Washington today released their complete non-conference schedule for the upcoming season. The slate features several tough tests but is light on premium home games or just home games in general.
The non-con schedule is set ✅
— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) July 31, 2025
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Last year, Washington played 8 home games as part of a non-conference schedule that ranked 298th overall at KenPom. Neutral/road games against good mid-major teams like Colorado State, Santa Clara, and Nevada
helped buoy the schedule that featured zero games against power conference opponents.
That is changing this year as the Huskies will play a pair of Big 12 teams, one at home and one on the road with the potential for a 3rd depending on results in the Acrisure Holiday Classic tournament over Thanksgiving.
The lone home game against a team that finished inside the 225 at KenPom last year is against former Pac-12 conference foe Utah. The Utes fired head coach Craig Smith after 4 straight years of missing the NCAA tournament so former NBA assistant coach Alex Jensen takes over. Jensen has no college experience but will be hoping to enact a similar turnaround to BYU coach Kevin Young who had a similar resume and has the Cougars on the rise (but with a lot more NIL money at his disposal).
The road game at Baylor is by far the toughest game of the non-con schedule. The Bears under Scott Drew are coming off a season in which they weren’t a #3 seed or better for the first time since 2019. They also lost a lot off last year’s roster when they were a #9 seed and seem due for another “down” year which Washington would kill for given their recent history.
The two programs played in both 2019 and 2020 with a split. Washington won the 2019 game 67-64 in the Isaiah Stewart/Jaden McDaniels season before the two teams’ paths diverged. Washington eventually collapsed while Baylor won 23 straight after the loss and seemed poised to be a title contender before the tournament was cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic. The next year, Washington was drubbed 86-52 during the miserable 5-21 season while Baylor did indeed go on to win the title.
Washington will also go on the road to face in-state rivals Washington State and Seattle U. The Huskies will be looking to avenge last season’s embarrassing loss to Seattle, the first loss to the Redhawks in 48 years.
The Huskies also return to Palm Desert for the Acrisure Holiday Classic for the second straight season after winning the title last year. This year they’ll face off with Nevada (again, hoping to avenge a loss from last year) before taking on either Colorado or San Francisco.
Washington will be looking for at least a 7-2 record if not an 8-1 mark against this slate in order to justify hopes of being an NCAA tournament team this season. The Big Ten will once again be a brutal slog in conference play so big wins in the non-con are a must this year.
Non-Conference Opponents w/2024-25 Rank and Preseason Rank (Torvik)
Arkansas Pine-Bluff (H): 362nd last year, 364th preseason
Denver (H): 271st last year, 328th preseason
Baylor (A): 29th last year, 34th preseason
Washington State (A): 103rd last year, 142nd preseason
Southern (H): 212th last year, 197th preseason
Nevada (N): 89th last year, 132nd preseason
?Colorado (N)?: 81st last year, 98th preseason
?San Francisco (N)?: 65th last year, 65th preseason
Southern Utah (H): 326th last year,274th preseason
Seattle (A): 141st last year, 118th preseason
San Diego (H): 294th last year, 150th preseason
Utah (H): 68th last year, 61st preseason
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