Colorado announces non-conference basketball schedule

BOULDER —  The University of Colorado announced its men’s basketball team’s 2020-21 full non-conference schedule Monday. The season will open Nov. 9 when the Montana State Bobcats visit Boulder.

Two games stand out above the rest, and both will played at the CU Events Center in Boulder: Kansas and Tennessee.

Kansas, one of Colorado’s old Big Eight rivals, will head to Boulder for the final game of Colorado’s non-conference schedule on Tuesday, Dec. 21. Kansas holds a 116-33 all-time series record over the Buffs but the last time they traveled to Boulder, the Jayhawks lost at the hands of a half court buzzer-beater from Askia Booker. Kansas finished 16th in last year’s final AP Top 25 rankings.

The matchup with Tennessee won’t grab quite as much attention as the game against Kansas, but it could be an equal test. The Volunteers beat Colorado 56-47 last season in a game that was scheduled just 48 hours before tipoff. Tennessee was ranked in the Top 25 for much of the year but fell out of the rankings in the season’s final weeks. Colorado will play Tennessee on Saturday, Dec. 4.

“It’s a terrific non conference schedule that will prepare us for Pac-12 play,” head coach Tad Boyle said in a press release. “It will be a great test for our young team.”

Boyle also pointed out the game against Milwaukee as one to keep an eye on. Milwaukee landed the No. 4 recruit in last year’s recruiting cycle, Patrick Baldwin, a 6-10 forward who was also a McDonald’s All-American. He’ll be in town on Friday, Dec. 10.

“Fans may not think (Milwaukee) is a big game, but they have a future first round draft pick in their program; a different player,” Boyle said. “In November and December, you’re going to see some good basketball teams and good basketball players.”

Colorado will also visit the U.S. Virgin Islands in November to participate in Paradise Jam. They’ll play three games, with the first coming against Southern Illinois. Those will be Colorado’s only non-conference games away from Boulder.

All CU athletic events in the 2021-22 academic year will allow 100% capacity, the school announced earlier Monday. Season tickets are available now at CUBuffs.com/tickets. Prices start at $240 for the season. The season-ticket renewal deadline is July 16.

“The thing that our players are looking forward to the most is seeing fans back in the Events Center,” Boyle said. “Fans are going to be treated to a very exciting team with some veterans and newcomers with a lot of talent.”

2021-22 Colorado Men’s Basketball Non-Conference Schedule

Tuesday, Nov. 9: vs. Montana State
Saturday, Nov. 13: vs. New Mexico
Monday, Nov. 15: vs. Maine
Friday, Nov. 19: vs. Southern Illinois (at Paradise Jam)
Nov. 20 or 21: Duquesne/Northeastern (at Paradise Jam)
Monday, Nov. 22: TBA (at Paradise Jam)
Sunday, Nov. 28: vs. Stanford (Conference Game)
Wednesday, Dec. 1: at UCLA (Conference Game)
Saturday, Dec. 4: vs. Tennessee
Wednesday, Dec. 8: vs. Eastern Washington
Friday, Dec. 10: vs. Milwaukee
Saturday, Dec. 18: vs. Cal State Bakersfield
Tuesday, Dec. 21: vs. Kansas