Thoughts on the Texas men's basketball non-conference schedule for 2025

The non-conference schedule for new head coach Sean Miller’s Texas Longhorns was officially released today, featuring a few marquee games, the Maui Invitational, and several games that will make fan engagement difficult. The list of games can be seen below.

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Obviously, the year starts off with a bang – traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina for a game against Duke that will be neutral site in name only, given that Durham is just over a two-hour drive from the Spectrum Center. The Blue Devils are unsurprisingly loaded once again after falling just short of the National Championship game last year, returning several crucial pieces like point guard Caleb Foster, wing Isaiah Evans, and center Pat Ngongba. They also add the potential top-overall pick in 2026, forward Cam Boozer and his brother, guard Cayden Boozer, as well as international scoring wing Dame Sarr, another possible lottery selection.

After that clash on the national stage, things get significantly less interesting.

A four-game home stand against Lafayette (13-20; 7-11 in the Patriot League), Farleigh-Dickinson (13-20; 8-8 in the NEC), Kansas City (13-20; 4-12 in Summit League), and Rider (14-19; 9-11 in MAAC) is not exactly murderer’s row. Not a single one of these teams is from a conference that produced more than one bid in last year’s NCAA Tournament. For reference, Warren Nolan’s conference rankings are as follows (out of 31):

• Patriot League – 27th
• NEC –30th
• Summit League – 16th
• MAAC – 23rd

These are not conference champions, either – many of them struggled to compete at the lower levels of college basketball. These are likely 40-point wins, and not exactly the most attractive games to pack the Moody Center during the fall.

After these four contests comes the Maui Invitational. The field is as follows:

• Arizona State
• Boise State
• Chaminade
• NC State
• Seton Hall
• Texas
• USC
• Washington State

Though these are at least bigger names than the previous few for Texas, none are considered locks to be Top 25 teams this upcoming season. Compared to last year’s field, which featured Auburn, Michigan State, North Carolina, Iowa State, Memphis, UConn, Dayton, and Colorado, this group is weaker, both in talent and in brand.

Still, it is a tournament Texas could win, with NC State and USC being the most likely spoilers. It could be a way to earn some favor with the committee before conference play starts, as very little of the remaining schedule will do much convincing.

The only real home game of interest in the non-conference slate will be a battle against the Virginia Cavaliers, who are similarly in their first year with a new head coach as Ryan Odom has taken the reins, leaving Virginia Commonwealth to replace the legendary Tony Bennett.

UVA will be no slouch this season, bringing in several high-level transfers in guards Dallin Hall and Jacari White, wing Malik Thomas, as well as two international big men Thijs de Ridder and Johann Grunloh.

Another “buy” game against 2024-25 SWAC champion Southern will follow before the Longhorns head to Storrs in an attempt to avenge their loss last season to UConn, who bullied Texas physically on their home floor in front of a sold-out crowd. The Huskies will be improved from last year, adding Georgia guard Silas Demary as well as returning Solo Ball, Jaylin Stewart, Alex Karaban, and Tarris Reed.

They cap off the season with home games against Le Moyne (9-23, 4-12 in NEC) and Maryland-Eastern Shore (6-25, 2-12 in MEAC), neither of which will likely draw much attention for a multitude of factors. It’s a whimpering end to an up-and-down (mostly down) home schedule – but if things go the way they could for Steve Sarkisian’s team, fans may be distracted.

Ultimately, it’s a schedule centered on three games, only one of which is at home. It’s a frankly inhospitable schedule to the fanbase, especially for a program that has lacked juice recently. It’s clear that Sean Miller is expecting the SEC to be a gauntlet, and that wins may not be easy to come by, especially considering which matchups happen to be on the road this year.

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However, this strategy of a softer non-conference can cut both ways; it Texas is unable to win any of their big games in pre-SEC play, there is even more pressure to compete against the Floridas and Auburns of the world. Either way, they should have, at worst, three or four losses before the real bulk of the season starts on January 3, 2026.