See Michigan basketball schedule for title-defense 2026-27 season

Michigan basketball now knows its exact path to defending its national championship.

Big Ten Network hosted a special segment on Wednesday, Sept. 16, running through highlights from every league team's schedule before the Wolverines program announced the schedule in its entirety thereafter. Naturally, there are some highlights for the first season with coach Mike Boynton Jr. at the helm.

It starts in October, with a pair of interesting exhibitions; one against Oregon State (led by former U-M assistant coach Justin Joyner) and another against perennial power Houston, played in Grand Rapids. The non-conference also has a number of high-level matchups including a national championship rematch against UConn in Boston, a clash at home with Marquette, a game in Philadelphia against Villanova and another in Detroit against Louisville.

Michigan basketball 2026-27 roster for title defense

While Michigan leaves Ann Arbor for a number of games in its nonconference schedule, its first true road game doesn't come until its Big Ten opener against Rutgers in early December. From there, U-M only leaves Crisler Center once in the next month, when it goes to Nebraska in mid-January.

Later that month, Michigan has three out of four games on the road, traveling to Bloomington before its annual West Coast swing, this time with both Los Angeles-based schools in late January, before it returns home for the first of four rivalry matchups, hosting Ohio State.

Michigan will see MSU for the first time one day before Valentines Day, when Tom Izzo and the Spartans come to Ann Arbor on Feb. 13. That's the first of two meetings against the Spartans in a 13-day stretch − Michigan returns the trip to East Lansing on Feb. 26.

That's part of a difficult closing stretch, with four of Michigan's final six games on the road; at Minnesota, Penn State, MSU and then at Ohio State on senior day in Columbus.

The Big Ten Tournament begins the next week at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis; the Wolverines had great success there in 2024-25, winning the tournament the last time it was held in Indy in the first season under Dusty May.

A repeat will be a tall task, but Michigan is expected to be one of the better teams in the Big Ten. Its production is likely to come from its expected stars Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney, added transfers Moustapha Thiam (Cincinnati), JP Estrella (Tennessee) and Jalen Reed (LSU), freshman McDonald's All-American Quinn Costello, and expected development from returners Quinn Costello and Ricky Liburd.

U-M will also likely find out this week if Roddy Gayle Jr. will be granted permission from the courts to return for a fifth season . The Wolverines also had a projected top-20 NBA Draft pick in freshman Brandon McCoy Jr., but he will be out for the season after he tore his ACL on the team's trip to Europe last month.

Michigan basketball schedule for 2026-27

Here is the Wolverines' complete basketball schedule for the 2026-27 season, with most tip times and TV channels still to be announced.

Oct. 11: vs Eastern Michigan (exhibition) tip time and tv channel TB A

Oct. 16: vs. Oregon State (exhibition) tip time and tv channel TB A

Oct. 25: vs. Houston (exhibition in Grand Rapids), tip time and tv channel TBA

* Nov. 2: vs. Oakland, tip time and tv channel TBA

* Nov. 6: vs. UConn (TD Garden, Boston) tip time and tv channel TBA

* Nov 11: vs. Marquette, tip time and tv channel TBA

* Nov. 15: vs. William & Mary, tip time and tv channel TBA

* Nov. 21: vs. Villanova (Xfinitiy Mobile Arena, Philadelphia), tip time and tv channel TBA

* Nov. 24: vs. Creighton (T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas), 5:30 p.m. EST, ESPN

* Nov. 26: vs. Miami or TCU (T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas) 3:30 p.m. or 9 p.m., ESPN

* Nov. 27: vs. Gonzaga/Kansas State/Baylor/Alabama (T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas), tip time TBD, ESPN

* Nov. 28: (if qualified for title game) vs. Tennessee/Maryland/Iowa State/San Diego State/St. John's/Oregon/Louisville/Texas Tech (T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas), 10:30 p.m., ESPN

* Dec. 1 : vs. Mississippi Valley State, tip time and tv channel TBA

* Dec. 5: vs. Louisville (Little Caesars Arena, Detroit)

Dec. 9: at Rutgers, tip time and tv channel TBA

Dec. 12: vs. Northwestern, tip time and tv channel TBA

Dec. 21: vs. Detroit Mercy, tip time and tv channel TBA

Dec. 30: vs. Toledo, tip time and tv channel TBA

Jan. 2: vs. Washington, tip time and tv channel TBA

Jan. 5: at Nebraska, tip time and tv channel TBA

Jan. 8, vs. Purdue, tip time and tv channel TBA

Jan. 12: vs. Minnesota, tip time and tv channel TBA

Jan. 16: at Indiana, tip time and tv channel TBA

Jan. 19: vs. Oregon, tip time and tv channel TBA

Jan. 23: at USC, tip time and tv channel TBA

Jan. 26: , at UCLA, tip time and tv channel TBA

Jan. 30: vs. Ohio State, tip time and tv channel TBA

Feb. 6: at Wisconsin, tip time and tv channel TBA

Feb. 9: vs. Illinois, tip time and tv channel TBA

Feb. 13: vs. Michigan State, tip time and tv channel TBA

Feb. 16: at Minnesota, tip time and tv channel TBA

Feb. 20: vs. Iowa, tip time and tv channel TBA

Feb. 23: at Penn State, tip time and tv channel TBA

Feb. 26: at Michigan State, tip time and tv channel TBA

March 4: vs. Maryland, tip time and tv channel TBA

March 7: at Ohio State, tip time and tv channel TBA

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Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia .