Will UConn visit Austin? Texas basketball looks to strengthen home nonconference schedule
After Texas completed its nonconference basketball schedule this past season, head coach Rodney Terry acknowledged that he wanted to upgrade his nonconference home slate.
He seems to be doing just that, based on a report from veteran college basketball reporter Jon Rothstein.
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According to Rothstein, Texas will play back-to-back national champion Connecticut in a home-and-home series beginning this upcoming season at Moody Center. Texas officials could not yet confirm any home nonconference games for the 2024-25 season, but Texas and UConn have been engaged in discussions for home-and-home games.
This past season, Connecticut beat Texas 81-71 at the Empire Classic in New York City.
The 2023-24 nonconference schedule didn’t include any home games against a marquee opponent, much to the dismay of some season-ticket holders as well as the analysts who use strength of schedule to help rate teams on a national basis.
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But Terry strongly hinted in January that would change as Texas preps for its debut season in the SEC.
“I always say you play the nonconference schedule to get you ready for conference play,” Terry said last season. “Obviously, we would love to start a really good home-and-home series, and we will find a really good home-and-home series at Texas because we can.
“But we also love playing neutral and playing big-boy games on the road and in great venues. Playing the UConn game in New York (in 2023), I mean, it's like playing Kansas in Kansas City, you know? You can't put a price tag on those type of nonconference games. But at Texas, we're going to have a marquee game or two at home, always. This year, we weren't able to have one of those. But moving forward, we will always have a great home-and-home series.”
Texas still has some compelling neutral-site games. The Longhorns will open next season on Nov. 4 in Las Vegas against Ohio State pending a final agreement, a UT source confirmed to the American-Statesman last week.
The Longhorns already know they will play in the 2024 Legends Classic at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Nov. 21-22 along with Syracuse, Saint Joseph’s and Texas Tech. Semifinal pairings and television coverage in that event will be announced later. They also know that they will compete in an 18-game conference schedule in their first season in the SEC.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Report: Texas basketball will host UConn to open home-and-home series
