Back in June, the Big 12 Conference released the scheduling matrix for men’s and women’s basketball for the upcoming season, revealing how often and where each of the league’s 16 institutions would play their conference opponents.
On Thursday, the dates for those matchups were released.
For Utah, that meant getting their first Big 12 schedule in hand.
The Utah men head into their inaugural season in the Big 12 coming off a year where the Runnin’ Utes advanced to the NIT semifinals, but the team went through heavy personnel changes — involving both players and coaches — following a 22-15 season.
The Utah women have advanced to the NCAA tournament each of the past three seasons — including reaching the second round last year as part of a 23-11 year — while the Utes must replace All-American forward Alissa Pili.
What will that first season in the Big 12 — 20 conference games for the men, and 18 for the women — look like for both programs?
Utah men’s basketball 2024-25 schedule
Here’s a look at the full schedule for the Utah women this season, broken into nonconference and Big 12 play:
Nonconference schedule
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Nov. 4 — Alcorn State
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Nov. 7 — Central Arkansas
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Nov. 12 — Queens
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Nov. 17 — vs. Mississippi State*
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Nov. 22 — Utah Tech
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Nov. 26 — Mississippi Valley State&
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Nov. 30 — Eastern Washington&
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Dec. 7 — Saint Mary’s
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Dec. 14 — Radford
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Dec. 17 — Florida A&M
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Dec. 21 — vs. Iowa^
* at Landers Center (Southaven, Mississippi)
& Mountain to Sea Showcase (at Huntsman Center)
^ at Sanford Pentagon (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
Big 12 schedule
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Dec. 31 — at Baylor
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Jan. 4 — vs. Texas Tech
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Jan. 7 — at Iowa State
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Jan. 11 — vs. Oklahoma State
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Jan. 15 — at TCU
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Jan. 18 — vs. BYU
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Jan. 21 — at Houston
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Jan. 25 — vs. Baylor
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Jan. 28 — vs. Cincinnati
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Feb. 1 — at Oklahoma State
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Feb. 5 — vs. Colorado
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Feb. 8 — at West Virginia
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Feb. 11 — at Cincinnati
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Feb. 15 — vs. Kansas
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Feb. 17 — vs. Kansas State
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Feb. 23 — at UCF
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Feb. 26 — at Arizona
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March 1 — vs. Arizona State
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March 4 — vs. West Virginia
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March 8 — at BYU
What stands out about the Utah men’s basketball’s Big 12 schedule
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The headliner for Utah is its home game against blue blood program Kansas on Feb. 15. The Jayhawks are coming off a season where they advanced to the NCAA tournament’s second round.
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Two days later, on a Monday, the Utes will host Kansas State as part of a rare long weekend of basketball.
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The Runnin’ Utes’ first Big 12 home game will come just after the new year on Jan. 4 against Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are coming off a 23-11 season where they made the NCAA tournament.
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Sandwiched around that home game against Texas Tech are two difficult road contests at Baylor (Dec. 31) and Iowa State (Jan. 7), with Utah’s matchup against the Bears opening Big 12 play for the Utes. Baylor was a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament last year and was upset in the second round, while Iowa State was a No. 2 seed and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
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Utah will also play at Houston before the end of January, taking on the Cougars on the road on Jan. 21. Houston was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament last year and made it to the Sweet Sixteen.
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One other difficult road game comes at old Pac-12 rival Arizona on Feb. 26, two weeks before the regular season ends.
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The Utes will play BYU twice, now that the rivals are back in the same conference. Utah, which beat the Cougars at the Huntsman Center last year, will host BYU on Jan. 18, while the Utes will travel to Provo on March 8 in the regular-season finale.
Utah women’s basketball 2024-25 schedule
Here’s a look at the full schedule for the Utah women this season, broken into nonconference and Big 12 play:
Nonconference schedule
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Nov. 4 — vs. Southern Utah
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Nov. 7 — vs. Weber State
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Nov. 14 — at Northwestern
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Nov. 18 — vs. McNeese State
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Nov. 22 — vs. Saint Joseph’s
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Nov. 24 — vs. Montana State
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Nov. 29-30 — Cayman Island Classic, vs. TBD
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Dec. 5 — vs. Utah State
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Dec. 8 — vs. Princeton
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Dec. 14 — at Washington
Big 12 schedule
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Dec. 21 — vs. Arizona State
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Dec. 31 — at Arizona
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Jan. 5 — at Iowa State
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Jan. 8 — vs. Kansas State
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Jan. 11 — vs. Houston
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Jan. 14 — at Baylor
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Jan. 17 — at TCU
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Jan. 22 — vs. Kansas
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Jan. 25 — at BYU
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Jan. 31 — vs. Arizona
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Feb. 5 — at Texas Tech
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Feb. 8 — vs. UCF
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Feb. 12 — vs. Colorado
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Feb. 18 — vs. Oklahoma State
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Feb. 23 — at Cincinnati
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Feb. 26 — at West Virginia
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March 1 — vs. BYU
What stands out about the Utah women’s basketball’s Big 12 schedule
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The Utes will open Big 12 play against a couple of familiar faces — hosting Arizona State on Dec. 21 before playing at Arizona 10 days later. Both the Sun Devils and Wildcats came over to the Big 12 from the Pac-12 with Utah, as did Colorado, this offseason.
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In Utah’s first league matchup against a legacy Big 12 school, the Utes face what is likely to be league favorite Iowa State on the road. The Cyclones are a preseason top 10 team, according to ESPN, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament last season.
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Kansas State, another team with high expectations going into the season, will visit the Huntsman Center on Jan. 8 in the only matchup between the two schools. The Wildcats made it to the second round of the NCAAs last season.
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There are a host of other difficult road games. The Utes will swing through Texas to face Baylor, which advanced to the Sweet Sixteen last season, before playing at TCU. The Bears beat Utah in Waco last year.
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West Virginia, another Big 12 team that advanced to the NCAA tournament second round last year, will host Utah in the Utes’ final league road game on Feb. 26.
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Then there’s the two games against rival BYU, now that the two schools are back in the same conference for the first time since the 2010-11 season. Utah visits Provo first on Jan. 25, before hosting the Cougars in the regular-season finale on March 1.
