3 Instant Takeaways From Michigan's 2026-27 Big Ten Conference Schedule

The Wolverines look to defend their Big Ten title next season, and we now know who Michigan is going to face. Dusty May will begin preparing right away.

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On Tuesday, the Big Ten Conference announced the conference slate for each team in the 2026-27 season. We now know which teams will enter Crisler Center to take on the defending Big Ten Champions, and where the Wolverines will have to travel.

There are three teams Michigan will play a home-and-home with next season: Ohio State, Michigan State, and Minnesota.

Then Michigan will host the following teams: Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Northwestern, Oregon, Purdue, and Washington.

Finally, the Wolverines will travel to: Indiana, Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, and Wisconsin.

Here are some instant takeaways from the news.

Michigan gets Minnesota for a home-and-home for the first time since 2022-23

Clearly, Michigan will always get Ohio State and Michigan State in a home-and-home — or at least it should. Last season, it was Penn State that had a home-and-home with the Wolverines. And for the first time in four seasons, the Wolverines and Gophers will play against each other twice in the regular season.

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And in the last 10 meetings, it's been a dead-even match. Michigan has won five games against Minnesota and lost five against the Gophers in its last 10 tries. Since 1999, Michigan is 30-17 against the Gophers and Michigan will look to add a couple more wins to its tally this season.

Michigan won by 10 in Ann Arbor this past season.

West Coast trip has been kind to Michigan, will it continue?

Since Oregon, USC, UCLA, and Washington came over to the Big Ten in the 2024-25 season, the Wolverines are a perfect 4-0 when playing each team on the road in the regular season.

This past year, Michigan beat both Oregon and Washington, and two seasons ago, the Wolverines took care of UCLA and USC on the road. This season, Michigan will travel to California to take on both the Trojans and Bruins — likely in a back-to-back.

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Both USC and UCLA are expected to be much improved this season. The Trojans gained a lot from the portal, while UCLA was already competitive and should remain so once again. Dusty May has the logistics figured out for his team thus far, and we will see if that continues.

Michigan's away schedule appears tougher by default on paper

Things change every year in the ever-changing landscape of college basketball. But if we look at this past season's standings, Michigan will host Maryland, Oregon, and Northwestern, which were 15-17 in the Big Ten standings.

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Hosting both Illinois and Purdue is also nice, but the away schedule will feature a few more difficult trips. If things stay true to this past season, games at Nebraska, Wisconsin, and UCLA will be difficult. Playing at USC and Indiana won't be easy games either — never know what you are going to get from the Hoosiers.

Overall, it feels like a very balanced schedule, and the chances of both Oregon and Maryland being as bad as they were this past season are slim to none.