STORRS – Are you ready for some college basketball?
That’s right, basketball. Tuesday night at Gampel (7 p.m., no TV) the defending national champion UConn Huskies will be back in competition again when the Southern Connecticut Owls visit for an exhibition game. It will be the first of two exhibition games as the Huskies (32-8 last season) prepare for the season opener against Bryant on Nov. 14. The Huskies will also play Assumption Sunday at 7 p.m. at XL Center in Hartford.
UConn apparently will be without guard Omar Calhoun against Southern. UConn’s athletic department issued a release Monday saying Calhoun is still recovering from a right knee MCL sprain. Calhoun sprained the knee Oct. 28 and continues to receive treatment. He has not participated in practice. It seems more likely that Calhoun won’t be ready to return until Nov. 14.
Captain Ryan Boatright, preseason player of the year in the American, will be directing the offense at point guard without Shabazz Napier at his side. Guard Rodney Purvis, who transferred from North Carolina State in the spring of 2013, will be wearing a UConn uniform for the first time. And the highly ranked recruiting class of Daniel Hamilton, Sam Cassell Jr. and Rakim Lubin will make its exhibition debut for coach Kevin Ollie.
Ollie has been talking since June about having the opportunity to play big men Amida Brimah and Phil Nolan together. This will be the first opportunity to try that under the game lights.
Southern, from New Haven, was 30-3 last season and reached the elite eight of the NCAA Division II tournament.
A 30-second shot clock will be used in the exhibition. The American Athletic Conference has been granted a NCAA waiver to experiment with the shot clock and UConn will use the 30-second clock in both exhibition game. Data will be collected and sent to the NCAA Rules Committee. During the regular season the usual 35-second clock will be in use.
UConn is 47-6 in exhibition games over the last 28 years and has won 40 straight since losing to Marathon Oil on Nov. 21, 1993.
NOTE: DUE TO WTIC’S ELECTION COVERAGE TONIGHT, THE GAME WILL BE HEARD ON WTIC-FM 96.5
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