College basketball rankings: Michigan remains in the Top 25 and 1 after Mike Boynton’s key victory against Marquette

There’s been a lot of attention on Michigan since the Wolverines won the 2026 NCAA Tournament — first because their coach, Dusty May, left for the Dallas Mavericks, then because they had three starters selected in the first round of the 2026 NBA draft, then because their top freshman tore his ACL.

Titles above titles above titles.

Then the season started – and not terribly. UConn easily handled Michigan on the first Friday of the season. What followed was Wednesday’s home game against Marquette that found the Wolverines trailing by seven in the first half under former assistant and first-year head coach Mike Boynton.

Was Michigan Really about to go down to 1-2?

For a minute it looked like it. But then Elliot Cadeau came on and finished with 17 points and 10 assists in an 84-70 win over Shaka Smart’s Golden Eagles. So Michigan is 2-1 instead of 1-2, and I can’t overstate the importance of that for Boynton.

Going to 1-2 with a home loss to an unranked opponent after a 12-20 season, and Michigan’s own fans would have started to question things — and loudly. This is the life almost every coach leads after being promoted from within and replacing someone great. If you’re not that great, basically immediately, it reminds you very, very quickly.

Anyway …

Credit Boynton for getting his Wolverines to respond to an early deficit and win comfortably. Among the reasons was JP Estrella, the transfer who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds on 8-of-12 shooting for Michigan after spending the previous three years at Tennessee, where he helped the Vols make three straight trips to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.

Boynton emphasized after the game how important this was in the evaluation process.

“We study the guys we look at a lot, and one of the things that was really appealing to us (with) JP was winning,” Boynton said. “And so when we talk about how you respond, that’s not foreign to him: the expectation to have a season and put your team in a position to win. And he understands when we’re not doing things at that level, and he’s one of the guys we look to for leadership in that regard. Even more so than some of the guys who maybe haven’t played in these high-stakes games before, like Ricky (Liburd) and Oscar (Goodman). That experience is invaluable to us. And obviously he’s been solid in his performances in all three games, and that certainly continues, his physicality, his ability to be versatile in how we use him defensively (was) really, really impressive.

Michigan remains No. 20 in the daily CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 rankings updated Thursday morning. Next up for the Wolverines is Sunday’s game with William & Mary. Their next test against a power conference opponent is a week from Saturday against Villanova.

Rankings Top 25 And 1