Michigan basketball to play Duke at Madison Square Garden in December

Michigan basketball has added a familiar heavy hitter to its 2026-27 schedule.

For the second year in a row the Wolverines will play Duke, this time at historic Madison Square Garden in New York on Monday, Dec. 21, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Free Press on condition of anonymity because they weren't permitted to speak publicly.

Michigan and Duke met last season at Capital One Arena in Washington in February, one of three U-M losses all year as the Blue Devils won, 68-63.

Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) walks towards the locker room as the team arrive for the national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026.

Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) rides a golf cart towards the locker room as the team arrive for the national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026.

Michigan guard Nimari Burnett (4), right, and guard L.J. Cason (2), left, ride a golf cart towards the locker room as the team arrive for the national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026.

Michigan guard Roddy Gayle Jr. (11) rides a golf cart towards the locker room as the team arrive for the national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026.

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Michigan basketball tips off vs UConn for 2026 NCAA championship

Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) walks towards the locker room as the team arrive for the national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026.

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Michigan basketball tips off vs UConn for 2026 NCAA championship

Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) walks towards the locker room as the team arrive for the national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026.

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Michigan basketball tips off vs UConn for 2026 NCAA championship

Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) rides a golf cart towards the locker room as the team arrive for the national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026.

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Michigan basketball tips off vs UConn for 2026 NCAA championship

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Michigan basketball tips off vs UConn for 2026 NCAA championship

Michigan guard Roddy Gayle Jr. (11) rides a golf cart towards the locker room as the team arrive for the national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026.

This is the third known matchup on U-M's upcoming schedule, with Michigan already lined up to play Marquette in the first of a home-and-home and play Villanova in the return trip to Pennsylvania after Michigan hosted the Wildcats last December.

Many believed Michigan and Duke were headed for a rematch last season in the NCAA Tournament, two of the three favorites to win the title for much of the season along with Arizona. Instead, Duke blew a 19-point lead to UConn, which ended with a 30-foot game-winning shot by Braylon Mullins with 0.3 seconds left to cap the historic Duke collapse.

LAST YEAR'S GAME: Michigan basketball stumbles down stretch vs Duke in battle of 1-seeds

Michigan would go on to beat UConn in the title game, 69-63, to win the program's second national championship.

This game for Duke against Michigan is reportedly one of three games the Blue Devils will participate in as part of a three-game package with Amazon: it also includes a rematch against UConn in Las Vegas on Nov. 25, and a game against Gonzaga on Feb. 20 in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena.

Duke, like Michigan, is expected to be one of the best teams in the nation in 2026-27. The Blue Devils return Caleb Foster, Patrick Ngongba II, Dame Sarr and Cayden Boozer and added former Wisconsin standout (a Michigan native and Brother Rice alum) John Blackwell.

Wisconsin guard John Blackwell (25) dribbles against Michigan guard Nimari Burnett (4) during the first half of Big Ten Tournament semifinal at United Center in Chicago on Saturday, March 14, 2026.

Michigan has also remade its roster with a trio of transfer portal additions − Moustapha Thiam, J.P. Estrella and Jalen Reed − as well as six incoming freshmen in Brandon McCoy Jr., Quinn Costello, Joseph Hartmann, Malachi Brown, Lincoln Cosby and Marcus Moller.

The Wolverines also return a pair of key contributors in the back court in Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney, while Oscar Goodman and Ricky Liburd are expected to take on additional roles.

Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball to play Duke at Madison Square Garden in December