Michigan basketball schedules blockbuster Duke game in D.C. for February 2026
Though Michigan football tends to draw the most attention, Dusty May and Michigan basketball are certainly working to wrest much of the offseason hullaballoo away.
Whether it's the addition of Yaxel Lendeborg, despite him appearing to be NBA draft-bound, or getting top-tier talent via high school recruiting, May has completely overhauled expectations in Ann Arbor in short order. And now, there will be another marquee matchup to go along with the rest of it.
The Wolverines were already set to face an ACC team, Wake Forest, with a game held at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit this season. But Michigan basketball announced on Tuesday morning that it has finalized a late-season nonconference game against Duke to be held in Washington D.C. on February 21.
The two storied programs are best known for meeting in the NCAA Tournament Championship Game back in the Fab Five era, but they last met 13 years ago in Durham.
Full release:
In conjunction with the Gazelle Group, the University of Michigan men's basketball team announced today (Tuesday, June 24) its inclusion in the Duel in The District against Duke on Saturday (Feb. 21) at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
Scheduled near the tail end of the Big Ten regular season, the Wolverines meet the Blue Devils for the first time in 13 years. The last meeting was during the 2013 ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham. After falling behind by 10 at the half (32-22), U-M matched Duke in the second half (47-47) but was unable to overcome that first-half deficit, falling 79-69 (Dec. 4). Overall, U-M holds an 8-22 record against Duke.
The Duel in The District marks the seventh neutral-site game between Michigan and Duke. Three of the previous six have been during the NCAA Tournament, including the 1992 national championship, the 1964 Final Four and the 2011 second round, when U-M fell 73-71 as a late game-tying Darius Morris lay-up rattled off the rim. The last neutral game was in the 2011 Maui Invitational (Nov. 22) -- an 82-75 Duke win.
Michigan makes its way back to the nation's capital for the first time since participating in the Coaches vs. Racism match-up against Prairie View A&M (W, 77-49; Nov. 13, 2021). The Wolverines return to Capital One Arena for the first time since winning four games in four days to claim the 2017 Big Ten Tournament. That year, U-M went on its championship run after being involved in a team plane crash while leaving for the conference tournament.
The Maize and Blue are guided by Dusty May, who in his first season led the Wolverines to a 27-10 record, won the Big Ten Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 for a sixth straight NCAA Tournament. Duke is led by head coach Jon Scheyer, who closed his third season with the Blue Devils posting a 35-4 record, winning the ACC (19-1) regular season and tournament titles before falling to Houston, 70-67, in the Final Four.
All ticketing information, television details and tip time will be announced later. However, for early access to tickets before the public sale, sign up for email updates here.
Whoever wins the game will certainly have a big advantage when it comes to NCAA Tournament seeding.
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