Michigan Basketball: Ranking Wolverines 2019-20 non-conference opponents

10. vs Houston Baptist – November 22nd

This is the second game of the mainland part of the Battle 4 Atlantis and it isn’t much better than the first. To make it even worse the Wolverines have a full week off in between games. So the fans get treated to two bad games and a week of rest in between. At least the schedule picks up after this game but this should be another easy game. Houston Baptist went 12-18 last year and just Elon shouldn’t pose much a threat to the Wolverines. Michigan also last played Huskies in 2015 and beat them by 25. At least this will be a good primer for the actual tournament in the Bahamas.

9. vs UMass Lowell – December 29th

This is the last non-conference game for Michigan and it is nothing more than a warm-up for the thick of the Big Ten schedule. The last time these two teams met the Wolverines won by 27 after being tied at halftime. But that was way back in 2013 and both teams have been completely turned over. UMass Lowell did win 15 games last year, but that is about all the good things we can say. This is yet another game that most fans will skip over.

8. vs Appalachian State – November 5th

The only thing probably worth watching in this game is how many times the announcers mention the 2007 football game between these two teams. That is when the Mountaineers had a historic upset against the Wolverines who were ranked number five in the country. But this isn’t football and Appalachian State is not very good. They went just 11-21 last year and don’t look to be much better this year. Michigan needs to get out early or else everyone will be talking about if they could do the same thing in basketball as they did in football. The pressure could start to rise if that were to happen, but it probably won’t. Michigan is much better than the Mountaineers and it should show.

7. vs Presbyterian College – December 21st

This is the last of the “cupcake” games for the Wolverines. The Blue Hose is the only one of the mid-major teams to have a winning record that Michigan will play.  Even with the winning record they still finished in the middle of the Big South Conference. This should be a little bit better of a game for Michigan but still not one to write home about. It is the first game that Michigan will play after a stretch of seven tough games. It should be a nice relief from the grind of that part of the schedule but that is about it. At least the other six games should be good.