experience Headline 2026-27 Wolverines Date Opponent Time (TV) Oct. 29 ROCHESTER CHRSITIAN (exh.) 7 p.m. (BIG+) Nov. 5 UCONN 6:30 p.m. (FS1) Nov. 8 WRIGHT STATE 2 p.m. (BIG+) Nov. 12 at Columbia 7 p.m. Nov. 16 at Central Michigan 6:30 p.m. Nov. 18 NIAGARA 7 p.m. (BIG+) Nov. 23 vs. Miami* 4 p.m. Nov. 25 vs. Toledo* 1:30 p.m. Nov. 30 SOUTHERN INDIANA 7 p.m. (BIG+) Dec. 5 vs. Oklahoma^ 2 p.m. (FOX) Dec. 7 KENT STATE 7 p.m. (BIG+) Dec. 11 at Maryland 7 p.m. (Peacock/NBCSN) Dec. 21 DETROIT MERCY Noon (BIG+) Dec. 29 MICHIGAN STATE 6 p.m. (FS1) Jan. 1 at Purdue Noon (BTN) Jan. 7 OHIO STATE 7 p.m. (Peacock/NBCSN) Jan. 10 OREGON Noon (Peacock/NBCSN) Date Opponent Time (TV) Jan. 13 at Nebraska 7 p.m. (FS1) Jan. 17 RUTGERS 4 p.m. (BTN) Jan. 20 at Illinois 7 p.m. (Peacock/NBCSN) Jan. 23 WASHINGTON 5 p.m. (Peacock/NBCSN) Jan. 27 PENN STATE 7 p.m. (BIG+) Jan. 30 at USC 5:30 p.m. (FOX) Feb. 2 at UCLA 10 p.m. (FS1) Feb. 7 IOWA Noon (FOX) Feb. 12 NORTHWESTERN 7 p.m. (BIG+) Feb. 17 at Minnesota 8 p.m. (BIG+) Feb. 20 at Wisconsin 1 p.m. (BTN) Feb. 24 INDIANA 6:30 p.m. (Peacock/NBCSN) Feb. 28 at Michigan State 1 p.m. (Peacock/NBCSN) Mar. 3-7 Big Ten Tournament! TBA * - Nassau, The Bahamas; ^ - Brooklyn, N.Y. ! – Las Vegas, Nev. All times Eastern ❱ 2026-27 U-M Women's Basketball Schedule