Utah basketball reportedly adds mid-major opponent to 2026-27 schedule

Another piece of the Utah men's basketball program's 2026-27 schedule has been uncovered.

After a bulletin from Rocco Miller last week linked the Runnin' Utes to the Charleston Classic multi-team event, a standalone nonconference game involving Abilene Christian and Utah surfaced on Thursday, with The Runnin' Hoops Podcast reporting that Alex Jensen's squad will host the Wildcats from the Huntsman Center on Dec. 13.

Abilene Christian, a private institution located in Abilene, Texas, is the first member of the newly-branded United Athletic Conference — formerly known as the Western Athletic Conference — to be associated with the Utes' 2026-27 schedule, which will purportedly include a home game against Big Sky foe Weber State on Nov. 10. The Utes are also expected to host former Pac-12 foe Washington at some point as well, though it's unclear when or where the return game from last season's meeting in Seattle will be played.

The matchup with Brette Tanner's Wildcats will likely come as a tune-up for the Utes before they begin their 18-game Big 12 slate in late December or early January. Utah formatted its 2025-26 schedule a bit differently, with a handful of contests against mid-major opponents stacked in front of a much-tougher December slate that featured road or neutral site games against Cal, Mississippi State and Washington.

Time will tell if Jensen and his staff arrange the deck in a different order for the 2026-27 season. For now, the Abilene Christian game is the only known December matchup for the Utes.

The Wildcats enter their sixth season with Tanner at the helm and come off a 14-19 finish to the 2025-26 campaign, including a 5-13 showing in WAC play. As such, Abilene Christian checked in at No. 6 in the conference standings while collecting its fewest league wins in a season since 2013-14.

Tanner and company lost eight players to the portal, including leading-scorer Bradyn Hubbard, a 6-foot-7 forward who averaged 16.3 points and 4.7 rebounds, and have thus far reeled in a couple of guards in Evan Boisdur (Grand Canyon) and Timéo Pons (New Mexico) to fill in some of their roster holes.

Utah, coming off a 10-22 season in Jensen's first year at the helm, had 11 players enter the portal this offseason, including leading-scorer Terrence Brown (North Carolina) and versatile forward Keanu Dawes (Kansas). In return, the Utes snagged 6-foot-7 guard Jackson Holcombe (16.7 points per game at Utah Valley); 6-foot-4 guard Taison Chatman (4.3 points per game at Ohio State); 6-foot-8 center Malek Gomma (8 points per game at Weber State); and 6-foot-1 guard TJ Burch (12.4 points per game at Wright State in college basketball's free agency pool. Those four players will mix with a recruiting class infused with international flavor to make up Utah's 2026-27 roster.

#RunninUtes schedule news:

Utah is set to host Abilene Christian on Dec. 13th in the Huntsman Center. This marks the second all-time meeting between the two programs, with the first being back in 2021. ACU was 14-19 last season and will join the newly formed UAC this summer.
— The Runnin' Hoops Podcast 🏀🎙️ (@RunninHoopsPod) May 14, 2026

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