UConn Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Huskies

By Brian Rauf | Sep 24, 2018

PITTSBURGH, PA - MARCH 17: Head coach Dan Hurley of the Rhode Island Rams reacts against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 17, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

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NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 05: Josh Carlton #25 of the Connecticut Huskies works around Paschal Chukwu #13 of the Syracuse Orange in the first half during their game at Madison Square Garden on December 5, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Non-conference schedule

Nov. 8 – Morehead State
Nov. 11 – UMKC
Nov. 15 – vs. Syracuse (at Madison Square Garden)
Nov. 16 – vs. Oregon/Iowa (at Madison Square Garden)
Nov. 20 – Cornell
Nov. 24 – New Hampshire
Nov. 27 – UMass Lowell
Dec. 2 – Arizona
Dec. 5 – Lafayette
Dec. 8 – vs. Florida State (in Newark, NJ)
Dec. 15 – Manhattan
Dec. 18 – Drexel
Dec. 22 – Villanova (at Madison Square Garden)

Although they don’t have a true road game on the books, UConn has one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the entire county – meaning Hurley doesn’t exactly have time to find his groove with his new team.

Their first four games of the season are part of the 2K Empire Classic, headlined by their battle against former Big East rival Syracuse at MSG. That will be UConn’s first real test of the year as the Orange return almost all of their production from last year’s Sweet 16 team.

Should the Huskies face Oregon in their next game, they’d be battling the preseason favorite in the Pac-12 and 7-3 freshman big man Bol Bol, who is projected to be a top 10 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

UConn does have a true home game on the marquee at the start of December against Arizona, marking the second of a home-and-home series between the two (the Wildcats won in Tuscon last year). That will likely be UConn’s best chance to pick up a notable win as Arizona will have five new starters and a rather inexperienced roster that will be playing in one of their first true road games together.

The Huskies will travel to Newark to take on Florida State in the Never Forget Tribute Classic nearly a week later in what will be an interesting contrast of styles. Both teams are very deep but the Seminoles are one of the tallest teams in the nation while UConn will deploy lineups with three – or even four – guards on the floor at the same time.

Finally, UConn will wrap up the non-conference portion of their schedule with their toughest test of the season against the defending national champs. Villanova will have some new faces after losing four of their top six players, but they’re still a preseason top-15 team.