The Huskies will have their fair share of buy games this season.
No. 3 UConn men’s basketball will participate in the Maui Invitational, Big East-Big 12 Battle and endure 20 Big East conference dates. This means head coach Dan Hurley, same with most other big-time programs, play buy games against weaker opponents to provide his team with a break and time to mesh in game action.
The Huskies are playing five of them this year, hosting Sacred Heart, New Hampshire, Le Moyne, Texas A&M-Commerce and Maryland-Eastern Shore.
Sacred Heart
Fast Facts
Head Coach: Anthony Latina (12th season)
2023-24 record: 16-16 (10-6 Northeast)
Final 2023-24 KenPom.com ranking: No. 293
2024-25 KenPom ranking: No. 337
Preview
The SEC isn’t the only conference taking new schools. The MAAC will welcome two schools in Sacred Heart and Merrimack, both coming over from the Northeast Conference. The Pioneers lost in the Northeast Conference Tournament quarterfinals last season and had two Big East foes on the schedule in Providence and St. John’s. This will be the eighth matchup between UConn and Sacred Heart since 2000, with all but one resulting in a Husky win of greater than 20 points.
The Pioneers will be the worst team in the MAAC, according to KenPom. The Huskies are the only top-100 squad on the schedule, but Sacred Heart is favored in just five of its 30 Division I games. There are six true freshmen on the roster and despite length in the back court, just one player is taller than 6-foot-9.
New Hampshire
Fast Facts
Head Coach: Nathan Davis (second season)
2023-24 record: 16-15 (7-9 America East)
Final 2023-24 KenPom.com ranking: No. 246
2024-25 KenPom ranking: No. 319
Preview
New Hampshire, picked eighth in America East this year, had a winning record overall last season, but were below .500 in league play and had the road end in the America East semifinals at the hands of Vermont, which has owned the conference in the past few seasons. Rhode Island is the only former Yankee Conference foe not on the Wildcats’ slate, as Maine and Vermont appears in conference play and they’ll open the year against UMass.
This is the second-most frequent series in program history, as they’ll play for the 121st time this year since first facing off in the 1906-07 season. UConn hasn’t lost since Jan. 9, 1983, which was the last time it made the trip to Durham for a 12-game winning streak. The Huskies have won the last three games by more than 20 points each.
Le Moyne
Fast Facts
Head Coach: Nate Champion (sixth season)
2023-24 record: 15-17 (9-7 Northeast)
Final 2023-24 KenPom.com ranking: No. 302
2024-25 KenPom ranking: No. 336
Preview
It’s Le Moyne’s second season in Division I and the first one could have gone much worse for the Dolphins. They ran into a Big East buzzsaw in Georgetown and Villanova to open the year, but they finished 9-7 in Northeast Conference play and even won a game in the conference tournament on their way to a 15-17 overall record, though three of those wins came against non-Division I competition.
The program is one of two that UConn will play for the first time and are the 304th team to appear on the Huskies’ schedule. Le Moyne can’t represent the Northeast Conference in the NCAA Tournament, but is projected to finish fourth in the conference by KenPom. The Dolphins have two former high-major players in Robby Carmody (Notre Dame) and Freds Pauls Bagatskis (Georgia Tech).
Texas A&M-Commerce
Fast Facts
Head Coach: Jaret von Rosenberg (eighth season)
2023-24 record: 13-20 (6-12 Southland)
Final 2023-24 KenPom.com ranking: No. 333
2024-25 KenPom ranking: No. 360
Preview
Texas A&M-Commerce has a year on Le Moyne, as this is the Lions’ third year at the highest level of NCAA competition. They have matching 13-20 records in those two seasons, including three non-Division I games last year, but they did win a game in the Southland Tournament before bowing out. Texas A&M-Commerce has a full Division I slate this year that’s loaded with four top-50 opponents and USF, which is just outside the top 100.
The Lions have never come to Storrs and are the 306th team that the Huskies will play against in its program history. The team is experienced, with nine juniors and seniors compared to a pair of freshmen. Sophomore KC Ugwuakazi spent time at Cheshire Academy after attending Malden Catholic in Massachusetts.
Maryland-Eastern Shore
Fast Facts
Head Coach: Cleo Hill Jr. (first season)
2023-24 record: 9-20 (4-10 MEAC)
Final 2023-24 KenPom.com ranking: No. 347
2024-25 KenPom ranking: No. 362
Preview
A historically maligned program, Maryland-Eastern Shore has never been ranked in the top 200 at KenPom (since 1997) and spent just seven of those seasons between No. 200 and No. 300. Last season, the Hawks played four non-Division I opponents, which accounted for nearly half of their win total and a November win over Penn was their only non-conference win over a Division I foe.
Hurley has put an emphasis on scheduling HBCUs and Maryland-Eastern Shore came in November 2021, putting up a fight and only losing by nine. The Lions also appeared during the Kevin Ollie era and also in the 1987-88 season. Both of those victories exceeded 30 points. Freshman Maurice Vassel comes from St. Benedict’s Prep, which is where Hurley coached prior to getting into the collegiate ranks, while senior Trey Hall is from Willimantic.