Little by little, the 2024-25 UConn men’s basketball season has taken shape. First, it was the non-conference schedule. Then the Big East schedule. Now, we know every game, date, tip-time, and TV network that will pave the Huskies’ road to a three-peat.
There are always complaints, and this year is no different. UConn has a disappointing lack of Saturday home games in conference play and the XL Center slate is significantly weaker than the Gampel schedule.
But winning solves all, and any chirping from the fanbase will quiet fast if it looks like a seventh National Championship is on the table as the season progresses.
The journey to San Antonio, site of the 2025 men’s Final Four, will begin in an unlikely location at an odd time. The Huskies will play Dan Hurley’s former team, Rhode Island, at Mohegan Sun Arena on October 14 in a charity exhibition game. The UConn men have not played at Mohegan since Providence beat the Huskies in a charity exhibition in 2017, the start of Kevin Ollie’s final season as head coach.
Some thoughts on the men’s basketball schedule:
The Tune-ups
Wed. Nov. 6 vs. Sacred Heart, 7 p.m., Gampel, FS1
Sat. Nov. 9 vs. New Hampshire, 8 p.m. XL Center, FS2
Wed. Nov. 13 vs. Le Moyne, 7 p.m., FS1
Tues. Nov. 19 vs. Texas A&M-Commerce, 7 p.m., FS1
The regular season kicks off at Gampel Pavilion on college basketball’s opening night when Anthony Latina and his Sacred Heart Pioneers come to town for a 7 p.m. tip on FS1. UConn has not yet announced its First Night itinerary, so it’s unclear if this will also be the banner-raising night. Either way, it’s the first game that counts since this team cut down the nets in the desert.
From there, UConn gets three tune-up games before heading off to Maui. Playing the New Hampshire game at 8 p.m. is a little odd, but it’ll give hockey fans a chance to get to Hartford after Ice Bus plays that afternoon.
It’s an underwhelming first four games, for sure. But this is what we’ve seen from Dan Hurley over the last few years, and it’s worked spectacularly. Those who work in the box office might not like it, but playing buy games against sub-250 KenPom teams is a pretty good way to game the metrics.
For one thing, it dramatically decreases the chances of a wacky upset. For another, it lets UConn run up the score, massaging those offensive and defensive efficiency metrics in a way that could pay off down the road.
The Resume-builders (plus a buy game)
Mon. Nov. 25 vs. Memphis, 2:30 p.m., ESPN2, Maui
Tues. Nov. 26 vs. Colorado/Michigan State
Wed. Nov. 27 vs. TBD
Sat. Nov. 30 vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore, 7 p.m., XL Center, Peacock
Wed. Dec. 4 vs. Baylor, 6:30 p.m., Gampel, FS1
Sun. Dec. 8 at Texas, time and channel TBA
Sat. Dec. 14 vs. Gonzaga, 8 p.m., Madison Square Garden, FOX
UConn will likely head to Maui 4-0, opening with Memphis before taking on Colorado or Michigan State.
Auburn, Iowa State, Dayton, and North Carolina make up the other half of the bracket. For what it’s worth, Memphis is supposed to be…fine. Bart Torvik has the Tigers ranked 32 in his preseason rankings, led by Tyrese Hunter and PJ Haggerty.
If you think some of the other teams in the bracket sound familiar, well, they are. UConn and Michigan State are on the same MTE cycle, meaning they’re eligible to return to premiere events like Maui and the Battle 4 Atlantis at the same time. So, they are often paired together. They were both also in the same bracket at the PK85 two years back. It’s annoying, but also a tiny price to pay as one of the biggest brands in the sport.
The Huskies, of course, faced North Carolina at the Jimmy V last year (shoutout Cam Spencer) and the Tar Heels were in their PK85 bracket as well. UConn also played Auburn three years ago in a double-overtime thriller at Atlantis.
Except for one more buy game against Maryland-Eastern Shore, the rest of the non-conference is a gauntlet. Baylor comes to Gampel as part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle, then four days later, UConn flies to Austin to play Texas. They round out the non-con with a Saturday night showdown at MSG against Gonzaga.
