If I had the option I would watch a UConn basketball game every night, I feel compelled to point that out because I'm about to say this: I've been incredibly bored by UConn for the past month. That's not the team's fault per se, but the fact that they've played the worst out-of-conference schedule in the history of organized basketball means that following the Huskies has been brutal. The first few weeks of the season I was still high on the return of basketball, but since that thrill faded and UConn was left tipping off against the best New England had to offer I've felt like I'm watching a finely-tuned racecar take unbearably slow laps around a mall parking lot.
Luckily, that ends tonight with the start of the real season: Big East play. And before you point out that this game is against South Florida, remember that the Bulls took UConn to overtime last year, beat the Huskies two years ago and UConn needed overtime and a buzzer beater to escape them in 2008. The Bulls may be bottom feeders in the conference, but they get up to play the Huskies. They also have Agustus Gilchrist who will be the best big man to play against UConn this year, and its the first road game of the year, so a win is by no means guaranteed.
Oh, and not that it needs mentioning, but Jim Calhoun will be serving the first game of this three-game suspension tonight and you know what that means: BLANE DOG TIME. I'm personally looking forward to see if Alex Oriakhi will average 30 minutes a game and a double-double during Calhoun's suspension.
We have a late start tonight, so it doesn't tip until 9, but when it does it'll be on SNY. Join us in the comments below and go Huskies.