UConn’s 2026-27 nonconference slate keeps getting nastier, and the latest addition might be the one that pushes it over the top.
The Huskies and Virginia announced Wednesday that they’ll meet Dec. 20 at Madison Square Garden. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
ET, with ESPN carrying the game. It’s a matchup that had been floating around for a while, and now it’s official.
Virginia coach Ryan Odom didn’t hide his enthusiasm about the pairing.
“We are thrilled to announce this tremendous opportunity to play UConn at Madison Square Garden,” Odom said Wednesday. “Madison Square Garden is the world’s most famous arena, and we are excited to bring our program to New York City and compete against one of the premier programs in the country.
“We have great respect for coach Dan Hurley and UConn, and we know this will be a terrific environment for a college basketball game.”
For UConn, this is another heavyweight on a schedule already packed with them. Dan Hurley has made no secret that he wants real tests instead of soft buy games, and he’s getting exactly that.
The Huskies will open against Michigan, the defending national champion that beat UConn 69-63 in the title game in April. After that comes Ohio State on Nov. 13 in Storrs, Arizona on Nov. 18 in Tucson, Duke on Nov. 25 in Las Vegas, Illinois on Dec. 4 in Chicago, Kansas on Dec. 12 at home, and now Virginia on Dec. 20 in New York.
The matchup also adds another chapter to a series UConn has controlled. The Huskies are 6-2 all-time against Virginia and have won the last five meetings.
Their most recent win in the series came on Dec. 10, 1997, a 74-63 result behind a lineup that included Richard Hamilton, Khalid El-Amin and Jake Voksuhl. The first meeting between the programs came in 1965, and Virginia won that one.
Madison Square Garden has long been a familiar stage for UConn, especially when the opponent isn’t St. John’s.
The Huskies are 81-64 all-time at the building, and Hurley’s teams are 19-10 there. UConn has won 13 of its last 17 games at the arena.
Virginia, meanwhile, hasn’t played at MSG since a 61-59 loss to Michigan State in the Sweet 16 of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers are 6-5 at the Garden since 1968.
And UConn’s run at MSG won’t stop with Virginia. The Huskies also will face St.
John’s there in the upcoming season, while the Big East tournament will be held at the arena as well. If UConn ends up in the East Regional, that’ll be at Madison Square Garden too.
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The Huskies went 35-3, swept the Big East regular season and tournament titles, landed the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and then rolled through March to the national championship. Coaches also kept other modern powers in the conversation, including Dukes 2000-01 team, Michigans 2022-23 squad and Villanovas 2017-18 group, but UConns latest title team clearly left the strongest impression. It is rare for a roster to enter the all-time debate so quickly, and even in Storrs, that kind of praise is usually reserved for the very best of the best. [Read more 🡒]