UConn has released it's full basketball schedule for the upcoming season, and it's full of both good and bad news for UConn fans.
The first bit of good news is that in a rare (and I'm sure accidental or ESPN-forced) surprise, the two biggest home games of the year will both be played at Gampel Pavilion since Syracuse (Feb. 25 ESPN Gameday) and Pittsburgh (March 3) will be making the trip to Storrs.
Of course, there is a flip side: Out of 16 home games, only 7 will be played at Gampel, two of which are against Ivy League teams (Columbia and Harvard), a third is against Wagner and the fourth is against DePaul. Meanwhile, both West Virginia and Notre Dame will be hosted at the XL Center. I hate the XL Center.
Other good news? Jim Calhoun's three game suspension will be served @USF, vs. St, John's, and @ Seton Hall, so we dodged a bullet there (and get the nice bonus of watching other Big East fans get infuriated). More thoughts to come, but share yours below.
If you're looking for a final bit of bad news you can turn to what is easily the toughest part of the schedule, an 11-day stretch to open February that has the Huskies visiting Georgetown, Louisville and Syracuse. There is a game against Seton Hall there to mix things up, but it's still brutal.
Here's the full schedule:
11/02/11 vs. American International (Exhibition) Gampel Pavilion
11/06/11 vs. C.W. Post (Exhibition) XL Center
11/11/11 vs. Columbia Gampel Pavilion
11/14/11 vs. Wagner Gampel Pavilion
11/17/11 vs. Maine XL Center
11/20/11 vs. Coppin State XL CenterBattle 4 Atlantis
11/24/11 vs. UNC Asheville
11/25/11 UCF or College of Charleston
11/26/11 Utah/Harvard/Florida State/UMass12/03/11 vs. Arkansas (BIG EAST/SEC Challenge) XL Center,
12/08/11 vs. Harvard Gampel Pavilion
12/18/11 vs. Holy Cross XL Center
12/22/11 vs. Fairfield XL Center
12/28/11 at USF* Sun Dome
12/31/11 vs. St. John's* XL Center
01/03/12 at Seton Hall* Prudential Center
01/07/12 at Rutgers* Rutgers Athletic Center
01/09/12 vs.RutgersWest Virginia* XL Center
01/14/12 at Notre Dame* Purcell Pavilion
01/18/12 vs. Cincinnati* Gampel Pavilion
01/21/12 at Tennessee Thompson-Boiling Arena
01/29/12 vs. Notre Dame* XL Center
02/01/12 at Georgetown* Verizon Center
02/04/12 vs. Seton Hall* XL Center
02/06/12 at Louisville* KFC Yum! Center
02/11/12 at Syracuse* Carrier Dome
02/15/12 vs. DePaul* Gampel Pavilion
02/18/12 vs. Marquette* XL Center
02/20/12 at Villanova* Wells Fargo Center
02/25/12 vs. Syracuse (ESPN College Gameday)* Gampel Pavilion
02/28/12 at Providence* Dunkin' Donuts Center
03/03/12 vs. Pittsburgh* Gampel Pavilion