The Michigan Wolverines' basketball program will take part in the 2020 Empire Classic benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project in Madison Square Garden next season, alongside a loaded field that consists of Baylor, NC State and Villanova.
U-M will play two of the three aforementioned teams in New York from Nov. 19-20 (matchups have not yet been set), while also hosting two regional games against lesser opponents leading up to the championship round.
Though not much is yet known about it, the Maize and Blue's 2020-21 non-conference schedule is once again setting up to be a daunting slate.
In addition to the Empire Classic, the Wolverines will also play Kentucky in London on Dec. 5, will travel to Oregon to take on the Ducks on an unknown date, and will likely host an ACC opponent in the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
If this 2019-20 college basketball season is any indication, next year's Empire Classic should be a dandy.
Baylor currently holds a 16-1 record and the No. 1 ranking in the nation, and already owns notable victories over the likes of Villanova, Arizona, Butler, Texas Tech and Kansas.
The Bears' only loss of the year occurred at the hands of Washington, 67-64, in Alaska on Nov. 8.
Villanova, meanwhile, owns a 15-3 record and the No. 9 ranking in the nation, and has caught fire after a rocky 4-2 start to the year, winning 11 of its last 12.
Fortunately for the Wolverines, they have performed incredibly well in pre-conference tournaments in recent years, having won three of their last four.
The streak started in the 2016 2K Classic when the Maize and Blue destroyed Marquette and SMU in back-to-back games at Madison Square Garden to take home the tournament title, and the success continued in 2018 when U-M took down George Washington and Providence to win the Hall of Fame Tip-off in Uncasville, Conn.
Michigan's best pre-conference tournament showing in recent memory, however, was undoubtedly this season, when head coach Juwan Howard's crew took down Iowa State, North Carolina and Gonzaga over a three-day span to take home the Battle 4 Atlantis title, with the 82-64 victory over the now-No. 2 Bulldogs in the championship being the crowning achievement.
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