All three of those teams are top-15 quality, so if Maui doesn’t teach us much about this team, those three games certainly will.
The Obligatory Conference Opening Loss
Wed. December 18 vs. Xavier, 7 p.m., XL Center, FS1
UConn will open conference play at the XL Center against Xavier on December 18 in a game that has all the makings of the team’s first home loss since, well, Xavier in 2023. Husky fans know by now that UConn is notoriously bad in its first conference game for whatever reason; they’ve actually won as many national championships since 2005 as conference openers.
Throw in a weeknight in Hartford three days after finals end against what should be a really good Musketeers team, big upset potential here.
The First Half of Conference Play
Sat. Dec. 21 at Butler, 12 p.m., Peacock
Wed. Jan. 1 at DePaul, 12 p.m., FS1
Sun. Jan. 5 vs. Providence, 2 p.m., Gampel, NBC
Wed. Jan. 8 at Villanova, 6:30 p.m., FS1
Sat. Jan. 11 at Georgetown, 2 p.m., FOX/FS1
Sat. Jan. 18 vs. Creighton, 12 p.m., Gampel, FOX
Tues. Jan. 21 vs. Butler, 7 p.m., XL Center, FS1
Sat. Jan. 25 at Xavier, 8 p.m., FOX
Wed. Jan. 29 vs. DePaul, 8 p.m., XL Center, Peacock
Sat. Feb. 1 at Marquette, 8 p.m., FOX
The first road game of the Big East schedule is against a Butler team UConn has never lost to. Throw in a game at DePaul and that should provide a good warmup before a Sunday afternoon clash with the Providence Friars.
After that, a game against Villanova at Finneran Pavilion for the first time in a non-COVID season that I can ever remember. That weekend, the UConn men and women both play at Georgetown on January 11, but a 2 p.m. tip on the men’s side might make a doubleheader tough, depending on when the women play.
From there, UConn begins a stretch of four out of six games at home, but the two roadies are brutal. They have their second game against Xavier on January 25 — an 8 p.m. game on Big FOX.
One week later, it’s a game at Marquette — also at 8 p.m. on FOX. It would be cool to get a game like that at home but, what are you gonna do?
Rick Pitino Hate Night
Fri. Feb. 7 vs. St. John’s, 8 p.m., Gampel, FOX
The trade-off for those road games is what should be a raucous Gampel Pavilion on February 7 against St. John’s. The Friday night matchup has $2 beer night written all over it.
Will Rick Pitino counter with the white suit? It would be unusual for him to break it out on the road, but he’ll have to do something to offset the immaculate vibes that will emanate from Storrs that evening.
The Houses of Horrors and Storrs South
Tues. Feb. 11 at Creighton, 9 p.m., CBS SN
Sat. Feb. 15 at Seton Hall, 2:30 p.m., FOX
Tues. Feb. 18 vs. Villanova, 6:30 p.m., XL Center, FS1
Sun. Feb. 23 at St. John’s, 12 p.m., FOX
The Creighton and Seton Hall road game stretch has the potential to be brutal; UConn has not won in front of fans in either building since returning to the Big East. The upside is that the Creighton game is on CBS Sports for some reason, so at least fewer people will see it.
That Seton Hall game is the first of five in a row against classic Big East teams. The Huskies get Villanova in Hartford on February 18 (one of the few good XL Center games), then a Sunday matinee at MSG with the Red Storm.
The Home Stretch
Wed. Feb. 26 vs. Georgetown, 6:30 p.m, XL Center, FS1
Sat. March 1 at Providence, 12 p.m., CBS
Wed. March 5 vs. Marquette, 8:30 p.m., Gampel, FS1
Sat. March 8 vs. Seton Hall, TBD, Gampel, FOX/FS1
That brings us to the final stretch with the highlight being a trip to the Dunk (never calling it the AMP) on Saturday, March 1 on CBS. If Bill Raftery isn’t on the call there, we riot. The regular season concludes with back-to-back home games against Marquette and Seton Hall at Gampel. It will be the second straight year of hosting Seton Hall on Senior Day. Probably nothing to make of that, but hopefully it’s a nice home win to send the team into the Big East Tournament on a high note.
