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Michigan basketball schedules neutral-site series with Wake Forest

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Michigan basketball schedules neutral-site series with Wake Forest

Michigan basketball will play Wake Forest in North Carolina next season as part of its nonconference schedule.

The Wolverines made the official announcement on Monday, with the programs agreeing to a two-year series that will be played at neutral sites.

The first matchup against the Demon Deacons is set for Nov. 10 in Greensboro at the Greensboro Coliseum, which is located less than 30 miles from Wake Forest’s campus in Winston-Salem.

The venue for the return game in Michigan during the 2025-26 season is TBD. According to multiple national reports, it will be played in Detroit.

“It’s a great opportunity to create a unique series with a storied program like Wake Forest,” Michigan coach Dusty May said in a statement. “What’s more significant, is providing our fan bases a highly competitive game in an exciting, and hopefully tournament-type atmosphere, early in the season over the next two seasons.”

The two games will mark the second and third meetings between the programs. Wake Forest beat Michigan the first time the two teams faced off, 71-60, on Nov. 28, 2000, in Ann Arbor.

The Demon Deacons finished 21-14 overall, went 11-9 in ACC play and missed the NCAA Tournament last season under fourth-year coach Steve Forbes. They competed in the NIT and were bounced in the second round by Georgia.

The Wake Forest contest will be the first of two neutral-site nonconference games in North Carolina next season. Michigan will also take on Oklahoma in the third-annual Jumpman Invitational in mid-December in Charlotte.

As for the rest of the Wolverines’ known nonconference opponents, they will host TCU on Nov. 15 and Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 18 and reportedly will face Arkansas in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 10 at Madison Square Garden. Michigan will also participate in the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Nov. 25-27 in Florida, where it will play two games against a field that includes South Carolina, Virginia Tech and Xavier.

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

@jamesbhawkins

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