UNCASVILLE, Conn. - UConn has opened the exhibition season 2-0, and after the Huskies handled Syracuse at Mohegan Sun Arena, Dan Hurley pointed to more than just the results on the court. He sees a group that can keep climbing as the season goes along.
After the win, Hurley said he likes the defensive edge his team is bringing, but he also emphasized the long runway ahead for this roster.
"And the thing with us is, like, we're going to get better the whole year. You know, there may be teams that are really, really old that have a lot of 22, 23, like, older, older teams that maybe won't quite have the upside that we have as a team. I think the group's got, when we're healthy and we get Braylon (Mullins) back in the mix, it's a young team, but it's a talented team, and we will keep getting better and we will get much better on offense."
Mullins has missed both exhibition games because of an undisclosed injury, and his return is part of why Hurley keeps talking about the team’s ceiling. The youth is real, too. Mullins is a sophomore, as are transfers Na'jai Hines from Seton Hall and Nik Khamena from Duke.
The list of upperclassmen is short. Silas Demary Jr., a senior, and Jayden Ross are the only true veterans in the likely starting group, while freshmen Colben Landrew and Junior County have already earned meaningful minutes during the exhibition slate.
This is a different UConn team than the one that reached the national championship last season. Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. are both gone to the NBA, and Hurley has to replace not just production, but the leadership that came with it.
That makes the development curve even more important. UConn’s upside is not only about what the Huskies can become offensively, but also about who steps forward as the voice of the group.
The final exhibition comes Tuesday night in Hartford at PeoplesBank Arena against Purdue, another solid measuring stick for Hurley’s team. The Boilermakers, under Matt Painter, have become one of the country’s top programs.
The regular season begins Nov. 2 against Gardner-Webb, and after that UConn faces a brutal non-conference slate that includes Duke, Illinois, Michigan, Arizona, Kansas, Virginia and Ohio State. Michigan, Illinois and Arizona all reached the Final Four last season.
In Other News...
UConn Faces A Real Test As UMass Brings A New Problem To The Rent
UMass has gone from winless a year ago to 4-0 entering its trip to The Rent, giving the Battle for the Southwick Jug a different feel than UConn usually gets in this matchup. The Minutemen also expect quarterback William Pop Watson III back from an ankle injury, which adds another layer for a Huskies team trying to sort out its own footing as conference play and the deeper part of the schedule start to press in.
UConn coach Jason Candle said his staff is preparing for Watsons return while also pushing his team to get better in the run game and tighten up against the pass. For the Huskies, the challenge is not just stopping a surging opponent, but proving they can control a game on both sides of the ball against a team that no longer looks like the same easy landing spot it once did. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Gets A Rare Rivalry Stage To Prove Something Friday Night
A rare Friday night spotlight is coming to Storrs, where UConn will host UMass in a rivalry game that carries a little more weight than the usual late-season meeting. It is the first meaningful matchup between the programs in nearly three decades, and the Huskies get a home stage after a bye week that was supposed to help them recover, reset and sharpen up after an uneven start.
Jason Candle and his players have been leaning into the idea of responding to adversity and closing out games the right way, a theme that has followed UConn through some of its most resilient stretches this season. For a team trying to build momentum and improve at home, this one offers a chance not just to win a rivalry game, but to show that the lessons from the bye week are starting to stick when the lights are on. [Read more 🡒]
UConn-UMass Just Got A Bigger Stage Than Fans Expected
Fridays UConn-UMass matchup already had a little extra edge because of the way these two programs have tended to treat each other over the years. Now it has a different kind of spotlight, too, with the Barstool College Football Show set to broadcast live from Rentschler Field during the game, bringing Dave Portnoy and his panel into the mix for a night that should feel louder and more pointed than a typical nonconference meeting.
For UConn, it adds another layer to a game the Huskies would like to handle on their own terms, without the outside noise becoming the story. UMass is also carrying a bit of uncertainty into kickoff, with quarterback William Watson III a game-time decision, a reminder that the on-field stakes are still very real even as the pregame attention grows around the stadium. [Read more 🡒]