Texas men’s basketball finalizes schedule with Connecticut, will host defending champs

Connecticut Huskies forward Samson Johnson , right, rebounds against Texas Longhorns forward Ze’Rik Onyema during the first half of the Empire Classic championship game at Madison Square Garden in New York City last November. Connecticut, which has won two consecutive national titles, will visit Austin on Dec. 8, the teams announced on Tuesday.

Texas men’s basketball finalized its contract Tuesday to bring two-time defending national champion Connecticut to Moody Center on Dec. 8 for a marquee nonconference matchup.

As first reported by CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein and confirmed to the American-Statesman in May, Texas will play the Huskies in a home-and-home series over the next two seasons. This upcoming season’s meeting will take place on a Sunday a month into the 2024-25 campaign and give the Longhorns a high-profile nonconference contest on their home court.

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A tip time and television network coverage for this year’s game in Austin will be announced at a later date.

The 2025 meeting will take place Dec. 12 at Connecticut.

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Last season’s nonconference schedule didn’t include a home games against such an 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. Texas head coach Rodney Terry vowed after last season’s nonconference slate to upgrade his team’s home schedule.

“At Texas, we’re going to have a marquee game or two at home, always,” he said in January. “This year, we weren’t able to have one of those. But moving forward, we will always have a great home-and-home series.”

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In the 2023-24 season, Connecticut beat Texas 81-71 at the Empire Classic in New York City in November.

Texas still has some compelling…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/texas-mens-basketball-finalizes-schedule-205131297.html

Author : Austin American-Statesman

Publish date : 2024-07-16 20:51:31

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