SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The University of Utah men’s basketball program announced that they will open the 2021-22 season against Abilene Christian.

Utah and Abilene Christian will battle on Tuesday, November 9 at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. That will be the first regular season game of the Craig Smith era as the Runnin’ Utes head coach.

The Utes will play two games that week as they will also host Sacramento State on Saturday, November 13.

🚨 SCHEDULE UPDATE🚨

Mark your 🗓️‼️ We're kicking off the 2021-22 season against @ACU_MBB on Nov. 9 inside the Jon M. Huntsman Center!
https://t.co/SSGVLpfQSq

— Utah Basketball🏀 (@UtahMBB) August 17, 2021

The November 9 matchup between the Utes and Wildcats will mark the first ever meeting between the two schools. Abilene Christian finished the 2020-21 season with a 24-5 overall record and 13-2 in Southland Conference play, while winning the conference tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament. They were able to beat No. 3 Texas in the first round of the tournament.

Now the Wildcats will make a move to the Western Athletic Conference.

Utah has six other non-conference games besides the opener and Sacramento State contests. They will play Bethune Cookman at home on Monday, November 15 as a part of the Sunshine Slam. Then they will battle Boston College in Daytona, Florida on Saturday, November 20 and will play either Rhode Island or Tulsa depending on the results of the two games.

Following the Sunshine Slam, Utah will be back at the Huntsman Center to face in-state rival BYU on Saturday, November 27. They also have a road contest against Missouri on Saturday, December 18 and a home game against Fresno State on Tuesday, December 21.

The Runnin’ Utes have two conference games currently scheduled, facing USC in Los Angeles on Wednesday, December 1 and hosting California on Sunday, December 5.

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for KSLSports.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.