The UConn Huskies men’s basketball program is heading into the big city on Black Friday, but they’ll be looking for anything but a post-Thanksgiving discount.
Per college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, the Huskies are finalizing an agreement to face the Illinois Fighting Illini at Madison Square Garden in a neutral non-conference showdown on Nov. 28 in Manhattan.
If and when such a deal is finalized, it’ll be the first time the two sides square off since the regional final round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. UConn easily handled the Illini to the tune of a 77-52 shellacking in Boston that clinched the Huskies’ most recent Final Four ticket. They then went on to down Alabama and Purdue in Phoenix to earn the latter of back-to-back national championships, the latest of six such titles.
Four UConn participants from that game (Solo Ball, Alex Karaban, Jayden Ross, Jaylin Stewart) remain on the Huskies’ roster, with Karaban leading that quartet with 10 points. He was one of four Huskies in double-figures as UConn took control on a 30-0 run that removed most, if not all drama.
Illinois, is set to enter its ninth season under head coach Brad Underwood. Like the Huskies, the Fighting Illini are coming off a second-round exit at the NCAA Tournament, falling to Kentucky in the Round of 32 as a sixth seed after topping UConn’s Big East foe Xavier in the opening round.
The Huskies have made themselves a home at MSG, posting a 77-62 record at The World’s Most Famous Arena through neutral site games, the Big East Tournament, and away games against conference adversary St. John’s. That includes a 2-2 tally last year, which saw them defeat Gonzaga in the Basketball Hall of Fame Series and Villanova in the conference tournament’s quarterfinal while dropping a regular season showing against St. John’s and the Big East semifinal to Creighton.
Geoff Magliocchetti is X @GeoffJMags
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
