The University of Connecticut men's basketball team is playing, arguably, the toughest non-conference schedule we've ever seen in 2026-27.
The Huskies, fresh off a trip to the national championship game last season, will play all three other Final Four teams from a year ago: Illinois, Arizona and Michigan, as well as Duke, Kansas, Virginia, and Ohio State.
It's a schedule that will undoubtedly help prepare UConn for another deep run in the NCAA Tournament, and will hopefully help them get a good seed which can set up that run as well.
Fans got some great news on that schedule on Wednesday as well, as Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported that the game against Kansas will be played on-campus at Gampel Pavilion.
The game will take place on Dec. 12, which we already knew, but the site was to-be-determined. While UConn games in Hartford obviously provide a solid atmosphere, nothing is quite the same as having a big game at Gampel.
Last year, Arizona came to town, so the student body is being treated to marquee games in consecutive years.
About Kansas
The Jayhawks are coming off a 24-11 season that saw them go 12-6 in the Big 12. They went just 5-6 on the road and were upended by No. 5 St. John's in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Jayhawks lost No. 2 overall draft pick Darryn Peterson to the Utah Jazz, but they brought in top overall recruit Tyran Stokes, meaning they should be excellent once again.
About last year's matchup
This game at Gampel is the return game of a home-and-home series that began last season. UConn beat the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse 61-56 in early December. It was a coming out party for Braylon Mullins, who had 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Furthermore, Solo Ball had 17, Eric Reibe had 12 and Alex Karaban had 11.
Tarris Reed Jr. did not play.
Elsewhere in UConn news
Wednesday marks the first day of UConn football practice, exactly one month before the season opener against Lafayette (Sept. 5). The Huskies are coming off a 9-4 campaign and a trip to the Fenway Bowl, where they were beaten by Army.
This is the first season of new head coach Jason Candle, who comes to Storrs by way of Toledo. We broke down the biggest questions of the preseason for the Huskies recently, and you can catch up here.
