College Basketball: Wake Forest v. Michigan

Little Caesars Arena hosts a compelling early-season test as Michigan meets Wake Forest in downtown Detroit. Michigan profiles as a legitimate top-ten team with a talented front court built around length, touch, and a physical rebounding presence, and the addition of 6'9" UAB transfer Yaxel Lendenborg boosts interior versatility on both ends. Dusty May is installing a clean, modern offense—spacing, quick decisions, and purposeful cuts—that should age well over the season. If there’s a question, it’s the backcourt: ball security, late-clock shot creation, and defensive containment. Those concerns are likely overblown long-term, but they can surface in November while chemistry is still forming.

On the other side, Steve Forbes enters Year 6 at Wake Forest with his usual identity: toughness, effort, and defense-first havoc. His groups play hard, dig at the ball, and try to distort timing, which can frustrate developing backcourts and turn live-ball turnovers into quick points.

Market note: Michigan is -13.5 in most locations. That’s a hefty number for a neutral-ish site in the first month, especially with both teams still ironing out rotations. Michigan’s front-court edge and coaching bump point to control, but the combination of early-season variance and Wake’s defensive disruption suggests the underdog has a realistic path to keep this within the number.

Pick:
Wake Forest 78
Michigan 84