UConn men begin final AAC season tonight at Cincinnati
UConn is in a significantly better place entering its American Athletic Conference schedule this season.
Coach Dan Hurley says he's a lot more confident and less scared than last season at this point.
"We're much more of a team," he said. "Culture is a real thing now. Character of our team is a lot stronger. We're a lot tougher . ... We've been a very, very tough-minded, competitive, determined team.
"We haven't always played great basketball, especially on the offensive end. We've come a long way as a program in terms of how we show up, how we compete. Obviously, the defensive end is like night and day compared to last year. (Akok) Akok, (Jalen) Gaffney and (James) Bouknight have infused us with this youthful talent and energy.
"Everyone is a better version of
themselves for the most part."
UConn (9-3) is facing a challenging start, kicking off a two-game road trip today against Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena (7 p.m., CBSSN).
The Huskies are determined to make noise in their seventh and final AAC season before returning to the Big East.
Since preseason, they've have kept a picture of the AAC championship trophy close by, bringing it almost everywhere — including team meals and practices.
UConn has never won an AAC regular season title and captured the conference tournament crown just once (2016), which also was the last time the Huskies had a winning league record. They were 6-12 last season and were picked to finish sixth this season.
The players have stayed away from making any bold proclamations.
"I think we have a chance," senior Christian Vital said. "I believed we had a chance last year. We lost Jalen (Adams) for a month, or something like that, and Alterique (Gilbert) as well . ... This is probably the deepest team that I've been on. We have a lot of good guys and talented guys. We're just going to take it a day at a time, game by game and not rush anything."
It's been a revealing non-conference season for the Huskies, who've been far more competitive than last season and posted some impressive wins. A home loss to Saint Joseph's was the only downer.
Now they must to prove themselves over a grueling 18-game conference schedule.
"We get a chance to play in high level conference games and we get a chance to try to move this thing forward and attack conference play and try to compete at a high level and try to have a great season," Hurley said.
Early signs indicate the AAC may be deeper than expected. Memphis, which was the co-preseason conference favorite (with Houston), and Wichita State are ranked ninth and 24th, respectively, in the Associated Press Top 25.
"A number of teams have a shot to compete for (the championship) this year," Hurley said. "I feel like it's pretty open . ... Overall, the league is a lot deeper this year. I don't know if we have the high-end team like Houston was last year. Maybe Memphis is that this year . ... There's a lot of really good teams this year across the board."
Cincinnati (7-5), third in the AAC preseason poll, is one of those contenders.
The Bearcats are off to a bumpy start under new coach John Brannen.
A difficult non-conference schedule is partially to blame. Three of the Bearcats' five losses are to nationally-ranked Ohio State, Xavier and Iowa. Also, returning AAC Player of the Year Jarron Cumberland has struggled.
The conference schedule-makers didn't do UConn any favors with a two-game road trip that continues on to South Florida. The Huskies have lost seven straight to Cincinnati and not won a true road game in the series since 2011.
UConn must return home with at least one win on this swing if it wants to prevent that sinking here-we-goagain feeling. Anything less would be a horrible sign.
"I remember last year we dropped the first one at South Florida and that kind of put us in a bad place mentally," Gilbert said. "We're just looking forward to it." g.keefe@theday.com