On Wednesday, the Big Ten revealed the full schedules for all the men’s and women’s basketball programs. We already knew the opponents for the Wolverines, but now we know when and where the games will happen, which is just as important as the opponents.
Here’s a look at Michigan’s conference schedule:
Dec. 9: at Rutgers
Dec 12: vs Northwestern
Jan. 2: vs Washington
Jan. 5: at Nebraska
Jan. 8: vs Purdue
Jan. 12: vs Minnesota
Jan. 16: at Indiana
Jan. 19: vs Oregon
Jan. 23: at USC
Jan. 26: at UCLA
Jan. 30: vs Ohio State
Feb. 6: at Wisconsin
Feb. 9: vs Illinois
Feb. 13: vs Michigan State
Feb. 16: at Minnesota
Feb. 20: vs Iowa
Feb. 23: at Penn State
Feb. 26: at Michigan State
March 4: vs Maryland
March 7: at Ohio State
That breaks down like this, as our Dan Plocher expanded on in mid-May.
Home-and-Home
Michigan State, Ohio State, Minnesota
Home
Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Northwestern, Oregon, Purdue, Washington
Away
Indiana, Nebraska, Penn State, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Wisconsin
Here are my instant reactions to this schedule:
- Ending the season with three out of four games on the road seems tough on paper, especially with two of those games (at MSU, at Ohio State) being rivalry games. You’d hope chemistry is at a good level at that point of the season, but it’s a tough test nonetheless.
- To me, the biggest advantage for Michigan on this schedule is NOT having to face Purdue, Iowa or Illinois on the road. All those teams expect to be back in the NCAA Tournament and got good players return, but it’s a huge advantage Michigan doesn’t have to play in those raucous environments.
- That road trip out west is later in the season than it has been in previously years. Instead of being in California during winter break like Michigan was two years ago, Michigan will face USC and UCLA in late January.
- On paper, the toughest part of this schedule is probably the three-game stretch to kick off February (at Wisconsin, vs Illinois, vs Michigan State). That’s the time of year when you want your team to be turning a corner, so hopefully Michigan is playing well when that stretch comes around.
- I do like that Michigan eases into Big Ten play. I don’t expect Rutgers, Northwestern or Washington to make the tournament, so it’s very likely Michigan travels to Nebraska with a 3-0 conference record.
- We may learn more about this team from the tough non-conference schedule than we do from Big Ten play.
If you haven’t seen it already, here is Michigan’s complete non-conference schedule, per the program’s website, starting with the exhibition games.
Exhibitions
Oct. 11: vs. Eastern Michigan
Oct. 16: vs. Oregon State
Oct. 25: vs. Houston
Non-conference games
Nov. 3: vs. Oakland
Nov. 6: vs. UConn
Nov. 11: vs. Marquette
Nov. 15: vs. William & Mary
Nov. 21: at Villanova
Nov. 24: vs. Creighton at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas
Nov. 26: vs. Miami or TCU in Las Vegas
Nov. 27: vs. Players Era Placement/Semifinal Game in Las Vegas
Nov. 28: vs. Players Era Championship Game in Las Vegas (if Michigan qualifies)
Dec. 1: vs. Mississippi Valley State
Dec. 5: vs. Louisville in Detroit
Dec. 21: vs. Detroit Mercy
Dec. 30: vs. Toledo
What are your takeaways from Michigan’s schedule? Let us know in the comments below.