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Michigan Basketball: 2016 Non-Conference Schedule Released

By Tyler Fenwick

Mar 16, 2016; Dayton, OH, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Andrew Dakich (11) and guard Derrick Walton Jr. (10) celebrate during the second half against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the First Four of the NCAA men
Mar 16, 2016; Dayton, OH, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Andrew Dakich (11) and guard Derrick Walton Jr. (10) celebrate during the second half against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the First Four of the NCAA men /
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Michigan basketball released its 2016 non-conference slate of games, and there’s a lot to look forward to for Wolverines fans this season.

We interrupt the regularly scheduled coverage of Michigan football to bring you this flaming hot Michigan basketball take.

Related Story: UM needs D.J. Wilson for wing depth

OK, it’s not flaming hot, but it’ll still be fun.

The program officially released its slate of non-conference games for the upcoming season, so naturally we need to talk about how big-time teams typically make their non-conference schedules incredibly weak. Kidding. We’re not talking about that here.

The big match-ups to look forward to are against Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Texas, UCLA and then the 2K Classic games in New York City.

Michigan opens the season on Nov. 4 with an exhibition game against Armstrong State. That will be a special game for the Wolverines with former star Cazzie Russell returning to Ann Arbor as an assistant coach for the Pirates. Russell was named the College Basketball Player of the Year in 1966 after averaging 30 points per game for the Wolverines.

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“Cazzie called and asked that we use our exhibition game to play his team, Armstrong State,” Beilein said in a statement. “I said yes because it is always great when Cazzie returns to Ann Arbor. This time, however, he is with the other team. I am just glad he will not be in uniform playing against us.”

Michigan will play at home against Virginia Tech on Nov. 30 as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Last season the Wolverines beat North Carolina State 66-59.

After playing Howard and IUPUI in the regional games of the 2K Classic, the Wolverines head to New York City to face Marquette on Nov. 16 and either Pittsburgh or SMU the next day. If you remember last year when Michigan played SMU, it was maybe the ugliest thing of all time.

The games against South Carolina, Texas and UCLA are interesting in part because they’re relatively close together on the schedule (between Nov. 23 and Dec. 10). That could be a window where we learn a lot about the early-season Wolverines.

“We were successful in scheduling some very competitive home-and-home games for 2016,” said Beilein. “These games not only guarantee a strong RPI but provide our U-M fans some exciting non-conference games in Ann Arbor. These types of opponents have always proved to be excellent preparation for our tough Big Ten schedule.”

Next: Pressure on D.J. Wilson, Ibi Watson to step up

Only 99 days until Michigan is back on the hardcourt.

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