The preseason is over for the No. 4 UConn Huskies. The men’s basketball team finished the string of exhibition games at 3-0, and the Huskies appear to be ready for the quickly coming regular season.
What were some of the notable points of the Huskies’ 76-53 victory over Purdue on Tuesday night in Hartford, Conn.?
Here are three of them.
Centers of excellence?
Last season, UConn had the very valuable Tarris Reed Jr. in the paint, and when he wasn’t there, Eric Riebe manned the center position as a capable backup.
Reed, an All-Big East selection, is gone to the San Antonio Spurs. Riebe transferred and now plays for the USC Trojans.
To fill their roles, Hurley and the Huskies brought in transfers Na’jai Hines from Seton Hall and Oskar Giltay from Stanford, both coming off their freshman seasons. Hines was seen as one of the big prizes in the transfer portal and the likely successor to Reed.
In two games entering play on Tuesday, both centers have encountered foul trouble.
In their preseason opener, a 72-52 triumph over Syracuse on Oct. 13, Giltay fouled out and Hines had three fouls. Giltay had four and Hines fouled out against Michigan State on Oct. 20 in a 78-70 win.
And Tuesday against Purdue, Hines committed three fouls to two for Giltay. The latter took advantage of his 21 minutes of court time and scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and added four rebounds.
To compete against the power players UConn has coming up in the early weeks of the season in nonconference action, the Huskies centers need to play aggressively but manage to stay out of foul trouble, too.
Landrew has landed
Freshman Colben Landrew, a 6-foot-6 forward, led the Huskies with 15 points in 17 minutes. He was 6-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-3 from 3-point territory.
In the three preseason games, Landrew has scored 36 points – an average of 12 per game. He doesn’t appear to have any freshman fears, and it’s easy to see why some very, very early 2027 mock drafts have listed Landrew as a lottery pick.
Mullins is back
Braylon Mullins played 24 minutes in his first appearance of the preseason, and it was good to see him back on the court. He has been dealing with an undisclosed injury.
It wasn’t his best shooting day – he was 3-of-9 shooting and 1-of-6 from long range – but that is OK. Scrimmages can’t replace game action, and he will catch up. He finished with seven points, two rebounds and four assists.
Playing for keeps now
The preseason is done. The Huskies begin the regular season on Monday at 9 p.m. ET at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Conn., against Gardner-Webb.
After that, UConn will play seven of its next 11 games against Power Four opponents, including Duke, defending national champion Michigan, Arizona and Illinois.