Gameday preview: As Texas travels to UConn, will Sean Miller schedule more games like this?

When Sean Miller arrived at Texas, the home-and-home series with UConn was already on the 2025-26 schedule. The Southeastern Conference also made the ACC/SEC Challenge part of every member’s schedule, with Texas drawing Virginia. Additionally, the Longhorns were part of the Maui Invitational field. So of Texas’ non-conference slate, a few of the games had already been decided without Miller’s approval.

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Miller added the “neutral site” game with Duke after his hiring, then filled in the rest of the pre-SEC slate with a bunch of games against teams not likely to advance past the Quadrant 3 category when looking at NET, the official sorting tool for the NCAA Selection Committee.

That left Texas with a pedestrian-at-best home slate before conference play, which will invite teams like Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Florida, and Oklahoma to the Moody Center.

Those are quality games, but would Miller like a more challenging out-of-conference schedule as he continues his tenure at Texas?

“I think you have to have balance,” Miller said this week.

Miller identified the number of Quadrant 1 opportunities available in SEC play both at home and on the road. Those are the challenging games against top-30 teams in Austin and against top-75 teams in opposing arenas. Those are beneficial to a resume. So too are good non-conference games.

Miller is looking for the right amount.

“You can’t just go one complete way, whether that be just you play nobody,” Miller said. “We certainly don’t want to do that. I also think you have to be careful playing games. If you’re going to schedule UConn, you had better be real good. You better have a great team. You better have an experienced team. You’re like ‘look, we can win a national championship. We have all ducks in a row. Everything is good.’ It makes zero sense to play that game home and away and pick them as a game if you don’t feel that way. I would say ditto for Duke.”

A revealing quote summed up with another revealing quote: “Just to play the game to play it makes no sense,” Miller said.

Miller made it sound like his plans for non-conference scheduling in the future will depend on his faith in his team. So a lighter slate this season in year one of his tenure was the result. If he gets things going at a more advanced level?

“I think when you pull up non-conference scheduling, you’ve got to know who you are and I think you have to give yourself opportunities,” Miller said. “You also want to make sure that you’re getting ready in a lot of different ways for the beginning of conference play. Some of which is confidence.”

VIDEO: Sean Miller press conference – December 10

Additional reading

Keenan answered a few questions for UConn Report earlier today. The game will be on Fox and will air at 7 p.m.

How has Texas adjusted to new coach Sean Miller?

KW: “Texas has adjusted to Miller in a few notable ways so far, most notably their playing inside-out on the offensive end of the floor. Last year, the offense was simple – slip screens and/or high PNRs, and if those didn’t work (they usually didn’t), then it became the Tre Johnson show. Obviously they don’t have a transcendent talent like Johnson this season, so they’ve implemented new strategies, which mostly involves pounding the ball inside to Matas Vokietaitis, as well as more off-ball movement on the perimeter on sets that don’t directly involve the center. They did not have a big man with the touch, skill, or hands that Vokietatitis has in the previouis few seasons, so it’s been a very nice change to have some kind of reliable scoring on the interior and not completely relying upon superhuman self-creation. The offense has been very good aside from games against Duke and UVA. The issues have been more on the defensive end than offensive; they have struggled with perimeter rotations, over-rotating, and giving up open looks from deep. This will no doubt be a major factor in Friday night’s game.”

How does Texas stymie the UConn offense if it doesn’t force many turnovers?

KW: “Texas will struggle to slow down UConn’s attack, to be perfectly honest. Miller wants to load the gaps defensively, while Hurley will put those players into situations where they have to make quick decisions, and often times, they will guess wrong based on the sheer amount of variation in Hurley’s screen game. It’s a bad X’s-and-O’s matchup for the Longhorns without a doubt, and when you factor in the personnel disadvantages, I find it unlikely that Texas will be able to hang with them.”

What’s the game plan for Solo Ball on the perimeter?

KW: “I imagine for Solo Ball the strategy will revolve around Chendall Weaver and Simeon Wilcher. Dailyn Swain will be dealing with Alex Karaban likely, as Swain is the best two-way player on the team. Though Ball has a bit of size advantage over Weaver and some weight on Wilcher, those will be your best bet to keep Ball inefficient. He’ll get his points, but it’s important to keep him from doing it too easily. Players with legitimate three-point capability worry me more for this game, as stretching the floor against this particular Miller defense is an easy way to get their perimeter rotations out of whack. Karaban and Braylon Mullins will be very important in this one.”

