U-M basketball adds games, including clash vs. Virginia Tech

The Michigan basketball schedule is almost finished for the 2024-25 season after the program announced three new nonconference opponents as well as its opening matchup for the Fort Myers Tip-Off during Thanksgiving week.

Michigan will face Virginia Tech in the Beach Division of the Fort Myers Tip-Off at 6 p.m. Nov. 25, with the game televised on FS1. U-M will then play again two days later on Nov. 27 against either South Carolina or Xavier; the Beach’s consolation game is first at 6 p.m., with the championship to follow about 30 minutes after its conclusion.

Virginia Tech finished 19-15 (10-10 ACC) last season under head coach Mike Young. After making the NCAA tournament in five of six seasons between 2016-22 (though they were bounced in the first round four times), the Hokies have missed the NCAA tournament in consecutive seasons.

The Hokies’ roster is almost as remade as the Wolverines’; Virginia Tech added five players from the transfer portal, with players from Duke (Jaden Schutt), VCU (Toibu Lawal), Cal (Rodney Brown), Temple (Hysier Miller) and Charleston (Ben Burnham). However, Virginia Tech’s No. 65-rated transfer class is not as highly regarded as Michigan’s, which is ranked No. 11 by 247 Sports.

Michigan is 4-2 all-time against Virginia Tech, though it has lost the past two matchups, including a 73-70 defeat in 2016, when U-M blew a 10-point second-half lead.

The program also announced a trio of nonconference games set for Ann Arbor. Michigan is now set to open the season against Cleveland State (Nov. 4) and has a pair of opponents during Christmas break when the students are gone, with games vs. Purdue Fort Wayne (Dec. 22), and Western Kentucky (Dec. 29).

The Wolverines are also scheduled to play Wake Forest on Nov. 10 in Greensboro, North Carolina, and both TCU and Miami (Ohio) at Crisler Center on Nov. 15 and Nov. 18, respectively.