Utah basketball’s nonconference schedule is officially complete with 1 more addition. Here’s the full schedule

Brandon Judd
·3 min read
University of Utah head basketball coach Craig Smith runs practice at the Huntsman Basketball Facility in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023.
University of Utah head basketball coach Craig Smith runs practice at the Huntsman Basketball Facility in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Earlier this week, Utah basketball coach Craig Smith teased that the final addition to the Runnin’ Utes nonconference schedule was just a couple signatures away from completion.

On Friday, the program made it official, announcing Utah will play Hawaii on Nov. 30 in a neutral-site matchup at the Delta Center.

That completes the 2023-24 nonconference portion of the Utes’ schedule, after the team announced the rest of the nonleague slate two weeks ago.

“I think we’re set up for success in nonconference. You’ve got to take care of business — you’ve got to win, and our whole league needs to win. You’ve got to earn respect that way,” Smith said.

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Who will Utah basketball play in its nonconfence schedule?

Here’s what the Runnin’ Utes’ 11-game nonleague schedule looks like for the upcoming season, following a Nov. 1 exhibition game against Westminster:

  • Date — Opponent

  • Nov. 6 — Eastern Washington.

  • Nov. 10 — UC Riverside.

  • Nov. 16 — vs. Wake Forest*.

  • Nov. 17 — vs. Houston/Towson*.

  • Nov. 19 — vs. TBD*.

  • Nov. 27 — at Saint Mary’s.

  • Nov. 30 — vs. Hawaii#.

  • Dec. 5 — Southern Utah.

  • Dec. 9 — BYU.

  • Dec. 16 — Utah Valley.

  • Dec. 20 — vs. Bellarmine.

  • * Charleston Classic (at TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina); # at Delta Center.

Of note: Utah will play just one true road game in the nonconference portion of the schedule, when it travels to Saint Mary’s. The Gaels advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. “That’s a home-and-home. They’ll come back to our place,” Smith said.

The Utes will play six home games at the Huntsman Center in nonleague play, highlighted by three straight games against in-state opponents Southern Utah (Dec. 5), BYU (Dec. 9) and Utah Valley (Dec. 16).

The season opens Nov. 6 against Eastern Washington, which won the Big Sky regular-season championship last season.

Utah will also play in the Charleston Classic the week before Thanksgiving, playing Wake Forest to open the tournament and either Houston, which reached the Sweet 16 last year, or Towson the next day.

The eight-team Charleston Classic field also includes Dayton, LSU, North Texas and St. John’s.

What are Utah basketball’s Pac-12 weekly pairings?

Exact dates for the Utes’ conference schedule haven’t been finalized, but Utah does know the weekly pairings through the Pac-12 portion of the season.

Here’s the Pac-12 pairing schedule for the Utes:

  • Week of Dec. 27-31: Washington/Washington State at Utah.

  • Week of Jan 3-7: Utah at Arizona/Arizona State.

  • Week of Jan. 10-14: UCLA at Utah/Utah at Stanford.

  • Week of Jan. 17-21: Oregon/Oregon State at Utah.

  • Week of Jan. 24-28: Utah at Washington/Washington State.

  • Week of Jan. 31-Feb. 4: Colorado at Utah.

  • Week of Feb. 7-11: Arizona/Arizona State at Utah.

  • Week of Feb. 14-18: Utah at UCLA/USC.

  • Week of Feb. 21-25: Utah at Colorado.

  • Week of Feb. 28-March 3: Cal/Stanford at Utah.

  • Week of March 6-10: Utah at Oregon/Oregon State.