The top battle this coming weekend will transpire in our nation’s capital between two of the premier teams in men’s college basketball, with the winner securing the inside track to land the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
While most games at this point of the season are conference games, No. 1 Michigan and No. 3 Duke will go toe to toe on Saturday night in a non-conference affair billed as the Edward Jones Capital Showcase at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
The Wolverines (25-1) and the Blue Devils (24-2) are scheduled to tip off at 6:30 pm EST on Feb. 21, with television coverage on ESPN. The media company’s popular “College GameDay” program will also be on hand from 10:00 am to noon on Saturday at the Capital One Arena.
Both Michigan and Duke are starting to pull away from their competition during the 2025-26 regular season in the Big Ten Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference standings, respectively.
Unless either has a late-season collapse, or gets bounced early in its conference tournament, the Wolverines and Duke are virtual locks to be No. 1 seeds in the upcoming Big Dance.
Michigan against Duke is a non-conference dandy
While Houston is No. 2 in the latest Associated Press and Coaches top-25 polls, make no mistake about it: The Wolverines and the Blue Devils are the two preeminent teams in the sport.
Michigan has been thumping its opponents all season long, with the most recent example being a 91-80 road win over No. 7 Purdue on Tuesday evening.
Last Saturday afternoon, Duke handled then-No. 20 Clemson by 13 points, 67-54. On Monday night, the Blue Devils destroyed Syracuse, 101-64, which was the Orange’s worst loss since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in the 2013-14 campaign.
Granted, Syracuse is having a woeful 2025-26 season, but the Tigers are one of the ACC’s better teams. What makes Duke and Michigan so impressive is their balance.
Each squad is inside the top seven of KenPom’s adjusted offensive and adjusted defensive efficiency. Overall, via KenPom, Michigan is No. 1, followed by Duke at No. 2.
The same holds true in the NCAA NET rankings, where the Wolverines possess the top spot, and the Blue Devils are No. 2. In combined quadrant-one/quadrant-two games, Michigan is a ridiculous 19-1. Duke isn’t far off, at 16-2.
No two teams have dominated their competition, or boast more enticing metrics, than the Wolverines and the Blue Devils. Additionally, Duke freshman big man Cameron Boozer is the favorite to capture the Naismith Player of the Year award, and Michigan graduate student forward Yaxel Lendeborg is a contender for first-team All-American status.
Saturday’s heavyweight bout in D.C. should be a bruiser, and a lot of fun.