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UConn Basketball: 2022-23 season preview for Huskies

By Connor Wilson

NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 11: Jordan Hawkins #24 of the Connecticut Huskies dribbles the ball against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in the Never Forget Tribute Classic at Prudential Center on December 11, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Porter Binks)
NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 11: Jordan Hawkins #24 of the Connecticut Huskies dribbles the ball against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in the Never Forget Tribute Classic at Prudential Center on December 11, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Porter Binks) /
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Andre Jackson UConn Basketball (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Andre Jackson UConn Basketball (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Schedule Overview and Outlook

This year, the Huskies will be playing the typical 11 non-conference games before getting into conference play in late December. They are playing six mid-majors: Stonehill, Boston U, Buffalo, UNC Wilmington, Delaware St., and LIU. All of these should result in victories for the Huskies, but Buffalo is always one of the top mid-majors and UNC Wilmington is coming off of a 27-win season, so neither should be taken for granted.

The Huskies will be participating in the Phil Knight Invitational during Thanksgiving Week in November. In the first round, they will have a tough opponent playing Oregon in Portland. In the second round, they will face off against either Alabama or Michigan St. The final game and other half of the bracket consists of Iowa St, Portland, North Carolina, and conference mate Villanova.

Another key matchup in non-conference play is the return of the “home and home” series with Florida. The first game of the series was in Storrs back in November 2019, in which the Huskies upset the No. 15 Gators. The return game is set to go down in Gainesville in early December. An interesting matchup to watch is between the big men for both sides: Adama Sanogo and Colin Castleton.

The final non-conference game for the Huskies is their Big East/Big 12 Challenge matchup against Oklahoma St. The Cowboys were a competitive team in the Big 12 last year, despite being postseason ineligible. They have a strong core and figure to be in the middle of the pack in the conference, so this will be a good test.

For conference play, the Huskies open up in mid-December against Butler in Indianapolis and they play their first home conference game against Georgetown a few days later. After Christmas, the Huskies enter a tough stretch having to face Villanova, Xavier, Providence, and Creighton in consecutive games. Those four teams are all projected in the Top 5 in the conference, so Coach Hurley and his crew will be tested fairly early on.

The Huskies close the regular season with three out of five games at home with the two road games being @St. John’s at Madison Square Garden and @Villanova. Senior Day 2023 will once again be against DePaul, but strangely it is expected to be at the XL Center in Hartford as opposed to on campus in Storrs at Gampel Pavilion.