NCAA Basketball: 15 underrated storylines to root for in 2020-21 season

Connecticut Huskies – Back in the Big East

Cheering for the Connecticut Huskies during the 2020-21 season is cheering for common sense. UCONN belongs in the Big East and they technically never left, it was the Big East that left them. Or at least the seven Catholic schools/ non-football schools that set off on their own while purchasing the right to use the name Big East.

Connecticut Basketball should be commended, for they were willing to fork over $17 million dollars (which should have been more) in order to accept the Big East’s invite as soon as possible. The Huskies deserve to be cheered for being forced into the AAC when it was established and having to endure four games as they did beginning in February. During a twelve- day-stint when the Huskies played three road games and one home game they totaled over 7,500 miles in the air traveling back and forth from Memphis, Tulsa, and Dallas.

Compare that to Villanova who had the same set of games during a ten-day period in late January versus Big East opponents. In order to play at Providence, St. John’s and Butler Villanova traveled approximately 1,800 miles, which would have been a couple of hundred miles fewer for Connecticut.

There is a slim chance that the original Big East will ever get back to together as Pittsburgh and Syracuse seem happy in the ACC, but UCONN joining the ‘New Big East’  or simply rejoining if you prefer, needs to be applauded. One can only hope any success UCONN has might start the trend away from ridiculous conference alignments (looking at you Nebraska and West Virginia) and schools can get back to representing their territory.