2017-18 UConn men’s basketball conference matchups released

The 2017-18 American Athletic Conference men’s basketball schedule pairings were released Thursday, with changes to the format occurring for the first time in the conference’s history due to the addition of Wichita State.

UConn is one of seven teams that will play the Shockers twice in a home-and-home series. Wichita State is expected to rank relatively high in the preseason polls, and the projected success of this year’s Shockers team is part of the reason why their entrance to the American was expedited to this upcoming season.

With the Shockers, the AAC now has 12 teams as it enters its fifth season. The conference will remain at an 18 game conference schedule, with each team playing seven teams in home-and-home series and playing the remaining four teams just once. Each year, the American will determine home-and-home pairings between teams based on TV requirements and RPI rankings for each team along with other criteria.

Aside from Wichita State, the Huskies will also play home and away games against UCF, Cincinnati, East Carolina, Memphis, Tulsa and Temple. UConn was 6-6 against those six teams last season.

On top of the seven home-and-home matchups, the Huskies will play USF and SMU at home and take on Tulane and Houston on the road.