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SALT LAKE CITY — While the full 2016-17 college basketball schedule won't be officially announced until September, the University of Utah and head coach Larry Krystkowiak announced the Runnin' Utes non-conference slate of games Thursday.
Utah is set to play eight home games during November and December, with seven straight to open the season. The home schedule is highlighted with games against Butler on Monday, Nov. 28 and Utah Valley on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
Utah is 1-1 all-time against Butler, with the last matchup being a 74-62 loss in the 2010 Diamond Head Classic.
While this marks the first meeting between Utah Valley and the Utes, Krystkowiak is 1-0 against the Wolverines with a win while coaching at Montana in 2005.
The lone road non-conference contest will be against Xavier, also a first ever meeting, on Saturday, Dec. 10.
"Adding both Butler and Xavier to our 2016-17 schedule gives us an opportunity to play some elite programs in non-conference play," Krystkowiak said in a prepared statement back in May. "Both Butler and Xavier were NCAA Tournament teams last season and they will give us a great test starting Pac-12 play a few weeks later in the season."
The Utes will close out their non-conference schedule with the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii December 22-25. Teams participating in the tournament are Hawaii, Illinois State, San Diego State, San Francisco, Southern Mississippi, Stephen F. Austin and Tulsa.
Noticably absent from the non-conference schedule is the annual rivalry matchup with BYU. That series will resume in 2017 after a one year break this upcoming season.
2016-17 Utah Basketball Non-Conference Schedule
| **DATE** | **OPPONENT** | **SITE** |
| **Nov. 12** | **Northwest Nazarene** | **Jon M. Huntsman Center** |
| **Nov. 15** | **Concordia** | **Jon M. Huntsman Center** |
| **Nov. 18** | **Coppin State** | **Jon M. Huntsman Center** |
| **Nov. 25** | **UC Riverside** | **Jon M. Huntsman Center** |
| **Nov. 28** | **Butler** | **Jon M. Huntsman Center** |
| **Dec. 1** | **Montana State** | **Jon M. Huntsman Center** |
| **Dec. 6** | **Utah Valley** | **Jon M. Huntsman Center** |
| Dec. 10 | at Xavier | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| **Dec.17** | **Prairie View A&M** | **Jon M. Huntsman Center** |
| ***Dec. 22-25*** | ***Diamond Head Classic*** | ***Honolulu, Hawaii*** |
Home games in Bold | Neutral site games in italics
