Michigan Basketball Releases 11-Game Non-Conference Schedule
The first day of Michigan basketball's season is still over a month away, but things are starting to take shape. Per an official release from the university, Michigan's non-conference schedule is now complete. The full release can be seen below.
Featuring six home games and five neutral-site contests, the University of Michigan men's basketball team announced Wednesday (Aug. 17) its 11-game non-conference schedule for the upcoming 2022-23 season.
After an exhibition game against Ferris State on Friday, Nov. 4, U-M starts the regular season hosting Purdue Fort Wayne on Nov. 7. The Wolverines are 1-0 all-time against the Mastodons, who shared the 2022 Horizon League title with Cleveland State and closed with a 21-12 record.
In the first of three straight neutral-site games, the Wolverines will begin the stretch by heading to Detroit to face Washtenaw County foe Eastern Michigan on Nov. 11 at Little Caesars Arena. The matchup marks a second visit for the Wolverines in LCA after they defeated Detroit Mercy on Dec. 16, 2017. Overall, U-M is 21-3 against the Eagles and the teams will face each other for the first time in eight years -- the last being a 45-42 EMU win on Dec. 9, 2014.
Staying on the road, U-M will head to Brooklyn, N.Y., for the 2022 Legends Classic at the Barclays Center. In a two-game series on Nov. 16-17, the Wolverines will face two of three other invited teams -- Arizona State, Pittsburgh and VCU.
Returning to Ann Arbor for a three-game slate, the Wolverines will host Ohio University on Nov. 20. With a 3-1 all-time record, U-M will take on the Bobcats for the first time since they defeated the Wolverines in the first round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Just before Thanksgiving, the Maize and Blue will play Jackson State for the first time on Nov. 23.
The November homestand closes with Virginia coming to Ann Arbor as part of the 2022 ACC/Big Ten Challenge. In the fifth all-time meeting, the Wolverines face the Cavaliers in the Challenge for a second time and first since 2011 -- a 70-58 Virginia win at John Paul Jones Arena. U-M has an 8-12 record in the Challenge, while Virginia is 13-8 -- the third best of all Challenge teams.
With the calendar turning to December, U-M travels to London, England, for a matchup with perennial power Kentucky on Dec. 4 at O2 Arena. The game is part of the London Showcase, which also will feature a game between Marist and Maine. The game will be the eighth in the all-time series with Kentucky (2-5) and first since Aaron Harrison's last-second three-pointer ended the Wolverines' 2014 NCAA run in the Elite Eight.
Following a pair of early Big Ten home/away games, the Wolverines will host Lipscomb for the first time on Dec. 17 at Crisler Center. Three days later, U-M travels to Charlotte, N.C., for the 2022 Jumpman Invitational, which features games with the four original Jordan Brand programs -- Michigan, North Carolina, Florida and Oklahoma. In the inaugural event, both Maize and Blue squads will take on the Tar Heels, with the women's game on Dec. 20 and the men on Dec. 21.
The non-conference portion if the schedule closes against in-state foe Central Michigan on Dec. 30. In the first game between the teams in five years, the Wolverines hold a 22-3 overall record against the Chippewas.
In early June, the Big Ten designated opponents for the Wolverines' 20 conference games. U-M will have three home games at Crisler Center against Nebraska, Ohio State and Purdue as well as three single road games at Illinois, Iowa and Rutgers. Along with the traditional home-and-home series with intrastate rival Michigan State, U-M will play home-and-home series with Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State and Wisconsin.
The 2023 Big Ten Tournament heads back to Chicago and the United Center (March 8-12), while the NCAA Final Four will be held in Houston, Texas, at NRG Stadium (April 1-3).
Notes
• Michigan's first day of practice is Monday, Sept. 26
• The Wolverines will face Jackson State and Lipscomb for the first time.
• Michigan meets North Carolina for the fifth time in the last six years.
• U-M associate head coach 's son, Jimmy, is VCU's director of basketball operations.
• U-M director of player personnel spent nine years as the head coach of Central Michigan (1998-2006).
• U-M could face three former Wolverine transfers -- Frankie Collins (Arizona State) and VCU's Zeb Jackson and Brandon Johns Jr.
• U-M is making its third trip to Legends Classic (2011, '15, 22). The 2015 event was held at the Barclays Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.), while the 2011 event was at Boardwalk Hall (Atlantic City, N.J.).
• U-M has a 3-2 all-time record in the Barclays Center.
• U-M is hosting its first ACC/Big Ten Challenge game since 2018 (North Carolina). The Wolverines were scheduled for a 2020 matchup with N.C. State, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 within the Wolfpack program (replaced with Toledo). U-M is 5-4 at Crisler Center in Challenge games.
• U-M plays two in-state programs for the first time since the 2017-18 season (Central Michigan, Detroit Mercy -- at LCA
