Last week, Texas men’s basketball released its non-conference schedule for the upcoming season and, right away, there are familiar yet daunting faces, such as back-to-back national champions, UConn.
The matchup with the Huskies is set for Sunday, Dec. 8 in Austin, but the at-home advantage will likely not be enough for Texas to take them down. In fact, despite it being so early, some analysts have already favored UConn to win its third consecutive championship in 2025.
Last season the Longhorns had a run-in with the champs in the Saatva Empire Classic in mid-November, along with Louisville and Indiana. Despite losing the matchup 81-71, Texas found its confidence against the team. While not having two of their starting players, the Longhorns who trailed UConn by 16 in the first half closed the gap by only four points with six minutes left of game play. Despite the clear inconsistency in their playing, Texas showed early on in its season that they could hold their own against big teams like Connecticut.
Besides UConn, there is much to look forward to in this season’s non-conference play. Texas will open the season against Ohio State in Las Vegas in the Hall of Fame Series on Nov. 4.
After the season opener, Texas will play its next three games at home, hosting Houston Christian, Chicago State and Mississippi Valley State. The Longhorns will also partake in the Legends Classic later in the month with opponents yet to be determined.
After the Legends Classic, they will take on NC State on the road, a team that made it to the Final Four in last year’s NCAA tournament and fell to Purdue.
The Longhorns will follow up that matchup by playing UConn, New Mexico State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, New Orleans and Northwestern State, all in the Moody Center in Austin.
Coming off a 21–13 season and reaching only the second round of the NCAA tournament, the Longhorns have added six transfer players and three incoming freshmen to help conquer the new Southeastern Conference.
With few notable opponents, the Longhorns will have their work cut out for them but will be a good experience for conference play later in the season. On the other side of the coin, the less significant teams could potentially help Texas get early-season wins that will be useful when the 2025 NCAA tournament comes around.
In ESPN’s “2024-25 men’s NCAA basketball rankings: Way-Too-Early Top 25,” Texas is projected as No. 22. With a completely different roster and new opponents, Texas will look to start off strong in non-conference play and build its way up in the rankings.