Breaking down UConn's non-conference schedule

Everything you need to know about the first part of the Huskies' slate.

Author

Daniel Connolly
August 17, 2023

Photo: Ian Bethune

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Breaking down UConn’s non-conference schedule

On Tuesday, UConn officially released its 2023-24 non-conference schedule. There weren’t any big surprises — every opponent had either been announced or reported — but it did provide a date for every contest outside Big East play.

The first look at this year’s edition of the Huskies will come on Saturday, Nov. 4 in an exhibition against Division II Southern Connecticut State followed by the regular season opener on Wednesday, Nov. 8 against Dayton. In total, they’ll play 12 contests against out-of-conference foes along with a pair of exhibitions.

Frantic start

UConn will ease into the early season with a pair of games at home against two easier opponents in SCSU and Dayton — a team that went 7-21 a year ago.

After that, the difficulty cranks up a few notches. In an eight-day span, the Huskies will travel to NC State (who finished 18th in the end-of-season NET Ranking) on Sunday, Nov. 12, and then return to Connecticut to battle Maryland (11th in NET) that Wednesday before heading out on the road against to face Minnesota the following Sunday.

That’s a lot of travel in a short period of time — with two quality teams in there. It’s a good, early test for UConn’s mental fortitude.

Cayman Islands Classic matchups

The two games on UConn’s non-conference schedule that still don’t have an opponent? The Cayman Islands Classic. The rest of the field includes defending champions LSU, 2023 Final Four team Virginia Tech, UCLA, Virginia, Kansas, Niagara, and Tulane.

There’s a clear hierarchy among the competition. UConn, LSU, Virginia Tech and LSU are the draws, while Virginia, Kansas, Niagara, and Tulane are essentially filler. Since there are two separate brackets, it’s likely the top teams will be split up.

Expect the Huskies’ first-round game to come against one of the second-tier squads with a potential “championship” matchup against one of the three elite teams.

New date for Notre Dame

Ever since Notre Dame left the old Big East for the ACC in 2013, every non-conference matchup between UConn and the Fighting Irish has been played during the first week of December — until this season. Now, the rivals will square off on Saturday, Jan. 27.

Gampel or XL?

While the school didn’t announce home game designations (whether they’ll be at Gampel Pavilion or the XL Center), Notre Dame has to be at Gampel. As radio play-by-play man Bob Joyce pointed out, the XL Center is set to host CT Ice — a tournament between Connecticut’s four Division I men’s hockey programs — that weekend, so the building is already booked. That means the Irish will play in Storrs for the third consecutive time.

The remaining home dates are SCSU, Dayton, Maryland, Ball State and Louisville. UConn usually tries to make sure both venues get at least one big game and because Maryland has only ever played in Hartford while Louisville typically comes to Storrs, it’d make sense if those trends continued.

Then, since Ball State is a homecoming game for Nika Mühl, it would be a surprise if the school didn’t bring them to Gampel so her sister could see the campus.

That leaves SCSU and Dayton. Exhibitions are usually in Storrs, especially since the Huskies have switched to playing just one in recent years. That means Dayton would need to be at the XL Center to maintain a similar balance to last season, when UConn played four of its six non-conference games on-campus.

If SCSU, Ball State, Louisville, and Notre Dame are in Storrs, then Dayton and Maryland would be in Hartford. That’s our prediction, at least.

Homecomings galore

This year’s non-conference slate features three homecoming games: Nov. 19 at Minnesota for Paige Bueckers (a native of nearby Hopkins, Minnesota), Dec. 6 at home versus Ball State for Nika Mühl (her younger sister Hana plays there), and then a trip north of the border to Toronto on Dec. 20 for Aaliyah Edwards (she grew up a few hours east and went to school in the city).

The Huskies’ two potential games in the greater New York City area — at Seton Hall and at St. John’s — would also serve as a de-facto homecoming for Aubrey Griffin, who’s from Ossining, New York along the Hudson River.

Working for the weekend

Of UConn’s 14 non-conference games (including the two exhibitions), all but four fall on a weekend (Friday-Sunday) and five are on Sundays. Of course, the to-be-announced tip times are also a factor. A Sunday afternoon game is a lot different than a Sunday night contest.

Either way, it’s a good set of dates for fans.

Another tough slate

In just the non-conference schedule alone, the Huskies will face at least seven programs that made the NCAA Tournament: South Carolina, Notre Dame, Maryland, Texas, Louisville, NC State, and North Carolina, as well as one of the teams in the Cayman Islands Classic in all likelihood — all of which finished among the top 25 in the final NET rankings last season.

Some of those teams are poised for a step back (South Carolina post-Aliyah Boston will be fascinating to watch) but UConn will undoubtedly be challenged throughout the non-conference portion of the schedule — just as it always is.

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