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Houston Cougars Basketball Set to Face Michigan in Massive Exhibition Game

Houston will indeed be taking on the defending national champions prior to the season.
Maanav Gupta|
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson and his son, assistant Kellen Sampson, watch during a practice for the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, March 18, 2026.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson and his son, assistant Kellen Sampson, watch during a practice for the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

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Houston Cougars

Over the past few years, Houston Cougars basketball has scheduled an exhibition showcase game prior to the start of the season to further develop the new team before the real games begin.

Last year, Houston faced off against an SEC opponent in Mississippi State in a showcase at the Fort Bend Epicenter in Rosenberg, Texas. The Cougars played Texas A&M the year prior at home in Fertitta Center.

It's quite different in 2026. This is likely the biggest exhibition game the Cougars have had recently.

Houston will be facing the defending national champions Michigan in an exhibition during The Battleground 2k26 in Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Oct. 25, announced on Tuesday by the event organizers.

The time and network have yet to be finalized.

Houston's Special Exhibition

While the score is never important in an exhibition game, as coaches are trying out different rotations and schemes, this will still be as enticing a showdown as it can get prior to the season. Houston will be making the trip all the way out to Michigan and will also face an early road environment.

Grand Rapids is about two hours away from Ann Arbor. Given that the program will be traveling all the way up north for something like this shows the potential value it holds. Houston has four new starters and it's possible that six new transfer players will see playing time this season.

Houston will need all the preparation it can get for the long grind of a Big 12 schedule. Houston graduate transfer forward Delrecco Gillespie will also return to his home state for this game. Gillespie's hometown of Benton Harbor, Mich., is about 80 miles away.

The Cougars and Wolverines have only faced each other three times in regular-season series history, with Michigan winning two out of the three. The Wolverines won the first two games before the Cougars took the most recent regular-season matchup back in 1968 in Houston.

The most recent game between them overall was in the NCAA Round of 32 in 2018. That game featured one of the most iconic finishes in recent March Madness history, as Jordan Poole drained a game-winning, buzzer-beating shot that sent Michigan to the Sweet 16.

Mike Boynton Jr. is the new coach for the Wolverines after national title-winning coach Dusty May moved on to the head coaching position of the Dallas Mavericks. Kelvin Sampson's team could learn a lot from a game like this.

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Maanav Gupta
MAANAV GUPTA

Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.

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