UConn’s preseason opener arrives Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena with a familiar name on the other side and a few real questions on the Huskies’ side.
The men’s team gets Syracuse in Uncasville one day after UConn’s women handled the Orange in their exhibition opener. For Dan Hurley’s group, it’s the first chance to show where things stand after a run to the national title game in 2025-26.
Syracuse, meanwhile, is trying to reset after a 15-17 season that ended without an NCAA Tournament bid for the fifth straight year. The program moved on from Adrian Autry and turned to former Syracuse star Gerry McNamara.
McNamara brings his own Orange history back to the sideline. He was part of Syracuse’s championship team in 2003-04, the same season Carmelo Anthony led the way. Anthony’s son, Kiyan, is now a sophomore on this roster.
For UConn, the clearest storyline sits in the paint. Na'jai Hines, the Seton Hall transfer, has to matter right away.
The Huskies no longer have Tarris Reed, who was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Draft, and backup Eric Reibe is gone as well after transferring to Stanford. Hines already offers shot blocking and rebounding, but the bigger issue is what surrounds him.
UConn’s frontcourt depth is largely unproven, which puts more pressure on Hines to produce and avoid foul trouble.
There’s also a second-year jump to watch from Braylon Mullins. He was already one of the most impactful freshmen in the country last season, but now the questions shift to growth: has he gotten stronger, does that help him finish at the rim, can he create his own shot more easily, and how does that added strength show up defensively and on the glass?
Then there’s the backcourt, where depth is the next issue on the list. Silas Demary Jr. and Mullins are established pieces, but Solo Ball is likely out for the season after wrist surgery. That opens up a fight for the guard No. 3 role, and Tuesday should at least start to reveal who can handle it.
In Other News...
Arizona Begins Sorting Out A New-Look Team With Pressure Still There
Tuesdays exhibition slate brings a familiar one for UConn fans, with Syracuse back on the schedule at Mohegan Sun Arena as both programs use the preseason to sort out rotations and roles. It also fits into a broader night of tuneups around the country, with Arizona starting its exhibition schedule against San Francisco and other programs getting their first real look at new combinations before the games count.
For UConn, these early games are less about the final score than about learning what this team looks like when the pace picks up and the pressure starts to matter. Syracuse is in a similar spot after a coaching change, and the renewed rivalry adds a little extra edge to what should be a useful measuring-stick night for both sides. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Has One Big Scoring Question Entering 2026-27
UConn still looks built to contend in 2026-27, even with some roster turnover, because the core around Silas Demary Jr. and Braylon Mullins gives the Huskies a strong base to work from. Add in transfer help from Nikolas Khamenia and Najai Hines up front, plus freshmen Egor Amosov, Colben Landrew and Junior County giving the bench more depth, and the overall talent level still projects as top-15 caliber.
The bigger issue is where the points are going to come from after the loss of starting guard Solo Ball, whose absence leaves a real gap in the backcourt scoring mix. UConn has pieces, but the unanswered question is whether the Huskies have enough proven shot-making to replace what Ball brought, or whether someone else in the rotation will have to make a major leap for the offense to stay at the level the rest of the roster suggests. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Gets Its First Real Test With A Very Different Roster
The first real look at UConns reshaped roster comes Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena, where the Huskies will meet Syracuse in an exhibition that should say plenty about where Dan Hurleys team stands entering the season. It will air on NBC Sports Boston, and it also marks Hurleys first game against Syracuse since 2018, back when the Orange were still under Jim Boeheim and before Gerry McNamara took over the program.
UConn will have to navigate the opener without Braylon Mullins, who is out with an undisclosed injury, so the spotlight shifts to Silas Demary Jr. and a batch of newcomers who are set to make their debuts. For a roster built with transfers and freshmen as much as returning pieces, this is less about polishing the final details than getting an early read on how quickly the new faces can fit into Hurleys system. [Read more 🡒]