UConn is adding another heavyweight to its non-conference schedule, and this one comes with a familiar backdrop.
The Huskies will meet Virginia on Sunday, Dec. 20 at Madison Square Garden, giving them a return trip to Storrs South for another marquee neutral-site game in New York. It’s the latest big-name opponent on a schedule that is already packed from top to bottom.
UConn owns a 6-2 edge in the series with Virginia, a matchup that dates all the way back to 1965. The teams haven’t played a regular-season game since Dec. 10, 1997, when the Huskies completed a home-and-home sweep. UConn has taken the last five meetings overall, and while the schools have gone a long stretch without facing each other in the regular season, they did get together for closed scrimmages in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 preseasons.
The Garden date also fits into a bigger run for UConn in 2026-27. The Virginia game will be the first of at least three appearances at MSG that season, with the possibility of four more if the building hosts both the BIG EAST Tournament and the NCAA East Regional.
The Huskies have been strong in Manhattan, going 81-64 all-time at the Garden. Under Dan Hurley, they’re 19-10 there, and UConn has won 13 of its last 17 games in the city.
Last season, the Huskies went 4-2 in New York.
Virginia is the latest addition to a non-conference slate that already features Michigan on Nov. 6 in Boston, Ohio State on Nov. 13 at home, Arizona on Nov. 18 in Tucson, Duke on Nov. 25 in Las Vegas, Illinois on Dec. 4 in Chicago and Kansas on Dec. 12 at home. Every one of those seven opponents finished in the top 25 of the final 2025-26 Kenpom rankings, including the top three teams and four of the top five.
In Other News...
UConn Just Turned Its Duke Schedule Reveal Into A Taunt
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The schedule release doubled as a reminder that this isnt just another big-name date on the calendar. Duke is still the measuring-stick opponent in these kinds of announcements, and UConn made sure that last meeting still loomed large as the teams head toward another showdown next season. There is already a fresh chapter coming, and after the way the Huskies framed the rivalry, it is fair to expect the buildup to be part celebration, part needling, and all business by the time the game arrives. [Read more 🡒]
UConns LSU Matchup Just Got Easier For A Serious Reason
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The departure comes in the wake of LSU adding a Russian recruit, a development set against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war and the personal toll it has taken on Koval. She had family ties to the conflict and hometown damage to reckon with, and her exit leaves LSU with one less established piece as it prepares for a demanding schedule that includes the Huskies. [Read more 🡒]
UConns 2023-24 Team Just Earned Rare All-Time Praise
A season that already stood out in UConn history just picked up another layer of validation. CBS Sports recently surveyed nearly 100 Division I mens basketball coaches to find the best team of the 21st century, and the 2023-24 Huskies came out on top in a field full of heavyweights. For a program that has spent decades collecting trophies, the kind of attention this group earned speaks to how complete and overwhelming that run felt from start to finish.
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 🡒]