Piecing together the UConn men’s hoops 2025 non-conference schedule so far
To understand the significance of the 2025 UConn men’s basketball non-conference schedule, you need to look back at last season’s game versus Dayton.
Head coach Dan Hurley lost as many games in three days as he did the entire season prior. Team-leader Alex Karaban exited the game with a head injury and was taken to the hospital. The Huskies were outrebounded in two contests and gave up 99 points in the other.
Mighty UConn was reeling – and it was still November.
Hurley had enough, vowing to never schedule another Multi-Team Event (MTE) while coaching the Huskies.
“I’m not doing another three-game MTE again,” the two-time championship-winning coach told the media. “Moving forward, we will only play home-and-homes and single-game events in big time arenas.”
Hurley’s comments drew attention from the media, with many asking how the Huskies were going to pull off such a feat – dancing around the MTE-laden Feast Week to find teams also trying to avoid the rising Player’s Era Festival and NIL-woven tournament landscape.
If there’s one thing college basketball fans should know by now, it’s to never doubt coach Hurley and his staff.
UConn inked six games versus Power Five teams for 2025-26, all of whom made the NCAA Tournament last season. Included on that slate are the defending national champion Florida Gators, the AJ Dybantsa-led BYU Cougars and notoriously tough Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence.
The team also released the dates of five games against mid-major opponents, including Division I’s newly minted New Haven Chargers.
Below is a list of the UConn Huskies’ non-conference schedule (released as of July 14), complete with dates, arenas and days of the week.
New Haven (Hartford/Storrs), Monday, Nov. 3
The Huskies and Chargers have never met — and it’ll be New Haven’s first game at the Division I level. This game will more than likely take place inside Harry A. Gampel Pavilion, with 10 of the last 11 openers being hosted in Storrs (Stonehill, 2022).
UMass-Lowell (Hartford/Storrs), Friday, Nov. 7
The Riverhawks last came down to Connecticut in 2018, falling 97-75 in Storrs. The Huskies are 2-0 all-time versus UMass-Lowell (2015, 2018), winning by an average of 12 points. Pat Duquette recorded his lowest win total in four years in 2024-25 (17) and may start a lineup made entirely out of transfers.
Columbia (Hartford/Storrs), Monday, Nov. 10
Columbia is 0-3 all-time versus Connecticut, with all three losses coming between 2011 and 2017 (average margin of -10.6 points). The school announced the hiring of reigning national champion Kevin Hovde as the school’s next head coach back in March, and with the change at the helm came a change in philosophy; the Lions utilized the transfer portal the most out of any Ivy League team, bringing in two underclassmen from Richmond and NYU, respectively. Columbia started last season 11-1 before limping to a 1-14 finish.
BYU (TD Garden), Saturday, Nov. 15
The Cougars and Huskies last met in the 2003 NCAA Tournament, when UConn edged BYU 58-53 in the first round. Coach Kevin Young’s squad currently sits at No. 8 in Jon Rothstein’s Rothstein 45 and will be led by blue-chip prospect AJ Dybantsa and returning wing Richie Saunders. The flight to Boston will be BYU’s most eastward trip as schedules stand today.
Arizona (Hartford/Storrs), Wednesday, Nov. 19
UConn is 5-2 all-time versus Arizona (including a 2011 Elite 8 victory), losing the last two against Tommy Lloyd’s Wildcats in 2017 and 2018. The November matchup will be the first of a home-and-home series that will pivot to Tucson in 2026. The Cats will be led by returning point guard Jaden Bradley and boast a five player freshman class.
Bryant (Hartford/Storrs), Sunday, Nov. 23
The Huskies and Bulldogs have only met twice, with UConn taking both games by 30 and 13 points, respectively (2008, 2014). Bryant is fresh off an America East championship and trip to the NCAA Tournament (L, Michigan State). The Bulldogs’ 2025-26 roster is quite young, listed with six freshman and four sophomores as of July 12.
Illinois (Madison Square Garden), Friday, Nov. 28
The first and only meeting between these schools came during the 2024 NCAA Tournament – when the Huskies detonated the Illini with a 30-0 run to reach the Final Four. Brad Underwood brought in a pair of high-profile transfers and two Serbian recruits projected to play meaningful minutes in an attempt to replace the loss of two backcourt starters.
Kansas (Lawrence), Tuesday, Dec. 2
Most recently meeting in Lawrence, KS during the 2023-24 season, UConn has yet to beat Kansas through two meetings (2016 NCAA Tournament, 2023). The Huskies will have two shots in the next two seasons, with the home-and-home series coming back to Connecticut in 2026. Kansas is 74-7 at home dating back to 2020 (Stathead) and projects to be strong again heading into 2025.
East Texas A&M (Hartford/Storrs), Friday, Dec. 5
The only meeting between these two schools happened last year, when the Huskies boat raced the Lions 81-46 in Storrs. East Texas A&M brings back a solid amount of production from last season and brought in one NAIA and three DII transfers, all of whom averaged over 13.5 points per game.
Florida (Madison Square Garden/Jimmy V Classic), Tuesday, Dec. 9
The Huskies will have a shot at revenge during the Jimmy V Classic when they meet the defending champs in “Storrs South” for an early December contest. UConn leads the all-time series 5-2, with the most recent Husky victory coming in 2022 (75-54 in Gainesville). Florida will be led by one of the country’s best frontcourts and a pair of elite guards, making them one of the top teams in the country heading into 2025.
Texas (Hartford/Storrs), Friday, Dec. 12
New Texas head coach Sean Miller has familiarity with the UConn program and will visit Connecticut in mid-December as a part of a home-and-home series with the Huskies. Texas is 1-5 versus UConn all-time, with the Huskies taking last year’s game 76-65 in Austin.
