Michigan men’s basketball fell to Cincinnati last week, 100-98, in its first exhibition game of the season. While the Wolverines allowed 100 points, Michigan fought hard to come back to win the game. It’s never a good thing to lose — or give up that many points — but there are two silver linings to the Wolverines’ exhibition loss. Playing poorly and almost winning the game, and competing without two big-time players.

After Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin left to head to the NBA, Michigan went out and landed one of the top transfer portal classes in the country. UAB transfer Yaxel Lendeborg played against UC, but both big men: Morez Johnson (Illinois) and Aday Mara (UCLA) did not.

According to basketball insider Jon Rothstein, both Johnson and Mara are expected to play on Saturday against St. John’s.

Michigan’s Aday Mara (undisclosed) and Morez Johnson (undisclosed) are both probable for Saturday’s Exhibition Game versus St. John’s at MSG, per Dusty May.

Both DNP last week against Cincinnati.

Johnson (Illinois) and Mara (UCLA) are in their first season with the Wolverines.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 23, 2025

Stating the obvious, it gives Michigan two potential starters back on the court. But the key here is that those two get a chance to play with the Wolverines in their last exhibition before real basketball begins. Michigan starts the season on Nov. 3 against Oakland, and it will be nice to give Johnson and Mara a chance to play in live action basketball with their team.

Earlier this week, coach Dusty May said he was hoping to get both of them back this week so he can check some boxes off by seeing them play with the team.

“Well, we’d like a couple full weeks of practice with our team,” May said. “You know we haven’t had Aday or Morez, and yesterday’s the first day where you’re able to do anything live with those guys. So we haven’t had those players for a couple weeks. When we had our Pro Day, I think we had seven or eight healthy players for Pro Day. So we don’t really have anything in. We don’t have entries to get Yaxel on his spots. We don’t have entries to do this, to do that. So I’d like us to go get a little more organized on both sides of the ball. We really didn’t have our post fires in and our rotations just because it’s difficult to put something in when you have five guys ill or you have four starters out with injuries.

“You don’t want to add something and then have to reteach it, whatever the case. So I’d like to have a lot more in, but I think playing these games just shows how much more intense practice has to be and how much more physical the second unit guys have to be to prepare the main guys for the games.”

Michigan will take on St. John’s with what sounds like a healthy team on Saturday night in New York. The game will tip at 7 p.m. ET on Big Ten +.