Morez Johnson Jr. recorded 19 points and 11 rebounds against his old team as No. 3 Michigan triumphed over No. 10 Illinois 84-70 on Friday night, securing the Big Ten regular-season championship.
Johnson, who was with the Illini last season after having verbally committed three years prior, faced constant boos from Illinois fans throughout the match.
Aday Mara added 19 points, shooting 8-for-9, while Yaxel Lendeborg contributed 16 points and seven rebounds for the Wolverines (27-2, 17-1), who remain undefeated at 10-0 on the road and have 23 victories by 10 or more points.
The Wolverines claimed their second outright regular-season title in the last decade, the previous one being in 2020-21, as noted by ESPN Research. They also achieved an outright title in 2014 with a victory at Illinois.
With 17 conference wins, Michigan set a school record.
also, Michigan notched its eighth consecutive victory against AP-ranked conference foes (5-0 this season), marking its longest streak in program history and tying for the third-longest in Big Ten history, according to ESPN Research.
Keaton Wagler led the Fighting Illini (22-7, 13-5) with 23 points; however, they have now lost four of their last six games, including three in overtime. Wagler has been in double figures for 21 consecutive games.
Kylan Boswell chipped in 15 points, and David Mirkovic added 12 points along with 10 rebounds for the Illini, who entered the game as the Big Ten’s leading 3-point shooting team but struggled, going 9-of-29 from beyond the arc against Michigan.
Michigan was ahead 38-31 at the break, bolstered by Johnson’s 13 points.
After trailing 16-11 following a four-point play by Wagler, the Wolverines responded with an 11-point surge, capped by a 3-pointer from Johnson, and never looked back, leading by as many as 21 points in the second half.
The victory marked the end of a nine-game losing streak against Illinois that had started in 2019. Michigan had previously fallen to the Illini four times in a row at the State Farm Center.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
