UConn men's basketball announces loaded nonconference schedule for 2025-26

UConn men’s basketball fans will have plenty to be excited for in the early part of the 2025-26 season.

The Huskies officially announced their loaded nonconference schedule on Tuesday, which includes six games against power conference opponents that will be ranked in or around the top 25 before the season begins. UConn, ranked No. 4 in the way-too-early top 25 rankings ESPN put out in July, will have a handful of opportunities to prove itself early on.

A pair of October exhibitions against Boston College (Oct. 13 at Mohegan Sun) and Michigan State (Oct. 28 at PeoplesBank Arena) will help get the team prepared for its season-opener against New Haven on Nov. 3, which is beginning its transition to Division I. UConn’s schedule opens with three straight at home against regional opponents as UMass Lowell and Columbia will each get their shot at the Huskies on Nov. 7 and 10, respectively.

UConn’s first road trip will be a short one to Boston for what should be a top-10 matchup against BYU – somewhat of a homecoming for Southborough, Mass. native Alex Karaban and Brockton, Mass. native AJ Dybantsa, the top-ranked recruit in the freshman class.

The Huskies will return home to begin their home-and-home series with Arizona, another team that will likely be ranked in the preseason top-20 with a pair of top-15 recruits in Koa Peat and Brayden Burries, as well as Bryce James, the youngest son of NBA superstar Lebron James. The game on Nov. 19 will be hosted on campus at Gampel Pavilion with the return game to take place in Tucson next season.

Bryant will come to CT for its first matchup against the Huskies since 2014 on Nov. 23. Then the Huskies will make their first trip of the year to Madison Square Garden, where they’ll meet Illinois in a rematch of the 2024 Elite Eight on Nov. 28. That game against the Illini, another perennial top-25 team, is part of a two-game neutral site series, which will conclude at the United Center in Chicago in the 2026-27 season.

Fans will get another chance to see the Huskies at the historic Phog Allen Fieldhouse as they visit Kansas for the second time in three years on Dec. 2, their first true road game of the season. The Jayhawks served UConn one of its three losses in thrilling fashion during the 2023-24 campaign and will make a return trip to Connecticut next season.

UConn will host East Texas A&M for the second year in a row on Dec. 5 before returning to MSG for a much-anticipated matchup of the last two national champions at the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 9. The Huskies gave the Gators a run for their money in the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament before Florida went on to win its third national championship since 2000.

The Huskies will close the nonconference slate with another power conference opponent at home as Texas will visit PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford on Dec. 12. UConn is 8-3 all-time against Texas and will get its first look at the Longhorns under the leadership of former Xavier coach Sean Miller.

UConn’s full 2025-26 schedule, including tip-times, TV information, remaining venue designations and the Big East conference slate will be available in the coming weeks, according to a release.