CHICAGO -- The University of Chicago men's basketball team opens their 2025-26 season this weekend as the Maroons welcome three teams to the Ratner Athletic Center for the 2025 Midway Classic. The Maroons will take on UC Santa Cruz on Saturday at 12 PM before playing (RV) Trinity (TX) on Sunday at 4 PM.

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO NOTES:

* UChicago is coming an 18-8 season in 2024-25 that resulted in the team's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007.
* In the NCAA Tournament, the Maroons hosted #7 Saint John's (MN) and fell 72-71 after a last-second shot came up short at the rim.
* The Maroons open the season ranked as the #11 team in the country by d3hoops.com. This is the highest ranking by UChicago since being ranked #11 in 2016, and it is the highest preseason ranking since the team was ranked #3 entering the 2001-02 season.
* UChicago added a pair of Preseason All-Americans in the transfer portal during the offseason. Shane Regan earned 1st-Team Preseason All-American honors after averaging 18.0 points/game at Wesleyan (CT) last season. Nick Roper was named a 2nd-Team Preseason All-American after earning 2nd-Team Academic All-American honors at Illinois Wesleyan.
* This is the 26th edition of the Midwest Classic with the Maroons holding a 37-13 record all-time in the tournament. Trinity (TX) is making their fifth appearance with an all-time record of 5-3. UC Santa Cruz and Emory are making their first-ever appearance in Midway Classic history.
* Joe Berry is the top returner for UChicago after earning 2nd-Team All-UAA honors a season ago with 12.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.
* The Maroons brought in seven total players in the offseason with five freshman and their two Preseason All-American graduate transfers.
* After hosting the Midway Classic, the Maroons will travel to Bloomington, Illinois for a top-16 non-conference showdown with #16 Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday, November 16.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA CRUZ NOTES:

* UC Santa Cruz enters the weekend with a 1-1 record overall.
* The Banana Slugs opened the season with a 102-88 loss to #6 Redlands before bouncing back with an 87-75 win over Pacific Lutheran.
* UC Santa Cruz is shooting an unprecedented 60.6% from the floor and 44.1% from three through the first two games.
* Ben Lim leads the team with 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.0 blocks per game on the season.
* Andrew Ferrara-Jones has added 15.0 points, and Joseph Espy is scoring 13.0 points per game while both players are shooting over 60% from the floor.
* Caden Breznikar leads the team in both rebounding and assists with 11.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.
* Following the Midway Classic, the Banana Slugs will return to the road for a trip to Southern California as they take on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on November 21 and Caltech on November 22.

TRINITY UNIVERSITY (TX) NOTES:

* Trinity (TX) enters the weekend with a 1-0 record overall.
* The Banana Slugs opened the season with an 82-74 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor last weekend.
* Four of the five starters finished in double figures for the Tigers with Dylan Walker leading the team with 15 points.
* The Tigers struggled shooting from the outside with just seven made threes on 27 attempts.
* Will Bronson added a double-double inside for Trinity (TX) with 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 blocks to lead the team in the paint.
* Following the Midway Classic, the Tigers will return to the road as they travel to Washington, Pennsylvania for the 2025 Great Lakes Invitational where they will take on Marietta and Case Western.

SERIES HISTORY:

* This will be the first meeting between UChicago and UC Santa Cruz in program history.
* The Maroons lead the all-time series 2-1 over Trinity (TX).
* UChicago is a perfect 2-0 on their home floor against the Tigers.
* The Tigers lone win came in the last meeting between the two teams with an 82-63 win in 2023.