UConn Huskies Men’s Basketball Season Preview/Predictions
UConn Huskies Men’s Basketball Season Predictions and Overview
College Basketball’s biggest nutcase is back, and he’s made it his mission to prove yet again he’s the best coach in the country, and this time he’s made it his mission to do it with a specific path of honor.
Dan Hurley spent his offseason rebuilding a roster that lost two star players to the NBA, as well as having multiple key players transfer away from UConn. The Huskies will return just 35% of their minutes from last season after factoring in Solo Ball’s medical redshirt this season.
When it came to filling in the gaps, Hurley made one thing clear. He would not cave to the rising trend of bringing in older players with professional experience, including former G-League players as well as players coming over from professional leagues overseas, who hope to gain NBA draft exposure.
Instead, the Husky game plan stayed mostly traditional, bringing in highly touted high school recruits and targeting players out of the transfer portal.
Roster Overview
Key Losses:
Alex Karaban, Tarris Reed Jr. -> NBA Draft
Alec Millender, Malachi Smith, Dwayne Koroma -> Graduated
Jaylin Stewart, Jacob Furphy, Eric Reibe -> Transfer Portal
High School/International Recruits:
Colben Landrew, 6’6 SF: A Consensus 5-Star prospect from Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia. Earned honors as the 2025-26 Gatorade Georgia Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Colben is a Dynamic scoring forward with an affinity for rebounding and creating turnovers on defense.
Junior County, 6’4 PG: A 4-Star playmaking guard from Wasatch Academy in Utah. County was named 2025-26 Utah Men’s Basketball player of the year. Junior has the ability to lead a unit with his playmaking abilities, as well as being capable of getting a bucket when it matters most. He will likely lead the 2nd unit at PG behind Silas Demary Jr.
Egor Amosov, 6’7 F: An international prospect hailing from Russia, Amosov looks to make an immediate impact in the backup forward role. Egor won the inaugural Spanish Liga U youth championship and was named Liga U player of the year. Amosov projects to be a key player in defensive rotations off the bench for UConn after developing in the Real Madrid system in Spain.
Transfer Portal Additions:
Nikolas Khamenia, 6’8 F: A Sophomore from Duke, Khamenia is expected to slide into the Alex Karaban role. Nik is a proven winner and appeared in every game for Duke last season. He shot 34% from three, and 44% from the field.
Najai Hines, 6’10 C: A familiar face from Big East play, Sophomore transfer Najai Hines comes over from Seton Hall to assume the position of starting Center. Hines is a post-scoring threat with a knack for rebounding, similar to the likes of former Husky big men Adama Sanogo and Tarris Reed.
Oscar Giltay, 6’10 PF/C: The projected backup Center, Giltay comes over from Stanford to fill the role we saw Eric Reibe play last season. The sophomore brings rim protection and efficient scoring under the basket.
Nils Machowski, 6’4 SG: A sharpshooting senior from Wofford who brings elite-level efficiency from beyond the arc, shooting over 38% from long range. Nils dropped a 30-ball on more than one occasion last season, and scored a career-high 37 points this past January.
UConn brought in seven total transfers, but these four are projected to get the most playing time out of the new Huskies. The other three transfers include Jaye Nash, a Junior point guard from Jacksonville State, Isaiah Shaw, a senior wing from Northern Arizona, and Elmir Dzafic, a seven-foot transfer from Arkansas who brings physicality and loads of potential in future seasons.
Dan Hurley and staff have a real challenge figuring out how to build a rotation with such a heavy change in roster continuity from last season, but here is how most believe the starting lineup and bench units will shake out.
Starters and Depth Chart
PG: Silas Demary Jr. / Junior County / Jaye Nash
SG: Braylon Mullins / Nils Machowski
SF: Jayden Ross / Colben Landrew / Jacob Ross
PF: Nik Khamenia / Egor Amosov
C: Najai Hines / Oscar Giltay / Elmir Dzafic
Season Predictions
Now that you’re familiar with the team, let’s get into the fun stuff. UConn has one of, if not the hardest, non-conference schedules in the country this season. The early season schedule consists of seemingly endless tests against ranked opponents, starting with a national championship rematch. Let’s go over the big games.
