Michigan men’s basketball is looking to add a high-profile nonconference game in the middle of Big Ten play next season.
According to reports on Wednesday, including one from CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, Michigan and Duke are finalizing an agreement to play each other in Washington, D.C., in February.
The teams last met on Dec. 3, 2013.
The game will take play at Capital One Arena, home of the NBA’s Wizards and the building where Michigan memorably won the 2017 Big Ten Tournament following a plane crash that delayed the team’s arrival to the event.
The 2025-26 Big Ten schedule has not yet been released, but teams typically resume conference play in January and don’t get outside of conference until a potential postseason matchup. Duke played a different Big Ten team last February 22, facing Illinois in New York.
Under third-year head coach Jon Scheyer, Duke went 35-4 last season, earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and losing to Houston 70-67 in the Final Four. The Blue Devils were 19-1 in the ACC behind consensus national player of the year Cooper Flagg. The freshman phenom is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in June’s NBA draft. Duke will likely have to replace several of its stars and will do so partly by bringing in three five-star recruits.
Michigan went 27-10 last season, Dusty May’s first as head coach. The Wolverines won the Big Ten Tournament and reached the Sweet 16 before losing to Auburn. Michigan will replace several starters and has used the transfer portal to do so.
Michigan is 8-22 all-time against Duke, having lost the last three meetings. Michigan’s last win in the series came in 2008 in Ann Arbor.
Next season, Michigan will play at TCU, face Wake Forest in Detroit, and compete in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.
