Michigan fans, keep your calendar clear for the first weekend of November.
Michigan basketball has officially locked in a national championship rematch with UConn on Friday, Nov. 6 in Boston, the program announced Tuesday, June 2. The game will be played at TD Garden, home of the Boston Celtics, on TNT with a tip time that’s to be determined.
“What an exciting opportunity to face Coach Hurley and UConn again,” Michigan basketball coach Dusty May said in a statement. “It’s also a game our fans will really look forward to. Anytime you get two programs like this together that early in the season, it’s going to be a great test and a great atmosphere.
“Playing in Boston should make it even more fun for our players and everyone traveling out to support us.”
Michigan beat UConn 69-62 last April in Indianapolis to win the program’s second national championship in program history. It capped the best season in the history of U-M hoops, as the program won a record number of games (37), set a Big Ten record for league wins (19) and became the first team in the conference to go undefeated in road league games in 50 years.
The Wolverines are 2-2 all-time against the Huskies, with almost every game played in the 60’s. Michigan lost 69-61 in 2009, won 68-63 in 2010 and fell 74-60 in 2015 in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
There will be a lot of new faces in this game − Michigan saw six players leave the program after running out of eligibility (Yaxer Lendeborg, Roddy Gayle Jr., Nimari Burnett and Will Tschetter) or leave early for the NBA (Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr.) − but two key returners for the Wolverines are Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney.
Cadeau, the lead point guard, was named Most Outstanding Player of April’s Final Four, while McKenney hit the key 3-pointer in the final two minutes to seal the victory for Michigan.
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 sets date for national title rematch vs UConn