Nov 6, Michigan
TD Garden, Boston, MA
The tone setter. UConn seeks revenge against Michigan after a crushing loss in the National Championship last year. The Wolverines lost most of their starters, as well as their head coach, to the NBA. This should be an interesting matchup on a neutral-site court that typically provides home-court advantage to the Huskies. This is a winnable game that should instill fire into the team for the rest of the gauntlet.
Huskies win 81 – 75
Nov 13, Ohio State
PeoplesBank Arena, Hartford, CT
Ohio State might not be ranked to start the season, but shouldn’t be taken lightly. This is a team that went to the NCAA tournament last year and was only a few points away from a win. Another year under coach Jake Diebler should improve the Buckeyes’ outlook. OSU will have already played BYU, so this won’t be their first test. The biggest thing going for UConn here is the loss of star player Bruce Thornton to the NBA, which will leave some questions for the Buckeyes.
Huskies win 82 – 69
Nov 18, Arizona
McKale Center, Tucson, AZ
Just one day off of a full calendar year later, UConn and Arizona will clash once again after a top-5 matchup last season. Last season, UConn fell just short after a comeback brought them within 4 points after being down the entire game. This season, the Huskies travel to Tucson to play the Wildcats in their house. This will likely be the toughest challenge of the non-conference schedule, and an unlikely game to win.
But this is UConn we’re talking about; we are built on unlikely. The Huskies go into Arizona and can steal a game in a statement win against a team that is likely to be ranked in the top 5 once again, and get revenge for last season’s loss.
Huskies win 68 – 67
Nov 25, Duke
T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV
Last season, UConn met Duke in the Elite Eight after not matching up with each other for 10 years prior. This was the game where Braylon Mullins hit the legendary buzzer-beater to save the season and advance to the final 4.
Duke is undoubtedly out for revenge, and they will be playing us just about as far away as you can get from Storrs. They have a great roster and are proven in big games early in the season. I think at least one of these early-season games gets away from us, and this is the most likely one to slip.
Huskies fall 72 – 65
Dec 4, Illinois
United Center, Chicago, IL
The past few seasons have been a rollercoaster for Illinois fans, with one constant bump in the ride: UConn. The iconic 30-0 run in the NCAA tournament a few years ago leaves a mental block that isn’t easy to overcome. Last season, UConn won again on a neutral court, and continued the repeated babysitting of little brother Illinois.
This season, though, Illinois is projected to finish the regular season as a 1 seed going into the NCAA tournament, with a real chance to win it all. Unfortunately for them, so are we, and Dan Hurley will continue outcoaching and dominating their program until he decides it is time to call it a career, sorry Illinois fans.
Huskies win 74 – 63
Dec 14, Kansas
Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, CT
Bill Self and the Jayhawks will travel to CT before Christmas time to take on UConn in the final game of our home-and-home series that was set up a few years ago. Last season, UConn took down Kansas; Braylon Mullins had a breakout game where he scored 14 and will look to continue that groove in his expanded role this season. Kansas is a worthy opponent, and Bill Self is one of the best in this business, so I could see this game going either way against a revitalized Kansas squad.
Huskies fall 79 – 75
Dec 20, Virginia
Madison Square Garden, New York City
There is nothing like a UConn game at MSG, and luckily for us, we don’t have to play St. John’s every time we go there. Virginia is no easy task, though; the Cavaliers had a 30-win season last year and finished 2nd in the ACC, only behind Duke. Head coach Ryan Odom has turned this team around, and I think they could be a dark horse to finish this season as a top 3 seed. They will have to come play us in Storrs South, though, which historically does not bode well for travelling opponents. The steady hand of Silas Demary Jr. should limit turnovers, and we can outlast the Virginia defense.
Huskies win 63 – 57
Big East Play
For the sake of this article’s length, I’ll touch on who I think UConn could potentially lose to instead of going through every game in conference play. With each conference game you don’t see here, assume I chalk that up to a win.
Jan 3rd, Creighton
CHI Health Center, Omaha, NE
For some reason, Creighton seems to be a hurdle for us every season. This season, Creighton is without longtime head coach Greg McDermott, who was Dan Hurley’s biggest opposition before Rick Pitino returned to the Big East to coach the Johnnies. I don’t think a rebuilding Creighton team could beat us this season, but it would be silly to not include them as a challenge on the road, seeing their track record against us.
