No. 2 Michigan survives close call at Penn State to remain undefeated

James Hawkins, The Detroit News on Jan 6, 2026

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Michigan has dominated at home and on neutral courts this season. But in true road games, it’s been a different story.

The Wolverines were put to the test in their previous trips to TCU and Maryland and found themselves in a fight that at least dragged into the second half.

It was a similar case Tuesday night at Bryce Jordan Center, where No. 2 Michigan had to stave off a second-half push from Penn State and hang on late for a 74-72 win to remain undefeated.

L.J. Cason tied his career high with 14 points, all coming in the first half, for Michigan (14-0, 4-0 Big Ten), which got a pair of critical defensive stops in the final 16 seconds to survive. Nimari Burnett and Trey McKenney each added 12 points apiece.

The Wolverines trailed by six early, led by as much as 10 in the first half and had a nine-point halftime lead against the Nittany Lions, who were without leading scorer and star freshman guard Kayden Mingo.

As Penn State (9-6, 0-4) took advantage of Michigan’s miscues to hang tough, the Wolverines returned the favor to widen the margin. Elliot Cadeau grabbed his own missed 3-pointer and scored at the rim. Burnett drained a second-chance 3-pointer. After Penn State grabbed a defensive rebound, Roddy Gayle Jr. swiped the ball back, drew a foul and made two free throws.

That string of seven unanswered points kick-started a 13-4 spurt that Yaxel Lendeborg capped with a layup and two free throws to make it 53-40 with 15:14 left in the second half.

Penn State cut the deficit to seven before Michigan took its largest lead. Gayle and McKenney made back-to-back 3-pointers. McKenney backed a defender down and hit a shot off the glass. An 8-0 burst put Michigan up, 63-48, with 10:41 to go.

As fouls piled up for Michigan and Penn State switched to a zone, the Nittany Lions clawed back and countered with their own run. They ripped off a 12-0 spurt that Freddie Dilione V capped with a 3-pointer that made it a one-possession game, 63-60, at the 7:13 mark and put the pressure on.

Lendeborg snapped Penn State’s run and a near four-minute scoring drought for Michigan with a lob pass to Mara for a dunk. Cadeau added breathing room with two free throws and a driving layup to make it 71-63 with 4:01 remaining.

But Michigan had a tough time closing it out, as the Nittany Lions made another push with a 7-0 spurt. Penn State cut it to 73-70 on a 3-pointer from Melih Tunca. Then following a turnover by Cadeau, Morez Johnson Jr. committed his fifth and final foul and Eli Rice made two free throws to make it 73-72 with 1:04 to go.

Michigan came up empty on its ensuing possession, giving Penn State chance to take the lead. But the Wolverines got the stop and Mara was fouled after corralling the defensive rebound. He missed the first free throw and made the second to make it 74-72 with 15 seconds remaining.

Penn State had one last chance to tie it or win it on its final possession, but Dilione’s last-second 3-pointer hit off the back of the rim as time expired.

Lendeborg, who was deemed a game-time decision with a bruised calf, started and finished with 10 points for Michigan.

Ivan Juric scored 20 and Dilione 17 for Penn State, which shot 34.8% from the field but scored 17 points off 12 Michigan turnovers and scored 22 second-chance points off 15 offensive rebounds.

Even with Michigan at full strength and Penn State down its top player in Mingo, the Wolverines got off to a sloppy start. They have five turnovers, many coming on unforced errors, in less than seven minutes.

Burnett whipped a pass off Johnson face. Gayle threw a pass into the Penn State bench and had another pass that was intercepted. Coupled with a hot start from Juric, who scored 10 points in the first 4:44, Penn State doubled up Michigan, 12-6, with 15:16 left in the first half.

The Wolverines brushed that aside and used an 11-0 spurt to pull in front that was keyed by Aday Mara and Cason. Mara tossed a lob pass to Lendeborg for a finish inside and threw down an alley-oop pass from Cason. Not long after that, Cason buried a 3-pointer in transition as Michigan took a 17-12 lead at the 10:45 mark.

After Penn State snapped a five-minute scoring drought and a string of 10 straight missed shots to end the run, Michigan added more separation. Cadeau canned a deep ball. Cason finished in traffic on a pair of driving layups. The Wolverines pushed the lead to 34-24.

Defensive rebounding issues prevented Michigan from widening the margin any further and kept Penn State hanging around. The Nittany Lions turned nine offensive boards into 10 second-chance points, as Michigan had to settle for a 40-31 advantage at the break.

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