Utah Runnin' Utes head coach Alex Jensen is heading into his first season at the helm of his alma mater. Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Utah's Alex Jensen teases 'one to two' more nonconference games for Runnin' Utes in 2025-26 season

Originally posted on Utah Utes on SI | By Cole Forsman | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 6:30 PM ET

As an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks this past season, Alex Jensen heard teams that didn't qualify for the NCAA Tournament harp on and on about why they should've made the 68-team field and how the selection committee snubbed them because of the conference they're associated with or the nonleague schedule they played.

Now heading into his first season as head coach of the Utah men's basketball program, Jensen doesn't want to find his Runnin' Utes in a similar position at the end of the 2025-26 campaign.

"We're trying to play a good schedule," Jensen said during an episode of Jon Rothstein's new college basketball podcast. "You hear the stories and the reports about who should have got in [the tournament] and who shouldn't have got in, so we're cautious of that. Plus being back for the first journey, you want to have a good schedule for your fans."

The Utes have assembled a nonleague schedule that's highlighted by the 2025 Acrisure Series (Nov. 25-28) and a matchup against Mississippi State at the Delta Center in December. Jensen told Rothstein that while his team's nonconference schedule is a "competitive one," it isn't quite finalized just yet.

"We made calls to most of the tier one teams," Jensen said in regard to Utah's scheduling efforts. "And [the nonleague schedule is] almost done ... I think we have one or two more games then it'll come out."

Jensen added that generally teams don't like to travel far for nonconference games, but in Utah's case, there aren't many scheduling options left that make sense from a geographical standpoint.

Utah's last nonconference schedule under previous head coach Craig Smith included nine home games, a matchup against Mississippi State at the Landers Center (semi-away) and a date with Iowa at the Sanford Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota (neutral). The Runnin' Utes finished 16-17 before bringing in Jensen to steer the ship back in the right direction.

Jensen assembled his coaching staff and went to work in the transfer portal to rebuild Utah's roster from scratch. The Utes reeled in Elijah "Choppa" Moore (5.2 ppg at Syracuse), 6-foot-8 forward James Okonkwo (6.9 ppg at Akron), 6-foot-3 guard Terrence Brown (20.6 ppg at Fairleigh Dickinson), 6-foot-6 wing Jahki Howard (4.2 ppg at Auburn), 6-foot-7 forward Seydou Traore (5.9 ppg at Iowa) and 6-foot-8 forward Babacar Faye (15.2 pgg at Western Kentucky). They also landed three-star recruit Kendyl Sanders, Finnish point guard Elmeri Abbey and 6-foot-3 guard Jacob Patrick from Germany.

Utah's matchup matrix for Big 12 play was released by the league earlier this month. The Utes have three home-and-home matchups and face their other 12 league opponents just once, with six contests at home and six on the road during the 2025-26 season.