Duke basketball clash with top-five team on neutral floor reaches finalized date

In late April, it was reported that the Duke basketball program would face a potential preseason top-five team, Michigan, on a neutral floor next season. The game was scheduled to be played at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., sometime in February 2026. Now, an official date has been reached, as the Blue Devils and Wolverines will headline a marquee matchup on February 21st, 2026.

This contest has the potential to be one of the top games of the 2025-26 college basketball season up to that point, with both Duke and Michigan seen as top-ten squads in the nation heading into next year's campaign. At ESPN's most recent preseason top 25 rankings, the Wolverines are slotted at No. 8 and the Blue Devils sit at No. 12.

Duke's date with Dusty May's Wolverines will be one of seven high-major non-conference matchups for the Blue Devils throughout the 2025-26 season. Jon Scheyer's club will also face four more teams ranked currently ranked in ESPN's rankings in Kansas (neutral floor, No. 21 per ESPN), Arkansas (neutral floor, No. 11 per ESPN), Florida (home, No. 2 per ESPN), and Texas Tech (neutral floor, No. 10 per ESPN).

The Blue Devils will also take on two more squads through their non-con slate listed just outside the top 25 by ESPN: Texas to open the season on a neutral floor and a road matchup at Michigan State.

Michigan is looking to build on a highly successful first season with May at the helm, one where the Wolverines won the Big 10 Tournament, earned a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament, and made it to the Sweet Sixteen.

The Wolverines landed Yaxel Lendeborg, the No. 1 overall player in the transfer portal, and have the fifth-ranked portal class in the nation according to the On3 Transfer Portal Team Industry Rankings. In addition to Lendeborg from UAB, Michigan has sealed commitments from Aday Mara (UCLA, No. 5 center in portal), Morez Johnson (Illinois, No. 11 power forward in portal), and Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina, No. 17 point guard in portal).

This high-caliber matchup for the Blue Devils will come towards the end of the regular season and will cap off an absolute gauntlet of a non-conference schedule for Jon Scheyer's club.