Big 12 releases Utah basketball's conference schedule

The Utah Runnin' Utes received a clear image of their conference schedule on Tuesday, as the Big 12 revealed the 18-game slate for all its league members with just a few weeks to go until the start of the college basketball season.

Utah, which released its full nonconference schedule in August, will face seven programs that advanced to last season's NCAA Tournament during league play in 2025-26, though Alex Jensen and company will only see one of those teams (BYU) twice on the calendar before the Big 12 Tournament in March.

Following nonleague action, the competition will ramp up significantly for Utah in the Big 12, as three of its first four conference opponents rank No. 27 or better in Bart Torvik's 2026 T-Rank projections. The tough sledding is set to start with the Runnin' Utes' league opener on Jan. 3 against Arizona (No. 12 on Torvik), with matchups against No. 6 BYU (Jan. 10) and at No. 27 Texas Tech (Jan. 14) following their second league game of the season at Colorado (Jan. 7).

What will be Utah's toughest stretch in league play?

Admittedly, Utah probably won't get many breaks while navigating its way through the Big 12, which happens to be the only conference in the country in which every one of its teams is ranked No. 100 or better in Torvik's preseason forecast.

As for the toughest stretch the Runnin' Utes could potentially face, the first week of February appears to be quite daunting; a road trip to Allen Fieldhouse to face No. 17 Kansas (Feb. 10), followed by a date with last season's national runner-up and Torvik's No. 1 team going into the 2025-26 campaign, Houston (Feb. 15); with consecutive road trips to No. 32 Cincinnati (Feb. 18) and No. 57 West Virginia (Feb. 15) to follow.

Utah's only other stretch featuring back-to-back road games is toward the end of January, when the Runnin' Utes take on No. 61 Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas (Jan. 20), before coming back to their home state to battle BYU at the Marriott Center (Jan. 24).

In Utah's 11-game stretch from Jan. 10-Feb. 18, Jensen and company will face seven top-50 Torvik teams, starting with the Jan. 10 matchup at home against the class of 2025's top overall recruit, AJ Dybantsa, and BYU. The Runnin' Utes will also host No. 49 Oklahoma State (Jan. 31) and Houston (Feb. 10) during that pivotal stretch.

Other teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season that'll visit the Jon M. Huntsman Center in 2026 include Arizona and No. 15 Iowa State (Feb. 24).

When does Utah's season start?

The first glimpse at the new-look Runnin' Utes will come on Oct. 17, when Nevada pays Salt Lake City a visit for an exhibition game at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. They'll then hit the road for a second friendly against Oregon on Oct. 24.

Utah officially tips off the Jensen era with a six-game homestead, starting Nov. 3 with a matchup against San José State and continuing through the first three weeks of November. 

Utah Runnin' Utes 2025-26 nonconference schedule

*Part of Acrisure Series MTE

• Oct. 17: vs. Nevada (exhibition)
• Oct. 24: at Oregon (exhibition)
• Nov. 3: vs. San Jose State
• Nov. 8: vs. Weber State
• Nov. 10: vs. Holy Cross
• Nov. 15: vs. Sam Houston State
• Nov. 18: vs. Purdue Fort-Wayne*
• Nov. 20: vs. Cal Poly
• Nov. 25: vs. Grand Canyon* (Palm Desert, California)
• Nov. 26 vs. Iowa/Ole Miss* (Palm Desert, California)
• Dec. 2: at Cal
• Dec. 6: vs. Cal Baptist
• Dec. 13: vs. Mississippi State (Delta Center)
• Dec. 20: vs. Eastern Washington
• Dec. 29: at Washington

Utah Runnin' Utes Big 12 schedule

• Jan. 3: vs. Arizona
• Jan 7: at Colorado
• Jan. 10: vs. BYU
• Jan. 14: at Texas Tech
• Jan. 17: vs. TCU
• Jan. 20: at Kansas State
• Jan. 24: at BYU
• Jan. 31: vs. Oklahoma State
• Feb. 4: vs. Arizona State
• Feb. 7: at Kansas
• Feb. 10: vs. Houston
• Feb. 15: at Cincinnati
• Feb. 18: at West Virginia
• Feb. 21: vs. UCF
• Feb. 24: vs. Iowa State
• Feb. 28: at Arizona State
• March 3: vs. Colorado
• March 7: at Baylor

Big 12 Tournament (T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri)

• March 10: First round
• March 11: Second round
• March 12: Quarterfinals
• March 13: Semifinals
• March 14: Championship

Torvik's Big 12 preseason projections

National rank in parentheses

1. Houston (1)
2. BYU (6)
3. Arizona (12)
4. Iowa State (15)
5. Kansas (17)
6. Texas Tech (27)
7. Cincinnati (32)
8. Baylor (34)
9. Oklahoma State (49)
10. TCU (56)
11. West Virginia (57)
12. Kansas State (61)
13. Utah (62)
14. Arizona State (72)
15. UCF (83)
16. Colorado (100)