Michigan Basketball announces three home games

The Michigan basketball team’s schedule is almost complete, and a few more announcements on Wednesday give the public a good idea of ​​the challenges ahead for new head coach Dusty May and the Wolverines.

Michigan announced nonconference home games against Cleveland State (Nov. 4), Purdue Fort Wayne (Dec. 22) and Western Kentucky (Dec. 29).

“We’re not quite done yet, but we’re getting close!” the Michigan men’s basketball team’s social media account posted regarding the non-conference schedule. MLive has confirmed a total of 10 non-conference games, leaving just one more to be finalized.

Overall, it’s a challenging schedule with at least five games outside of Ann Arbor, but the latest announcements don’t fall into that category.

Opening day of the 2024-25 college basketball season brings Cleveland State to Crisler Center. Michigan has a 9-0 overall record against the Vikings, who went 21-15 overall last season, including an 11-9 record in the Horizon League. They picked up one win in a postseason tournament, the CBI.

Daniyal Robinson enters his third season as head coach and must replace his three top scorers from last season.

Purdue Fort Wayne also finished the Horizon season 11-9 (and 23-13 overall), losing in the CIT title game. The Mastodons – the only Division I program with that nickname – have four of their five regulars back in the team. Jon Coffman is back for his 11th season as head coach. Michigan has won both previous meetings, most recently the 2022-23 opener.

Western Kentucky (22-12) went just 8-8 in Conference USA last season but won the league tournament after defeating the top two seeds. The Hilltoppers – another unique mascot – received automatic entry to the NCAA Tournament and, as the 15th seed, trailed second-seeded Marquette by seven points at halftime before losing. The strong finish helped Steve Lutz to the Oklahoma State coaching job after just one season as head coach. (He replaced current Michigan assistant Mike Boynton Jr.) Michigan has lost three of its five meetings with Western Kentucky, the last meeting coming early in the 2007-08 season.

All three non-conference matchups are guaranteed or “bought” games, meaning Michigan would pay the opposing team to visit. Michigan lost two such games last season, to Long Beach and McNeese, and one the year before that to Central Michigan.

In addition to the 20 Big Ten games, below are the confirmed non-conference games that are on Michigan’s schedule for next season.

2024–25 Michigan Men’s Basketball Non-League Schedule:

November 4: Cleveland State

November 10: Wake Forest (Greensboro, North Carolina)

November 15: TCU

November 18: Miami, Ohio

November 25: Virginia Tech (game starts Fort Myers in Fort Myers, Florida)

November 27: South Carolina or Xavier (Fort Myers Tip-Off in Fort Myers, Florida)

December 11: Arkansas (Jimmy V Classic in New York)

December 18: Oklahoma (Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte, North Carolina)

December 22: Purdue Fort Wayne

December 29: Western Kentucky