Buffaloes basketball 2016-17 non-conference schedule released

While most of the conversation in the summer revolves around football season, the beginning of college basketball season isn't too far behind. As such, the Colorado Buffaloes have released their 2016-17 non-conference schedule. Here's the details from CUBuffs.com:

Home dates with national power Xavier, regional rival Colorado State and the 2016 Legends Classic highlight the 13-game University of Colorado men's basketball nonconference schedule for this fall.

Colorado's nonconference schedule includes potential matchups with eight teams that advanced to postseason play in 2015-16 and six that won at least 20 games.

The Buffaloes will begin the 2016-17 season by hosting Sacramento State on Friday, Nov. 11, at the Coors Events Center. The following week (Nov. 13-19) Colorado will host a pair of games to tip off the 2016 Legends Classic which was announced earlier this spring. Bryant, Eastern Washington, Louisiana-Monroe and Seattle are among the teams that could land in Boulder.

Colorado then joins Texas, Notre Dame and Northwestern, Nov. 21-22, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. for the Championship Rounds of the Legends Classic. Notre Dame and Texas are coming off NCAA Tournament berths while Northwestern had a solid overall record of 20-12.

Dates and Matchups for the Legends Classic games in Boulder and Brooklyn will be finalized later this summer.

The games in New York begin a strong 7-game, 20-day stretch for the Buffaloes. Colorado hosts Wofford on Sunday, Nov. 27, and then welcomes Colorado State to the Coors Events Center on Wednesday, Nov. 30.

After a quick trip to the west coast to play Portland on Saturday, Dec. 3, Colorado returns home to battle Xavier on Wednesday, Dec. 7. The Musketeers were 28-6 in 2015-16, finished second in the BIG EAST Conference and were the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament's East Region. Xavier, ranked No. 9 in the final 2015-16 Associated Press Poll, advanced to the NCAA Tournament second round before falling to Wisconsin in St. Louis.

Following the game against Xavier, the Buffaloes travel to BYU, a 2016 NIT semifinalist, on Saturday, Dec. 10.

After a week break for final exams, Colorado wraps up its nonconference schedule with home games against Fort Hays State (Kan.) on Saturday, Dec. 17 and Eastern Washington on Thursday, Dec. 22, and a road contest at Air Force on Monday, Dec. 19.

Game times and television will be announced at a later date. All dates remain subject to change. Colorado basketball season ticket renewals and season ticket deposits are available online now at CUBuffs.com/tickets.

Colorado finished the 2015-16 season at 22-12 overall and placed fifth in the Pac-12 Conference at 10-8. The Buffaloes advanced to their 14th NCAA Tournament and fourth in the past five seasons. Colorado won at least 20 games for the ninth time in team history, and fifth in the past six seasons.