The Washington Huskies were one of four former Pac-12 programs to join the Big Ten a year ago. Some teams had a better outcome than others, including the Huskies, who finished last in the conference standings at 4-16, 13-18 overall. Among some of the early non-con defeats were a loss to Nevada and an embarrassing defeat to the Seattle Redhawks.
With a new-look roster, Washington is hoping to bounce back and get back in postseason contention for the 2025-26 campaign. That starts in the non-con, with the schedule released for the Huskies, including an exhibition matchup with the UNLV Rebels.
The non-con schedule is set ✅
— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) July 31, 2025
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Among the 10 confirmed games on the schedule, here’s a look at the three toughest opponents on the schedule for the Huskies.
3. Washington State Cougars
Even though the rivals have moved to different conferences, the Apple Cup battles still remain in college basketball. The Cougars lost a ton of talent, including NBA Draft lottery pick Cedric Coward. Wazzu was still able to keep some of its young talent, including Rihards Vavers, Tomas Prastarson, and starting forward, ND Okafor. They’ll need frontcourt transfers Emmanuel Ugbo and Simon Hildrebrant to be instant impact newcomers, while freshman guard Aaron Glass could have a big role out of the gate.
2. Utah Utes
The Utes are a team also with plenty of newcomers, including two former top-50 prospects in Jahki Howard (Auburn) and Elijah Moore (Syracuse). There’s also the former Western Kentucky duo of Don McHenry and Babacar Faye, who combined to produce over 33 ppg and 11 rpg last season. There’s also Terrence Brown, a transfer from Fairleigh Dickinson, who averaged over 20 ppg as a potential lead guard this year.
1. Baylor Bears
The Bears did lose plenty of talent but Coach Scott Drew has plenty more coming in, led by high-profile transfers, Obi Agmin (Wyoming) and Michael Rataj (Oregon State). There’s also Tounde Yessoufou, the latest 5-star freshmen wing to join the team. If he’s as good as the previous ones, Baylor will be ranked this season.