Huskies win 71 – 67
Jan 12, Marquette
Gample Pavilion, Storrs, CT
After a rebuilding year and a refusal to cave to the ways of the transfer portal, Shaka Smart has Marquette projected to get back to their old ways of being a staple in the top 25 rankings. They return star guard Nigel James Jr., who looks to make a case for Big East player of the year. Silas Demary’s stout defense should match up well to take on the Golden Eagle offense, but a clash between two great coaches should make for a good matchup.
Huskies win 79 – 71
Jan 20, Providence
Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, RI
The last few seasons haven’t been great to Providence; losing seasons, player suspensions, and coaching uncertainty have been real talking points. Needless to say, this is the game with the most bad blood on UConn’s schedule, and Providence has a home-court advantage that does not get enough credit; Amica is a truly tough arena to play at. This is a brand new roster, though, with a new head coach and only one major returnee from last season’s Friar group. The first game against Hurley will be a tough challenge for new coach Brian Hodgson, but he impressed with South Florida last year.
Every year, UConn has a game that they should not lose, that they end up losing. We saw this with Seton Hall a few years ago, and even with Marquette last season. I think this is that game for the Huskies; the tough road environment with an unfamiliar team and coaching scheme could catch us for one of our few Big East losses.
Huskies fall 82 – 80
Jan 29, St. John’s
Madison Square Garden, Storrs South
The biggest game of the Big East schedule, UConn heads over the Tri-State border to take on Rick Pitino and the Red Storm at MSG. This series saw a split last year, and ultimately St. John’s got the best over UConn in a 20-point blowout in the Big East finals. That being the last time we saw the Johnnies, you better believe Hurley will have the team coming out in full force. St. John’s won’t have Zuby Ejiofor or Bryce Hopkins anymore, and will instead lean on Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou. This game can and will go to UConn, but it will be a dogfight through and through.
Huskies win 63 – 62
Feb 14, Villanova
Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
By this point, we will be about halfway through Big East play and will have taken care of business against a revamped Villanova roster at home, but playing in Philadelphia will be a different story. Kevin Willard has legitimately transformed this squad, and is one of many D1 teams to pull a player out of the NBA draft, their player coming in the form of Luigi Suigo, a 7’3 big man who projects to be a problem on the glass. UConn could struggle with his height, and with the history of big man foul trouble we tend to fall into, the Huskies could have a real problem with this team. They also return Big East first-team guard Tyler Perkins; this will be a real test deep into the season.
Huskies fall 74 – 65
Feb 20, Marquette
FISERV Forum, Milwaukee, WI
We once again meet with the Golden Eagles, this time in Milwaukee. Nigel James and company will look to take revenge for their earlier loss in Storrs, and Shaka will look for his signature win that solidifies Marquette as a top 6-8 seed, instead of a team that would need a very strong out-of-conference schedule to propel themselves into the top 5 lines. Unfortunately, they won’t get that done here, and will have to find that big win against St. John’s in Big East play. UConn matches up with their scheme a bit too well for that.
Huskies win 77 – 65
Mar 2, St. Johns
PeoplesBank Arena, Hartford, CT
A game that probably should have been reserved for Gample falls in Hartford, and Rick Pitino will be coming in hot, probably with some quotes from the media that Husky fans won’t take too kindly. By this point, the Red Storm should be in top shape and fully cohesive as a unit, and that is a scary thought, thinking back to how the Big East tournament went last season. After taking them down in New York, I don’t see our Huskies winning both of these games, unless we have a real top-5 NBA guy in Colben Landrew who can push us past adversity. This will be a split series that reaches its ultimate decision in the conference finals once again.
Huskies fall 85 – 79
That’s all of the regular season games I’m choosing to highlight. This projection would leave the Huskies at just 5 losses and a likely #1 seed if all goes well in the Big East Tournament, which I predict we will take home this season.
Regular Season record: 27- 5
Post-Conference Tournament Record: 30- 5
NCAA Tournament Seed: 1-2
NCAA Projection: Elite Eight – National Champions
End of Season Awards
Big East First Team:
Silas Demary Jr.
Braylon Mullins
Big East Second Team:
Najai Hines
Big East Third Team:
Nik Khamenia
Colben Landrew
Big East Freshman of the Year:
Colben Landrew
Let me know in the comments what you think. Go Huskies.