Utah Men’s Basketball Releases Non-Conference Schedule for 2019-20

While we approach the exictment of football season, and with fall camp kicking off in a matter of weeks, Utah basketball has jumped into the news with their release of the non-con schedule for the coming season. Highlighting the schedule are the return trip to Nevada, Minnesota coming to SLC, BYU returning to the Huntsman, Utah going to Vegas to take on Kentucky and LA to take on San Diego State.

It’s a solid non-con schedule for the Utes. It’s not as ambitious as last season’s, especially with Nevada likely taking a step back. It’s got a nice mix of some scheduled wins and some challenges with the likes of UK and SDSU.

This team is going to be very different looking this coming season, which is par for the course for the program right now. The hopes of this team rests on the shoulders of some young, but very talented sophomores and freshmen that are coming into the program.

What do you think of the schedule? Want to see more or less big name games? Will the Utes finally beat UK?

Here’s the full release below from the Utah SID if you want to check that out:

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah men’s basketball head coach Larry Krystkowiak announced the Runnin’ Utes 2019-20 non-conference schedule on Tuesday.

Five home games, a road trip to Nevada and neutral court contests that include jaunts to Myrtle Beach, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, highlight the Utes’ 12-game non-conference schedule. Utah could face a total of seven teams that won at least 20 games a season ago, along with the possibility of facing up to six teams that earned 2019 NCAA Tournament berths.

“We are very excited about the upcoming season, and look forward to getting back in the gym and gearing up for what is sure to be a great non-conference schedule,” said coach Krystkowiak. “This schedule provides a tremendous challenge for our squad and it will help us prepare for the upcoming Pac-12 season.”

Utah is set to open the regular season on the road playing at Nevada on Tuesday, Nov. 5. The Utes will open its campaign away from the Huntsman Center for the first time since 1995 when Utah faced Kansas in a neutral court match-up in Kansas City. It will mark the first true season-opening road game for Utah since 1976 when the Utes played at Weber State.

Utah will return home later that week for its home-opener, as the Runnin’ Utes will host Mississippi Valley State on Friday, Nov. 8. A week later, the Utes will host Minnesota on Friday, Nov. 15, concluding its two-year home-and-home agreement with the Gophers.

The following week, Utah will head east to compete in the Myrtle Beach Invitational, which will take place Thursday-Sunday, Nov. 21-24, at HTC Center in Conway, S.C. A total of eight teams are set to compete in the three-game tournament that will be put on by ESPN, including 2019 NCAA Tournament teams Villanova, Baylor and Mississippi State, along with Tulane, Middle Tennessee, Coastal Carolina and Ohio. The Utes will open the tournament on Thursday, Nov. 21, taking on Coastal Carolina. For ticket and travel package information, along with a complete bracket, click here.

Utah returns home for a three-game home stand, beginning with a home contests against UC Davis that following Friday, Nov. 29, and then taking on BYU at the Huntsman Center that next Wednesday, Dec. 4, in the Deseret First Duel. The Utes will wrap-up the home stand hosting Central Arkansas on Saturday, Dec. 7.

One week later, Utah will head down the road to face Weber State in the Beehive Classic, which will take place Saturday, Dec. 14, at Vivint Smart Home Arena. This will mark the third year of the in-state tournament, which also includes BYU taking on Utah State that same day. Utah will then head to Las Vegas to face SEC foe Kentucky, in a neutral court battle against the Wildcats on Wednesday, Dec. 19, at T-Mobile Arena. The Utes will then head straight to Los Angeles to wrap-up non-conference play, taking on San Diego State in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. The one-day double-header will feature the Utes and Aztecs, along with LSU taking on USC. Both games will be played on Saturday, Dec. 22, at Staples Arena.

In addition to the five regular season home contests, the Utes will also host the University of Texas-Tyler in exhibition play to open the season. The Utes and Patriots are set to get the season underway on Wednesday, Oct. 30, at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

Season tickets can be purchased by calling the Utah Athletics Ticket Office at (801) 581-UTIX (8849) or online at https://utahtickets.com/basketball/#season-tickets. The Utah One Pass is also available for purchase. A Utah One Pass provides general admission access to a wide variety of Utah home contests, which includes tickets to all men’s basketball non-conference home games.