The Duke basketball team has concluded a deal with Michigan basketball to square off on a neutral court during the 2025-26 season. The game will be played at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., and is likely to be played in February.
The Blue Devils’ February matchup with Illinois at Madison Square Garden this past season is comparable to this mid-conference matchup. With a 110-67 victory, Duke destroyed the Fighting Illini.
Since taking over as head coach of Duke, Jon Scheyer has made sure to put his squad through a demanding non-conference schedule, and the Wolverines will be a formidable opponent in Ann Arbor during the second year of the Dusty May era.
May has been working hard in the transfer portal this summer to reload for 2025–2026. Michigan is coming off a season in which it advanced to the Sweet 16 as a 4-seed before losing to 1-seed Auburn.
According to On3, the Wolverines have the second-ranked portal class in the country and acquired Yaxel Lendeborg, the top player in the portal overall. Aday Mara (UCLA, #5 center in portal), Morez Johnson (Illinois, #10 power forward in portal), and Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina, #14 point guard in portal) have all committed to Michigan in addition to Lendeborg from UAB.
In ESPN’s most recent “way-too-early” top 25 rankings for next season, Michigan is positioned at #7. Duke is ranked #10, so on a neutral floor, their matchup next season could be among the top ten.
Recently, Duke has received additional information about which players are remaining in the program and which are departing. In addition to Caleb Foster, Darren Harris, Isaiah Evans, Maliq Brown, and Patrick Ngongba II announcing their return to Durham in 2025–2026, Kon Knueppel, Tyrese Proctor, and Cooper Flagg have also declared for the 2025 NBA Draft.
Blue Devils haven’t added anyone yet, but Cedric Coward, the top transfer left, has Duke and Alabama as his final two alternatives if he decides to return to college the following season.
