SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah men’s basketball team has agreed to a home-and-home series with Nevada beginning this upcoming 2018-19 season, Utah Runnin’ Utes head coach Larry Krystkowiak announced on Monday.
The Utes and Wolfpack will open the series at the Huntsman Center this season, with the game set to be played on Saturday, Dec. 29. Utah will then head to Reno, Nev., the following year to face the Wolfpack, with a date to be announced later.
With the addition of Nevada to the 2018-19 schedule, Utah is now set to face at least two preseason top-10 teams in non-conference play. Nevada is ranked No. 6 by both ESPN and CBSSports.com, while Kentucky, who Utah agreed to play last month, is ranked No. 1 in both preseason polls.
This will mark just the 11th meeting between the Utes and Wolfpack, but it will be the first contest played between the two programs since 1987.
“We are looking forward to the challenge of a very competitive non-conference schedule this upcoming season,” said Krystkowiak. “I believe it is time to take our program to a new level and with the schedule we have, it will help us get there.”
Utah went 23-12 overall and earned a NIT appearance where they would be victorious through the first three rounds of the tournament and earning the program's fourth trip to the NIT Final Four. Utah defeated Western Kentucky in the semifinals, but fell to Penn State in the championship game. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack went 29-8 overall (15-3 in Mountain West Conference play) and tallied a 1-1 record in the MWC Tournament. Nevada earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, picking up a pair of wins in the first two rounds but then falling to Loyola-Chicago in the Sweet 16.
The Utes and Wolfpack will open the series at the Huntsman Center this season, with the game set to be played on Saturday, Dec. 29. Utah will then head to Reno, Nev., the following year to face the Wolfpack, with a date to be announced later.
With the addition of Nevada to the 2018-19 schedule, Utah is now set to face at least two preseason top-10 teams in non-conference play. Nevada is ranked No. 6 by both ESPN and CBSSports.com, while Kentucky, who Utah agreed to play last month, is ranked No. 1 in both preseason polls.
This will mark just the 11th meeting between the Utes and Wolfpack, but it will be the first contest played between the two programs since 1987.
“We are looking forward to the challenge of a very competitive non-conference schedule this upcoming season,” said Krystkowiak. “I believe it is time to take our program to a new level and with the schedule we have, it will help us get there.”
Utah went 23-12 overall and earned a NIT appearance where they would be victorious through the first three rounds of the tournament and earning the program's fourth trip to the NIT Final Four. Utah defeated Western Kentucky in the semifinals, but fell to Penn State in the championship game. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack went 29-8 overall (15-3 in Mountain West Conference play) and tallied a 1-1 record in the MWC Tournament. Nevada earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, picking up a pair of wins in the first two rounds but then falling to Loyola-Chicago in the Sweet 16.
