Michigan Basketball: 2019-20 season preview for the Wolverines
By Adam Childs
Key Non-Conference Games
Nov 12 – vs Creighton – Gavitt Tipoff Games
Nov 27 – vs Iowa State – Battle 4 Atlantis
Nov 28 – vs Alabama or North Carolina – Battle 4 Atlantis
Nov 29 – Gonzaga/Southern Miss/Oregon/Seton Hall – Battle 4 Atlantis
Dec 3 – @ Louisville (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
Dec 14 – vs Oregon
The Wolverines fans should be excited about the Wolverines non-conference schedule this year. While five of their games are against bad mid to low major teams, the six games listed above should be great.
Michigan hosts Creighton in their second game of the year in the annual Gavitt Tipoff Games. The Wolverines blew out Villanova last year in this game and will hope to get an early big win again this year. The Blue Jays will be a tough game, but playing at home should give the Wolverines the edge.
The Wolverines get to go to the Bahamas for Thanksgiving this year as they head down there to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis for the second time. They draw an Iowa State team that also lost a lot off of last year’s tournament team in the opener. It should be a pretty evenly matched game and one the Wolverines can definitely win.
In the second game, they either get to either play a very good Alabama team or get a top-five North Carolina team for the third straight year. Either team should give the Wolverines a big test and show the country where Michigan stands.
The final game could see the Wolverines play Gonzaga, Seton Hall, Southern MIss, or Oregon. Each team besides Southern Miss is projected to make the tournament this year and are fringe top ten teams.
If the Wolverines play Oregon it would be first of two games against the Ducks as they host them in mid-December in the first of a home-and-home series. Oregon should be a fun game as it’s a team that the Wolverines rarely play, better yet at home.
The toughest scheduled game comes in early December as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge when the Wolverines head to Louisville to take on the Cardinals. Many experts are predicting Louisville to be a Final Four favorite. It will be one of the toughest road games of the year for the Wolverines and if they could pull off the upset it would be a huge win.
The non-conference slate will show us a lot about the Wolverines and if they can make it into Big Ten play 8-3 or 9-2 then Michigan could be a team ready to make some noise in the Big Ten.