ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The reigning national champions take the floor for real on Monday night, Nov. 2, when No. 16 Michigan meets Oakland at 6 p.m. at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., to start the 2026-27 men’s basketball season and Mike Boynton Jr.’s run as head coach.
Boynton moved up on July 1 after Dusty May left Ann Arbor to coach the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. Boynton spent the last two seasons as May’s top assistant and earlier led Oklahoma State as head coach.
The roster he inherits looks very different from the 37-3 team that beat UConn 69-63 for the program’s first national title since 1989. Three players from that team went in the lottery of the 2026 NBA Draft, and a five-star freshman, Brandon McCoy, is out for the season after an ACL injury suffered on a European trip.
Guards Elliot Cadeau, the Final Four’s top player, Trey McKenney and Roddy Gayle Jr. are back. Gayle returns for a fifth year after a court ruling cleared his eligibility. Newcomers include Cincinnati transfer Moustapha Thiam at center and Tennessee transfer J.P. Estrella up front.
History favors the home side. Michigan is 90-20 in openers, has won 23 straight of them and has not dropped one at Crisler Center since 1997. The Wolverines hold a 9-1 edge over Oakland all-time.
Oakland, picked fourth in the Horizon League, has only two returning players who saw the floor last season. Coach Greg Kampe, in his 43rd season, faces a road slate that also includes Alabama, Boise State, Purdue and Houston. Michigan next plays No. 4 UConn on Friday, Nov. 6, in Boston.
Section: More Ann Arbor MI sports news
Ann Arbor sports business profiles
Filed under: Ann Arbor MI Sports News
