Big East Basketball: Non-conference schedule grades entering 2024-25 season
Butler Bulldogs: B+
Noteworthy games: versus SMU, Arizona Tip-Off, at Houston, versus Wisconsin*
The strength of Butler’s non-conference schedule has gone unnoticed in the Big East. As they enter the third year of the Thad Matta era, the Bulldogs will kick off the 2024-25 season with five home games -- far from easy wins. Missouri State and first-year head coach Cuonzo Martin are certainly no pushovers. Austin Peay improved its win total from nine to 19 under first-year head coach Corey Gipson. Merrimack has been excellent under Joey Gallo. These are not your typical Q4 buy-games. Add in a home game versus SMU, and the early-season collection of games is mighty-intriguing for Matta’s group.
In the later portion of its non-conference schedule, Butler will take on Northwestern followed by the winner/loser of Mississippi State or UNLV in the Arizona Tip-Off. Butler got arguably the toughest draw in the Big East-Big 12 Battle -- a road trip to Houston -- and will close its non-conference schedule versus Wisconsin in Gainbridge Fieldhouse. For the most part, this is a challenging, well-balanced non-conference slate with a nice mix of Q1 and Q2 opportunities. The Bulldogs get a B+ grade here.
UConn Huskies: A-
Noteworthy games: Maui Invitational, versus Baylor, at Texas, versus Gonzaga*
Go big or go home is the non-conference scheduling model of the reigning back-to-back champs. Comparable to last year’s scheduling approach, Dan Hurley’s Huskies will load up on big-time, heavy-weight competition supplemented by hosting KenPom sub-300 teams. That was why UConn’s KenPom NCSOS was surprisingly rated just 283rd in the country last season despite playing Kansas, North Carolina, Texas and Gonzaga.
The Huskies have the same approach this season, hosting five sure-fire Q4 matchups that will likely hurt its overall NCSOS. However, the Huskies will have no shortage of competition. In the three-game Maui Invitational, UConn will play Memphis in the quarterfinals with possible headline-worthy matchups versus Michigan State, Iowa State, North Carolina or Auburn. Then, Huskies will host Baylor -- a preseason top-10 team -- as part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle followed by a road game at Texas (home-and-home) and a tilt against Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden.
This type of schedule has worked for the Huskies. Why fix it if it is not broken?