Last week, the UConn men’s and women’s basketball teams released their regular season home game schedule splits. The reason for the split is that both teams play at two venues during the season, both Gampel Pavilion and the XL Center. The reason not all games are on campus is to get more fans in the building. The Huskies could sell out every game at Gampel, although its capacity is not as big as the XL Center in Hartford. The arena in Hartford is also more centrally located in the state, whereas games in Storrs are harder for some fans to get to. However, the splits favor the students in Storrs, as the objectively “bigger” matchups are played at Gampel where much of the rowdy student body will be attending games.
The men’s slate is a good one to favor the fans in Storrs, as UConn will host out of conference opponents Sacred Heart, Texas A&M Commerce and Baylor. The Baylor game should be the most exciting of the three as the Bears always put out a good team on the floor and are a consistent March Madness team. The in-conference slate is also good at Storrs as they will host Providence, Marquette, St. Johns, Seton Hall and Creighton. The Big East games will come with a different environment as rivalries will be challenged on the court with new and old players representing their teams. At the XL Center, Connecticut will host out-of-conference opponents New Hampshire, Le Moyne and UMES. None of these games will be a big test for the Huskies, though you never know when an upset could arise in college hoops. However, in Big East play, fans will get to see some more exciting matchups as UConn will welcome Butler, Xavier, DePaul, Villanova and Georgetown to the XL Center. These matchups should be interesting to see, as they are all decent teams. However, the Big East games hosted at Gampel are expected to be much more difficult.
The Women’s team also released their slate of games as they too will split time between Gampel and the XL Center. The women will play host to Fort Hays State, USF, FDU and Holy Cross as their non-league opponents at Gampel all of which should be warmup games for the Big East conference slate. For the Big East Teams, the women will see Seton Hall, Villanova, St. Johns and Marquette in Storrs. The UConn women will also play USC in December, while also playing host to non-league opponent BU in November. The in-conference slate at the XL Center is loaded for fans as they will have the chance to see the team play Georgetown and Providence in December. In January, the women will play host to Xavier, who should be a good test for the team. In February, the women will face two good teams in Butler and Creighton, who will both be looking to get the best of the Huskies. The women’s team splits seem to favor the XL Center in Hartford, although there will still be some exciting matchups on campus for the team.
The schedule split is an overall interesting concept. UConn provides its state with more Basketball by playing in Hartford. This is a loss to the students as they will not have some games on campus, although many can still travel to see games. Hartford opens the possibility for more fans, more excitement around the game and an overall chance to make money for the programs. Basketball season is right upon us and there is a lot of excitement in the air as both teams look to win it all come March.