The reigning national champion UConn Huskies just made their already-tough schedule even more difficult Tuesday. Jon Rothstein reported that the Huskies agreed to a home and home series with Gonzaga, with the first game this upcoming season at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. Connecticut played the Bulldogs in the Elite Eight this past season, putting on a clinic that ended in an 82-54 victory and a ticket to Houston, TX for the Final Four.
The game ended Zags forward Drew Timme’s storied career, meaning that the Huskies won’t have to deal with a vengeance-seeking Timme. On the other hand though, UConn’s two best players from that game will also be gone. Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins are both firmly in the NBA Draft, definitely not returning to Storrs. All of this is to say that even with the mere eight months that’ll likely separate the last two times the squads met, there will be many new faces.
Gonzaga is ranked No. 19 by the Athletic’s Seth Davis for good reason. They boast some of the more impressive transfers in the market in the form of Ryan Nembhard and Graham Ike. UConn fans are all-too familiar with Nembhard, the point guard for a Creighton team that the Huskies split with. Ike isn’t as established among the high-major portion of college basketball, but he took Wyoming to the NCAA tournament two years ago on 19.5 points and 9.6 boards per night, stats that should translate well to Spokane, especially with Timme gone.
This game only adds to the Huskies’ already brutal non-conference slate. They’re set to play at Kansas in the Big 12-Big East battle, with Davis ranking the Jayhawks No. 4. They stole UConn target Nick Timberlake from the portal at the last minute last month and also recently landed center Hunter Dickinson, who is widely touted as the best transfer in this class. It’s also important not to forget that they have Rivals’ No. 7 recruiting class headlined by top 40 players Elmarko Jackson and Chris Johnson.
They’ll then have to face North Carolina in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square in what’ll be a de facto home game. Davis ranks the recent tournament snubs No. 17, in large part thanks to their mix of returning talent and incoming power. Armando Bacot is still looking to rekindle the fire that helped the Heels through their magical 2022 tournament run and will get significant backup in the form of Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram. Simeon Wilcher will be a big freshman piece in the backcourt and was once a major UConn target.
If one game at the most famous arena in the world wasn’t enough, they have two more in the Legends Classic. In the tournament is Davis’ No. 16 Texas, along with Indiana and Louisville. The Longhorns return Dylan Disu and are the frontrunners to pose the biggest challenge to Connecticut. Indiana loses Trayce Jackson-Davis, but brings in newly committed top-10 prospect Mackenzie Mgbako who should help them push for a tournament spot this year. Louisville was historically bad last year with a 4-28 record, but second-year coach Kenny Payne is hoping for a better run this time. His sixth-ranked recruiting class headlined by Dennis Evans should help him get further, but they still shouldn’t be too tough a win for the Huskies.
These five contests will make this year a marathon and leave just six buy games to be scheduled. Added to the especially competitive Big East, there won't be any rest for the weary. The Huskies will also have a relatively young core, so don’t be shocked if there are growing pains along the way. Ultimately though, if they do make it out of this gauntlet in one piece, they’ll be a tried and true team that nobody will want to face in March. If not, it’ll be a long season.
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
