The team played its home games in Ann Arbor, Michigan for the 49th consecutive year at the Crisler Center, which has a capacity of 12,707.

The 2014–15 Wolverines had entered the season coming off the school's winningest two-year stretch in history,[1] but it did not reach the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament after losing starters Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton to season-ending injuries in January.

[5] In addition to the season-ending injuries for LeVert and Walton the prior season, the team was coming off an offseason which saw Spike Albrecht and Zak Irvin have surgeries.

He led the team in many statistical categories at the time of his injury and made midseason watchlists for various major national awards.

[16] On July 28, Ibi Watson committed to Michigan from Caris LeVert's alma mater Pickerington High School Central.

[20] Among the accomplishments of the recruits are Simpson earning the 2015 Ohio Associated Press Division I Player of the Year and Davis earning the 2015 Michigan Associated Press Class B Player of the Year awards as juniors as well as Simpson's 2014 Ohio Division III state championship.

[33] Bleacher Report ranked Michigan at 25 noting lower expectations if LeVert declared himself eligible for the 2015 NBA draft.

[37] Despite all 13 of its scholarships being committed at the time, Michigan continued to recruit five-star 2015 McDonald's All-American Jaylen Brown and four-star Kenny Williams for the class of 2015.

[38] A scholarship for one of the potential recruits became available on April 27, when Beilein and rising sophomore Austin Hatch announced that Hatch, who had survived two plane crashes that killed his parents, siblings, and stepmother, would no longer play for the team due to medical issues stemming from injuries he suffered in the second crash.

Hatch transitioned to being a student assistant coach; as such, he was no longer on the active roster but could otherwise fully participate in the program.

[43][44] The October 15 Preseason Coaches Poll listed five teams from the 2015–16 Big Ten Conference, while 3 others, including Michigan, were receiving votes.

[45][46] Two weeks later the preseason AP Poll included six Big Ten Teams with Michigan listed at number 25.

[70] Michigan played Penn State at the Madison Square Garden on January 30, 2016, as part of "Big Ten Day", a day-night doubleheader featuring a hockey and a basketball matchup between both schools.

[78][79] On November 20, Michigan suffered its first loss of the season to Xavier in the inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games, despite a game-high 29 points by LeVert.

[80][81] Before beginning the 2015 Battle 4 Atlantis in Nassau, Bahamas, Beilein noted that Mark Donnal would not be in the starting lineup going forward.

[83][84] When Michigan defeated Charlotte 102–47 on November 26, the team set Battle 4 Atlantis records for points, margin of victory and shooting percentage (61%).

Walton returned from an ankle injury that sidelined him for three games, and posted 16 points, one rebound, one assist and one steal.

Walton finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, becoming the fifth player in Michigan program history to record a triple-double.

[87] Based on his triple double against Northern Kentucky and a 19-point effort against Youngstown State, LeVert earned Co-Big Ten Player of the Week honors (along with Malcolm Hill) on December 21.

Michigan showed its seventh different starting lineup of the season, as LeVert was out due to a lower left leg injury.

[127][128] On January 30, Michigan defeated Penn State 79–72 in the inaugural B1G Super Saturday game at Madison Square Garden.

[149][150] On March 1, the team announced that LeVert would sit out the remainder of the season to concentrate on his continued recovery after suffering a lower left leg injury at the end of December.

[154][155] Freshman Fred Wright-Jones, who has been a manager and practice player the entire season, was allowed to suit up for the game.

[156][157] After a bye in the first round of the 2016 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament, Michigan played Northwestern on March 10.

On Northwestern's final possession of regulation, Alex Olah forced overtime with a rebound and a field goal.

Irvin scored the game-winning basket in front of his hometown crowd at Bankers Life Fieldhouse with 3.3 seconds left.

Irvin led the way with a team-high 17 points, while Walton set a Big Ten tournament single-game record with 12 assists.

Robinson again put Michigan in position to win by tying the score with a three-point shot with 46 seconds remaining.

[175] Roster LeVert was one of four Big Ten athletes (along with Melo Trimble, Jarrod Uthoff and Denzel Valentine) among the 25 players included in the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List on January 13.

[176] On February 2, LeVert was one of two Big Ten athletes (along with Malcolm Hill) named one of 10 finalists for the Jerry West Award, despite having missed the last 8 of Michigan's 22 games.