Eleven Games on Non-Conference Portion of U-M Men's Hoops Schedule
8/30/2021 2:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
• 2021-22 U-M Men's Basketball Schedule
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- David and Meredith Kaplan University of Michigan Men's Basketball Head Coach Juwan Howard announced today (Monday, Aug. 30) the Wolverines' 11-game non-conference schedule for the upcoming 2021-22 season.
Before U-M's non-conference schedule begins, the Maize and Blue will head to downtown Detroit for its lone exhibition game at Wayne State (Friday, Nov. 5). The Wolverines will be part of the grand opening of the Warriors' brand-new basketball arena. In partnership with the Detroit Pistons G-League team, the new 70,000-square-foot arena will support the Motor City Cruise as well as Wayne State's men's and women's basketball teams.
In a busy November schedule, Michigan will officially open its 2021-22 season with Buffalo on Wednesday, Nov. 10, before heading out for the first of five road games on the non-conference slate.
U-M will travel to the nation's capital for the first time since winning the 2017 Big Ten Tournament to play Prairie View A&M as part of the Coaches vs. Racism campaign on Saturday, Nov. 13. The neutral-site game is scheduled to be held at the Washington Mystics Entertainment & Sports Arena, but if ticket sales reach certain levels, the game could potentially move to the Capital One Center, home of the Washington Wizards.
After retuning, the Wolverines will host Seton Hall in the 2021 Gavitt Tipoff Games on Tuesday, Nov. 16. The match-up marks the first time in 32 years the Wolverines and Pirates will meet after squaring off in the 1989 national title game as well as the Duel in the Desert just eight months later.
Heading to the Entertainment Capital of the World, U-M will play a pair of games at T-Mobile Arena as part of the Roman Main Event in Las Vegas. The Wolverines will open with UNLV on Friday, Nov. 19, and play either Arizona or Wichita State on Sunday, Nov. 21. Heading back to Ann Arbor, U-M will close the Main Event with a home game against newly elevated Division I Tarleton State on Wednesday, Nov. 24.
After a week break and following the Thanksgiving holiday, U-M will begin one of its toughest stretches of its non-conference. First, the Maize and Blue head back to Chapel Hill, N.C., to take on North Carolina on Wednesday, Dec. 1, in the 2021 Big Ten/ACC Challenge match-up at the Dean Smith Center. The battle with the Tar Heels will be the fourth meeting over the last five seasons -- three in the Challenge and one at the 2019 Battle 4 Atlantis.
Closing that week, U-M will welcome former U-M assistant coach (1988-98) Brian Dutcher's San Diego State Aztecs to Crisler Center on Saturday, Dec. 4. The weekend match-up was originally set to be against Kentucky; however, due to uncertainties with scheduling, the Wildcats elected to not play this season. U-M and Kentucky are still scheduled to play at London's O2 Arena in December of 2022, and continued discussions are being made to reschedule both home games.
The following week, the Wolverines will have their two early conference games -- one home and one away. The Big Ten is expected to announce its breakdown of early and main conference games in the coming weeks.
The non-conference finishes with three games starting with Southern Utah traveling to Ann Arbor on Saturday, Dec. 18. After a final home game against Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday, Dec. 21, the Wolverines will finish the second half of the home-and-home series with Central Florida, traveling to Orlando on Thursday, Dec. 30, for a match-up at CFE Arena.
Michigan's Big Ten regular-season dates and opponents are expected to be announced within the next few weeks. For information on 2021-22 Michigan men's basketball tickets, please visit and complete the ticket interest form.
Non-Conference Schedule Quick Notes
• Michigan has 11 non-conference games -- six at home and five on the road.
• In the exhibition game at Wayne State, U-M will be part of the grand opening/dedication for the Warriors' new campus basketball arena. In 1998, the Wolverines played a dedication game for Eastern Michigan's Convocation Center (Dec. 9, 1998) -- an 86-63 win.
• U-M will take part in four events: Coaches vs. Racism (Prairie View A&M), Gavitt Tipoff Games (Seton Hall), Roman Main Event (UNLV, Arizona, Wichita State) and the Big Ten/ACC Challenge (at North Carolina).
• The Maize and Blue is 2-1 all-time in the Gavitt Games and holds an 8-11 record in the Challenge.
• Michigan and Seton Hall will meet for the first time in 32 years. U-M defeated Seton Hall for its only national title, "shocking the world" with an 80-79 overtime win on April 3, 1989 at the Kingdome in Seattle. The following fall, the Wolverines posted a 91-86 win over the Pirates at the Duel in the Desert (Dec. 23, 1989) at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
• The Big Ten/ACC Challenge game will feature former NBA players coaching at their alma maters -- U-M's Juwan Howard vs. UNC's Hubert Davis. Howard already has a win against the Tar Heels, following a 73-64 semifinal win in the 2019 Battle 4 Atlantis, which U-M went on to win.
• After recently getting elevated to NCAA Division I status in July 2020, Tarleton State -- a member of the WAC -- is coached by second-year head man Billy Gillispie, who has had DI coaching stops at UTEP (2002-04), Texas A&M (2004-07), Kentucky (2007-09) and Texas Tech (2011-12).
• The Wolverines' game at Central Florida closes a home-and-home series.
• Including the postseason, Howard's Wolverines have an 18-4 non-conference record over the last two seasons --- going 9-2 each season. Three of the four losses have come by a combined four points (two by 1, one by 2).