What advantages does Texas have over UConn and what can they exploit?

KW: “There isn’t a real advantage Texas has over UConn, at least not one that is large enough to put the game in question. The best way for Texas to score in this game will likely involve empty-side actions with Jordan Pope, taking advantage of off-ball screening and allowing for Pope to utilize his ability as a movement shooter. Vokietaitis could make an impact, especially if he’s able to get Reed and Eric Reibe into foul trouble, something at which he’s been successful this year (if he doesn’t get into foul trouble himself first). He’s an excellent free-throw shooter as well, so if he’s fouled often, he’ll typically be able to convert thos attempts.”

Finish this sentence, Texas wins this game if…..

KW: “Texas wins this game if they shoot the lights out from three. They will need a performance like they had against NC State in order to hang around in this one – against the Wolfpack, they hit 16 of 32 three pointers. They need an absolutely stellar showing from beyond the arc. Additionally, they have to get Vokietaitis going inside; it’s an extra bonus if he can get some of the UConn bigs into foul trouble. Even still, I find it hard to imagine Texas leaving Hartford with a victory over a team better equipped to run their system with a much better roster and a very good amount of continuity to boot.”

Game notes via UT

wake up, it's GAMEDAY 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/8xsut00n8i

— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) December 12, 2025

Game 11: TEXAS (7-3, 0-0 SEC) at #5/5 UConn (9-1, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Friday, Dec. 12, 2025 – 7 p.m. Central / 8 p.m. Eastern
PeoplesBank Arena (15,495) – Hartford, Connecticut

GameDay Quick Facts

• TELEVISION: The game will be televised nationally by FOX with Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and Bill Raftery (analyst) on the call.
• RADIO: The Longhorn Radio Network broadcasts every UT game on the statewide network. Craig Way (pxp) and Eddie Oran (analyst) will call the action. Check TexasLonghorns.com for a listing of affiliates carrying the game.
• SERIES: UConn leads, 8-3. Last meeting: UConn 76-65 (Dec. 8, 2024; Austin).

Notables

• FAMILIAR FOES RECENTLY: Friday’s contest in Hartford marks the third consecutive year that the Longhorns have faced the Huskies. Texas and UConn faced off in Madison Square Garden during the 2023-24 season and met in Austin last year.
• CAREER NIGHT FOR MATAS: Sophomore C Matas Vokietaitis recorded a career-high 28 points while hitting 7-of-10 field goals and a career-best 14-of-14 free throws in Monday’s win over Southern. He tied the program record for most free throws made without a miss in a single game.
• SWAIN STUFFS THE STAT SHEET: Junior G/F Dailyn Swain leads the team in assists (35), steals (16) and minutes (29.0 mpg) and ranks second in scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (6.9 rpg). He has reached double figures in scoring in each of UT’s first 10 contests and is converting 56.6-percent from the floor and 83.3-percent from the free throw line this season.

Previous starting five for Connecticut

(77-73 win versus Florida)

F Alex Karaban: 13.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.2 apg
G Solo Ball: 15.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.6 apg
F Tarris Reed Jr.: 14.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.4 apg
F Jaylin Stewart: 6.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.1 apg
G Silas Demary Jr.: 10.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.1 apg

2025-26 Texas roster

Player	Number	Grade	PPG	RPG	APG	Previous School
Jordan Pope	0	Sr.	12.5	2.1	3.1	Oregon State
Cole Bott	1	Gr.	0.6	0.2	0.2
Chendall Weaver	2	Sr.	7.3	5.4	1.6	UT-Arlington
Dailyn Swain	3	Jr.	15.7	6.9	3.5	Xavier
Declan Duru Jr.	4	Fr.	1.6	1.3	0.0
Camden Heide	5	Jr.	7.2	2.6	0.9	Purdue
Simeon Wilcher	7	Jr.	9.4	2.4	1.8	St. John’s
Matas Vokietaitis	8	So.	15.9	6.6	0.2	FAU
John Clark	9	Fr.	N/A	N/A	N/A
Nic Codie	10	So.	5.5	3.5	0.5
Tramon Mark	12	Gr.	9.9	2.8	2.5	Arkansas
Lewis Obiorah	14	Fr.	N/A	N/A	N/A
Lassina Traore	23	Gr.	5.0	7.0	0.4	Xavier
Anthon McDermott	33	R-Fr.	1.2	0.6	0.4
Brandon Taylor	44	Gr.	1.0	0.3	0.0	East Texas A&M