UConn’s preseason begins with a familiar name and a familiar kind of spotlight.
On Tuesday, Oct. 13, the Huskies open their 2026-27 preseason at Mohegan Sun Arena against Syracuse in the Hall of Fame Exhibition, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. The game will be televised on NBC Sports Boston and streamed on UConn+ for viewers outside the market, with Brendan Glasheen, Tim Welsh and Kayla Burton on the call.
It’s a rivalry game by feel, even if the result won’t go into the all-time series. UConn and Syracuse are set for another meeting between two old BIG EAST charter members, and the matchup brings back a relationship that stretches back to the mid-1950s, when the schools began playing regularly.
They met every year until Syracuse left the conference in 2013, then crossed paths four more times, splitting those games 2-2 at neutral sites. Three of those were at Madison Square Garden and one came in the Bahamas.
The last time they played was Nov. 15, 2018, in the 2K Classic at The Garden. In Dan Hurley’s third regular-season game at UConn, the Huskies landed a top-15 win, beating No. 15 Syracuse 83-76.
This preseason opener arrives after a season that came painfully close to ending on top. UConn went 34-6 in 2025-26, won the NCAA East Regional and finished as national runner-up at the Final Four.
Now Hurley enters his ninth year with the program, and the Huskies are riding a stretch of success the school has never seen before. UConn has made six straight NCAA Tournaments for the first time in program history and has reached the Final Four three times in four years.
Only Duke, Kentucky, UCLA and Michigan State have managed three Final Four trips in four seasons during the modern NCAA Tournament era, which dates to 1979.
The roster bringing that momentum into the new season has real punch in the backcourt. UConn returns BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year Silas Demary Jr. and Preseason First Team All-Conference selection Braylon Mullins.
Jayden Ross is back after being the team’s most-used reserve last season, and his brother Jacob Ross returns after redshirting as a freshman. Solo Ball also returns after earning Second Team All-Conference honors in 2025-26, though he is out indefinitely after offseason wrist surgery.
There is a lot of new talent in the mix as well. The Huskies added 10 newcomers overall, including three freshmen and seven transfers. Colben Landrew arrives as the BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year, with Egor Amosov and Junior County also part of the freshman class.
UConn also brought in a heavy dose of frontcourt help through sophomore transfers Elmir Dzafic from Arkansas, Oskar Giltay from Stanford, Na'jai Hines from Seton Hall and Nik Khamenia from Duke. They arrive as the Huskies replace first-round picks Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. Senior Nils Machowski from Wofford, junior Jaye Nash from Jacksonville State and graduate student Isaiah Shaw from Northern Arizona give Hurley more backcourt options and added experience.
Tuesday’s game is the first of three preseason dates for UConn, which will also travel to face Michigan State in Lansing and Purdue in Hartford. The regular season starts Nov. 2 against Gardner-Webb at PeoplesBank Arena.
In Other News...
Syracuse Gets An Early Rivalry Test Fans Have Missed For Years
The long gap between UConn and Syracuse on the mens basketball side ends Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, where the two programs will meet in an exhibition that gives both sides a real early look at where they stand before the games start counting. It is the kind of matchup that still carries a little extra edge even without a spot in the standings, because familiar programs rarely need much to make a preseason tune-up feel bigger than the label attached to it.
For UConn, it also opens the door to the first of three exhibitions as the Huskies begin sorting through rotations, lineups and roles heading toward the regular season. Silas Demary Jr., Solo Ball and Braylon Mullins are back in the mix, giving this one a useful first checkpoint for a team that will spend October trying to answer more questions than the scoreboard can. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Still Has National Respect But This Schedule Will Test Everything
Even with major roster turnover, UConn still enters the new season with real national respect in the numbers. Ken Pomeroys initial 2026-27 preseason rankings have the Huskies at No. 11, projecting a profile that looks a lot like last years team, with the kind of balance that usually keeps Dan Hurleys program in the national conversation. UConn checks in at No. 29 offensively and No. 6 defensively, and it remains the clear Big East favorite on paper.
The catch, as always, is the schedule. UConns nonconference slate is loaded with opportunities that can either harden a young roster quickly or expose how much work is still ahead, with four preseason top-10 opponents waiting before league play really takes over. For a team that has earned the benefit of the doubt, this is the part of the calendar that will show whether the Huskies are built to stay in that tier or merely start there. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Gets Another Shot At A Rivalry Huskies Fans Still Feel
The UConn-Syracuse rivalry still carries the kind of edge that lingers long after the old Big East days faded, and it is easy to see why. The matchup helped shape an era of college basketball in the Northeast, with classic tournament battles and plenty of familiarity between fan bases that never really stopped caring. Even now, the series remains tied to memories like the six-overtime thriller in 2009, a game that still sits near the top of the list for anyone who lived through it.
Dan Hurley has brought his own hard-nosed brand to UConn, while Syracuses side of the story has taken on a new chapter under Gerry McNamara. That keeps this meeting from feeling like a relic of conference realignment, because the names on the sidelines still connect directly to what made the rivalry mean something in the first place. The history is deep, the emotions are familiar, and there is still one more layer of old-business tension waiting to be revisited. [Read more 🡒]