HARTFORD – It won’t mean anything in regards to the upcoming college basketball season, but Tuesday’s preseason exhibition, the UConn men against Syracuse at Mohegan Sun Arena, will wake up the sleeping giant of an old Big East rivalry that’s taken an eight-year nap.
The logos haven’t shared the same scoreboard for a men’s basketball game since the 2018-19 season, Dan Hurley’s first as head coach of the Huskies. He won that game – the 95th all-time meeting between the programs – 83-76, to begin the 2k Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Over the next seven seasons, Syracuse made the NCAA Tournament once, moved on from Jim Boeheim and his replacement, Adrian Autry. Now, the program has reinvigorated its fan base with the hiring of program legend Gerry McNamara, who was able to keep his former teammate Carmelo Anthony’s son, Kiyan, out of the transfer portal ahead of his sophomore season and build a roster that should compete amongst the middle of the pack in the ACC.
Hurley would like to bring the rivalry back with future games that count.
“Syracuse… You grow up watching Pearl (Washington), that’s when the Big East was just so special,” he said, remembering his first trip to Syracuse’s Dome in 1988, tagging along on his brother Bobby’s unofficial visit.
“It’s a game that hopefully we’re able to get on the schedule here at some point. It’s a big rivalry between the fan bases, it’s a game that probably should annually be played at MSG, I would think, as part of the nonconference. I think the world of Gerry and what he’s done in his basketball life and career, and what’s gonna do there. As soon as those guys want to turn this from an exhibition to a regular season game, I think it would be awesome.”
Head coach Dan Hurley of the Connecticut Huskies reacts during the first half of the 2026 Big East Men’s Tournament Championship game against the St. John’s Red Storm at Madison Square Garden on March 14, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
But for now, Tuesday’s preseason meeting will be nothing more than an opportunity for both programs to figure out what needs to be worked on over the next few weeks before the games count. It will look more like a real game than the exhibitions have in the past, however, as the NCAA has cracked down on teams agreeing to extend the foul limit past the regular five.
UConn will not be at full strength as Braylon Mullins continues to recover from his undisclosed injury and Solo Ball keeps progressing from his offseason wrist surgery, now taking mid range shots. There are some others who weren’t named that are “maybe a little nicked up” and may be limited or not available at all.
“It’s UConn and Syracuse, both teams are going to play really, really hard because it matters when the both of us play a game in sports,” Hurley said. “Whether it’s soccer, swimming and diving, football, basketball, it’s like, Syracuse and UConn playing, you’ve got to be ready to compete… I’m looking at it mostly as an opportunity to try to learn things about our team the best we can. And to obviously compete and play to your principles. But we’re not gonna be going through the things we’re gonna try to save for these early nonconference big games.”
Silas’ script
UConn’s pace on offense is famously slow. But there may be a new variable added this year, with some of the reigns being let loose on point guard Silas Demary Jr.
“(I’m looking for) Silas just to really allow us to play outside of our system on offense because he’s creating a lot more offense for us off-script,” Hurley said. “We just want to see him generating offense off-script and taking some pressure off of our play sheet in terms of having to run things to generate offense. We need him to create more offense for our team.”
These exhibitions present the perfect opportunity to see what works.
“Last year there was times where I was looking for play calls, but now he’s just letting me go make plays, letting me play my game so we don’t have to always slow down the pace. We’re trying to get more points in transition and just create more opportunities without having to call something,” Demary said.
Jim Calhoun book signing
Jim Calhoun will be signing copies of his book, More Than A Game, from 5 p.m. to 7, available near the arena entrance at Mohegan Sun.
What to know
Site: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville.
Time/date: 7 p.m., Tuesday
TV: NBC Sports Boston
Streaming: UConn+
Radio: UConn Sports Network on FOX Sports 97.9