Apparently, we don’t sleep in May. According to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, Michigan is set to host Villanova next season as part of a new home-and-home series:
Apparently, we don’t sleep in May. According to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein , Dusty May and the Michigan Wolverines are set to host Kevin Willard and the Villanova Wildcats next season as part of a new home-and-home series.
The Wildcats will host the Wolverines in 2026-27 to complete the series. Dates and times for both games have yet to be announced.
Michigan and Villanova have played six times, with Villanova winning four of those games. The most notable matchup came in the 2018 National Championship that featured a whopping 15 players who have appeared in at least one NBA game (Isaiah Livers, Mo Wagner, Zavier Simpson, Charles Matthews, Jon Teske, Jordan Poole, Duncan Robinson, Omari Spellman, Eric Paschall, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Phil Booth, Donte DiVincenzo, Jermaine Samuels and Collin Gillespie).
The Wolverines have not been opposed to testing themselves in non-conference play under May. The Wolverines are set to face Duke on a neutral site this upcoming season. Michigan played in the Jimmy V Classic against John Calipari and Arkansas last season.
Willard has plenty of Big Ten experience, with the coach coming off leading Maryland to a Sweet Sixteen appearance to cap off a three-year tenure where he posted a 65-39 record. He left Maryland on less-than-cordial terms , returning to the Big East after coaching at Seton Hall for more than a decade.
While Villanova has taken a step back from its blue blood days under Jay Wright, the Wildcats are expected to be competitive in the Big East under Willard. This will provide Michigan a test in the early months of the season.
Matchups like this create buzz for the sport during the opening months, a time when most of the sports-watching general public is focused on other sports. Games like this are great for Michigan and great for the sport as a whole.