Huskies head coach Dan Hurley has wanted to add more high-major programs to the early portion of the 2026-27 schedule. He seems to be getting his wish.
The non-conference schedule for the UConn men’s basketball team looks as if it will have a Big Ten flair.
Or a championship vibe.
Or a “this schedule is so tough what the heck is Dan Hurley doing” feel.
Actually, all of the above.
The reports came one after another on Wednesday that the 2026-27 Huskies were finalizing deals that, combined, will give the Huskies a brutal non-conference schedule.
Start with what we already knew: UConn will tangle with Duke on Nov. 25, the night before Thanksgiving, in Las Vegas.
The Huskies beat the overall No. 1-seeded Blue Devils in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament in March in a 73-72 stunner. Fans of both teams won’t ever forget the Braylon Mullins deep 3-pointer with less than a second remaining that sent Duke to the Final Four.
Then, add the reports of planned games that emerged Wednesday, which said UConn and Michigan – who beat the Huskies 69-63 in the national title game on April 6 in Indianapolis – have agreed to meet Nov. 6 in Boston.
Less than a month later, UConn and Illinois will face off in Chicago on Dec. 4, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
Officials at UConn, Michigan or Illinois didn’t confirm the reports, but it is likely official word will come soon.
When Hurley pencils in Michigan and Illinois alongside Duke on the schedule, he will be looking forward to a gauntlet that includes all of the Final Four teams from the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Why the aggressive schedule?
This is something that Hurley has been dreaming of – a schedule light on “buy” games and heavy on the heavy hitters of college basketball.
He told CBS Sports last December that he wanted more than the six high-major games he booked in the most recent non-conference season, when the Huskies played Florida, BYU, Texas, Kansas, Arizona and Illinois. UConn was 5-1 against those opponents, all of whom the Huskies played in a tight window from Nov. 15 through Dec. 12. The only loss in the group was to Arizona, by four points.
Kansas forward Flory Bidunga (40) and UConn guards Silas Demary Jr. (2) and Solo Ball (1) fight for a rebound during the second half of the game at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan., on Dec. 2, 2025. Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images"It's gone so well, next year we may go to eight of these big games, and three buys, because I hate the buy games," Hurley told CBS Sports after UConn's 77-73 win over Florida on Dec. 9.
"When I wake up the day of a buy game, I just want to go die. The anxiety, the fear that your team is -- the wrecking of a loss, or just how mad you get at your team when they underestimate a scrappy, loaded mid-major team. I hate those games."
Not done with high majors yet
In addition, the Columbus Dispatch reported Wednesday night that UConn and Ohio State will begin a home-and-away series in the 2026-27, with the Buckeyes traveling to Connecticut in the upcoming season and UConn headed to Columbus the following season.
So just how tough is this schedule, which is still a work in progress?
In the final Associated Press Top 25 rankings of the 2025-26 season, Michigan was No. 1 and UConn No. 2, followed by Arizona, Duke, and Illinois.
The Huskies were 34-6 (17-3 Big East) on the season.
Ohio State wasn’t ranked but earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament with a No. 8 seed, losing 66-64 to No. 9 TCU in the first round of East Region play.