Dan Hurley knows the road back to the national championship will be a difficult one, especially given the names on UConn’s schedule and the size of the target on the Huskies’ backs. Only two of the last 10 national champions have made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament the following year. The same number missed the next tournament altogether.
Before coming out to begin practice Tuesday, Hurley and his staff told the team about the two defending champs that it went right for: 2006-07 Florida being the first to go back-to-back since Duke in the early 90s, and Michigan State, which followed its 2000 championship by making it back to the Final Four in 2001.
He also used North Carolina, which didn’t make last year’s Big Dance after reaching the title game in 2022 , and Kentucky, which won the 2012 tournament and didn’t receive a bid in 2013, to illustrate how things can go the opposite way.
“All the analytics say that we have enough in that room, but, you know, we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Hurley said. “I personally love the way that the team looks.”
UConn knows it can’t get comfortable, and looking back at last year’s Big East standings (UConn finished fourth with a 13-7 record) is a way to keep the defending national champs hungry.
“Just reminding ourselves how bad of a Big East we had last year, I think we didn’t have the Big East (success) that we expected to last year and I think that should be motivating,” sophomore forward Alex Karaban said. “But (we’re) also motivated to feel that feeling again, feel the feeling that we won a national championship and try to go get it again.”
“Becoming is always better, for me, than being,” Hurley said. “The chase, for me, is always the exhilarating thing, the exciting thing. The accomplishment fades quickly and your mind very quickly gets to that process that you love – I love the work so it’s not hard for me, I love coaching so it’s easy for me. I love coaching way more than I like celebrating.”
A superstitious Hurley avoided acknowledging the fact that UConn’s men’s and women’s teams won dual national championships in 2004 and 2014 – this year, 2024, the Huskies have a chance to continue the trend.
“I mean, it’s the Basketball Capital of the World, right? In the last 25 years UConn clearly has had the best college basketball programs in the country,” Hurley said. “What do you judge by in sports? You judge by the big trophies, the big championships. Our men’s program’s got five and our women’s has 11. I mean, we put (‘Basketball Capital of the World’) on our court.”
Times, TV info, venue designations released for 2023-24:
Tip-off times and TV information were released for UConn’s schedule, including venue designations for home games, on Wednesday. The Huskies will have six, potentially seven, games on the main FOX network, and 11 or 12 on FS1 (depending on the road game at Villanova Jan. 20).
The final home game of the season, likely designated for Senior Night, will be March 3 against Seton Hall at Gampel Pavilion and will be a noon broadcast on CBS.
UConn will host five Big East games at Gampel Pavilion (DePaul, Creighton, Providence, Villanova, Seton Hall), with DePaul the only one being played during winter break on Jan. 2. Rick Pitino will be UConn’s first Big East guest of the season when St. John’s visits the XL Center Dec. 23. The Huskies will also play Georgetown, Xavier, Butler and Marquette in Hartford.
The Dec. 15 trip to visit Gonzaga in Seattle is the only game that remains without a designated start time or broadcast network.
Complete 2023-24 schedule:
Mon., Nov. 6 vs. Northern Arizona, Gampel Pavilion, 6:30 p.m., FS1/FOX Sports App
Sat., Nov. 11 vs. Stonehill, XL Center, 12 p.m., FS2
Tues., Nov. 14 vs. Mississippi Valley State, XL Center, 7 p.m., FS2
Sun., Nov. 19 vs. Indiana, Empire Classic, Madison Square Garden, 1 p.m., ESPN
Mon., Nov. 20 vs. Texas/Louisville (Empire Classic) MSG, 4:30 or 7:00 p.m., ESPNU
Fri., Nov. 24 vs. Manhattan, XL Center, 2 p.m., FS1
Mon., Nov. 27 vs. New Hampshire, Gampel Pavilion, 7 p.m., CBSSN
Fri., Dec. 1 at Kansas (Big East-Big 12 Battle), 9 p.m., ESPN2
Tues., Dec. 5 vs. North Carolina (Jimmy V Classic), Madison Square Garden, Time TBD, ESPN
Sat., Dec. 9 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Gampel Pavilion, 12 p.m., FS2
Fri., Dec. 15 vs. Gonzaga, Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Time TBD, TV TBD
Wed., Dec. 20 at Seton Hall, Prudential Center, 7 p.m., CBSSN
Sat., Dec. 23 vs. St. John’s, XL Center, 8 p.m., FOX
Tues., Jan. 2 vs. DePaul, Gampel Pavilion, 6:30 p.m., FS1
Fri., Jan. 5 at Butler, Hinkle Fieldhouse, 6:30 p.m., FS1
Wed., Jan. 10 at Xavier, Cintas Center, 8:30 p.m., FS1
Sun., Jan. 14 vs. Georgetown, XL Center, 12 or 4:30 p.m., FOX
Wed., Jan. 17 vs Creighton, Gampel Pavilion, 7 p.m., FS1
Sat., Jan. 20 at Villanova, Wells Fargo Center, 8 p.m., FOX/FS1
Sun., Jan. 28 vs. Xavier, XL Center, 12 p.m., FS1
Wed., Jan. 31 vs. Providence, Gampel Pavilion, 8:30 p.m., FS1
Sat., Feb. 3 at St. John’s, MSG, 12 p.m., FOX
Tues., Feb. 6 vs. Butler, XL Center, 8:30 p.m., FS1
Sat., Feb. 10 at Georgetown, Capital One Arena, 12 p.m., FS1
Wed., Feb. 14 at DePaul, Wintrust Arena, 9 p.m., CBSSN
Sat., Feb. 17 vs. Marquette, XL Center, 3 p.m., FOX
Tues., Feb. 20 at Creighton, CHI Health Center, 8:30 p.m., FS1
Sat., Feb. 24 vs. Villanova, Gampel Pavilion, 8 p.m., FOX
Sun., March 3 vs. Seton Hall, Gampel Pavilion, 12 p.m., CBS
Wed., March 6 at Marquette, Fiserv Forum, 8:30 p.m., FS1
Sat., March 9 at Providence, Amica Mutual Pavilion, TBD, FOX
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