The Washington Huskies will face off with the BYU Cougars in the first round of the 2026 Southwest Maui Invitational in November.
One of eight teams selected to participate in the annual college basketball showcase held at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, Hawaii, on November 23-25, the Huskies would face off with the winner of Ole Miss-Clemson on Nov. 24 at 9:30 a.m. (2:30 p.m. Pacific), based on the bracket, with a victory over the Big 12 team.
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If third-year coach Danny Sprinkle and UW fall to Kevin Young’s squad, the team will face the loser of the Rebels-Tigers matchup at 3 p.m. (8 p.m. Pacific) on Nov. 24.
The meeting between UW, who will be the road team, and BYU is the first-ever matchup on the hardwood, uniquely in step with what Sprinkle appears to be aiming to do with changes to the non-conference schedule. The other games, VCU-Providence and Colorado State-Arizona, present unique potential matchups for Sprinkle and a revamped roster that returns only five scholarship players from last season.
Aside from facing former Pac-12 foe Arizona, who the Huskies have played 46 games against over their 24-year history, Colorado State has faced UW twice (1-1 record) and one game against Clemson (1-0 record) without ever having faced Ole Miss, Providence or VCU.
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The Huskies defeated Clemson in 2000, a 77-76 overtime victory in San Juan, Puerto Rico, led by Will Perkins’ 20-point, 10-rebound outing with Thalo Green adding 18 points.
UW already has another marquee non-conference game on its schedule with the Baylor Bears making the trip to the Pacific Northwest for the back end of a home-and-home series that began last year.
The Huskies will host the Bears at Climate Pledge Arena on December 19, the first time since 1955—only the third time in program history—that BU travels to Seattle to compete against Washington in the Emerald City.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Basketball to Face BYU in First Round of Maui Invitational
