BIG EAST TEAM PREVIEW #9 UCONN HUSKIES

After winning back-to-back national titles in 2022-23 and 2023-24, Dan Hurley and UConn took a step back last season. They finished with a 24-11 record and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament, losing to the eventual national champion in Florida by just two points.

Projected Lineup:

G Silas Demary (Georgia transfer)

G Solo Ball

G Braylon Mullins

F Alex Karaban

C Tarris Reed

UConn returns three key players from last season's team in 6-foot-4 shooting guard Solo Ball, 6-foot-8 forward Alex Karaban, and 6-foot-11 center Tarris Reed. Starting with Solo Ball, he was the second leading scorer on last year's team, averaging 14.4 points per game. Ball was UConn's biggest threat from beyond the arc last year; he connected on 41.4 percent of his three-point attempts, which was among the best in the Big East. Alex Karaban has played a vital role for UConn in each of his three seasons there. He's started in all 110 games he's played in during his UConn career. Karaban had his biggest role last season during his junior year. He was third on the team in scoring with 14.3 points per game and third on the team in rebounding with 5.3 rebounds per contest. Tarris Reed also returns for his senior season. He spent his first two seasons of college basketball at the University of Michigan before transferring to UConn prior to last season. Reed came off the bench last year, but he still put up really good numbers. In just 19.9 minutes per game, he averaged 9.6 points while leading the team in rebounding with 7.3 rebounds per game.

UConn also added a couple of players from the portal that should be key contributors next season. They brought in Georgia transfer Silas Demary, who should be the team's starting point guard next year. Demary averaged 13.5 points and 3.1 assists on a Georgia team that surprisingly made the tournament last season. Dan Hurley also brought in Dayton transfer point guard Malachi Smith who should play a big role off the bench. Smith has been at Dayton for the past four seasons and had a really nice year last year, averaging 10.4 points while also leading the team with 5.1 assists per game. UConn also expects to get a lot of contributions from its high school recruiting class. They brought in five-star shooting guard Braylon Mullins, who is one of the best guards in the class. Mullins is expected to be a first-round pick in next year's NBA draft. 7-foot power forward Eric Reibe is also expected to be in the rotation immediately. Reibe is the 36th-best player in the 2025 class by 247 Sports.

I think if any team has a chance to dethrone St John's as the Big East champs next season, it's UConn. They return so much talent from last year's squad, which wasn't a national title contender like they were the two previous seasons, but they were still a really good team. Solo Ball might be the best shooter in the conference, Alex Karaban can do it all, and I think Tarris Reed could be the best center in the conference. They also brought in an outstanding freshman class and have two really solid transfers. As much as I dislike Dan Hurley at times, he's still a fantastic head coach.

Prediction: 2nd in Big East