Jalen Adams and the UConn men’s basketball team will defend home court this season. (File Photo/The Daily Campus
The American Athletic Conference released their 2017-18 men’s basketball schedule Friday, finalizing UConn’s complete slate for the upcoming season.
Men's hoops finalizes the 2017-18 slate. First @American_MBB opponent will be @WichitaState. #UConnNation
RELEASE: https://t.co/boVVvORIJv pic.twitter.com/wFxRTVxPog
— UConn Men's Hoops (@UConnMBB) September 15, 2017
The Huskies open their season Nov. 10 against Colgate at Gampel Pavilion. They follow Colgate with Stony Brook on Nov. 14 and Boston University, with both games to be played at the XL Center in Hartford.
On Nov. 23, UConn will play Oregon in their first game at the Phil Knight Invitational, a highly anticipated 16-team tournament that features a host of elite programs. The event, which will be held in Portland, Oregon, honors Nike Co-Founder Phil Knight.
UConn will play either Michigan State or DePaul in their second game at PK80.
The Huskies will meet old rival Syracuse at Madison Square Garden for the second consecutive year when the two teams clash in the Jimmy V Classic on Dec. 5. UConn pulled out a 52-50 victory over the Orange last season.
Arizona and Auburn are the two premiere non-conference road games on UConn’s schedule, and they are separated by just one day. The Huskies are in Arizona on Dec. 21 and play Auburn Dec. 23 at 2:30 p.m.
American Athletic Conference play begins for the team Dec. 30 as they play Wichita State in Hartford. Wichita State joined the American for all Olympic sports in April, and is expected to compete for the conference title in year one.
The Huskies hit the road for Tulsa on Jan. 3. UConn will also travel to face Tulane, Memphis, Temple, UCF, Wichita State, ECU, Cincinnati and Houston on the road in conference play.
Jan. 20 brings a significant test at the XL Center, as UConn hosts Villanova. The Wildcats won the national championship in 2016 and secured a 1-seed in the 2017 NCAA tournament. The two programs will play at Madison Square Garden in Dec. 2018, before a game in Philadelphia in Jan. 2020 to complete a three-game series.
SMU comes to Gampel Pavilion on Jan. 25. Cincinnati is the only other 2017 tournament team to travel to Storrs; the Bearcats will make the trip Feb. 3.
Both matchups with Cincinnati will be televised on ESPN, along with Memphis on Feb. 25, Wichita State on Feb. 10 and Syracuse. Games against Wichita State and Villanova will be televised on CBS.
UConn concludes the season with a trip to Houston on Mar. 4, which follows Temple at Gampel Pavilion Feb. 28. The American Athletic Conference Championship is scheduled for March 8-11 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
Tyler Keating is the sports editor for The Daily Campus, covering men’s basketball. He can be reached via email at tyler.keating@uconn.edu. He tweets @tylerskeating.