Empire Classic Preview: UConn, Indiana, Texas, Louisville Meet at Madison Square Garden

The 2023 Empire Classic takes place at Madison Square Garden on Sunday and Monday and features UConn, Indiana, Texas and Louisville. Here's the full event schedule, plus a breakdown and analysis of each team.

Jack Ankony | Nov 17, 2023

Empire Classic Preview: UConn, Indiana, Texas, Louisville Meet at Madison Square Garden /

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Indiana Hoosiers

NEW YORK – Madison Square Garden plays host to the Empire Classic, a four-team tournament on Sunday and Monday filled with some of college basketball's top talent.

It begins with a matchup between the reigning national champion UConn Huskies and Indiana, followed by Texas versus Louisville. Each team will play two games in one of basketball's most iconic venues. They will be televised on the ESPN networks.

Event schedule

(All games at Madison Square Garden)

Sunday, Nov. 19

Indiana vs. UConn, 1 p.m. ET on ESPN
Texas vs. Louisville, 3 p.m. ET on ESPN

Monday, Nov. 20

Third place game, 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU
Championship game, 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU

For tickets, CLICK HERE.

Here's a breakdown of each team participating in the Empire Classic.

UConn Huskies

Roster changes: After winning the national championship, UConn lost three starters: Adama Sanogo (17.12 ppg), Jordan Hawkins (16.2 ppg) and Andre Jackson (6.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 4.7 apg). UConn recruited a five-player freshman class, highlighted by five-star guard Stephon Castle, as well as four-stars Solomon Ball, Jaylin Stewart, Jayden Ross and Youssouf Singare. The Huskies also added Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer, a 6-foot-4 guard who averaged 13.2 points and shot 43.4% from three last year.
Early outcomes: UConn is 3-0 with a 95-52 win over Northern Arizona, a 107-67 win over Stonehill College and an 87-53 win over Mississippi Valley State. UConn has five players averaging 14-plus points this season, including Alex Karaban, Tristen Newton, Donovan Clingan, Cam Spencer and Stephon Castle.
Season outlook: Ranked No. 5 in the nation, UConn is in contention for back-to-back national titles. Despite several key departures, coach Dan Hurley has a balanced roster with plenty of shooting and a strong inside presence. Though center Adama Sanogo is gone, UConn has 7-foot-2 sophomore Donovan Clingan, who's a projected lottery pick in the NBA draft. Alex Karaban and Tristen Newton are back after starting on last year's national championship team, and Hurley supplemented the roster with Rutgers sharpshooter Cam Spencer and guard Stephon Castle, the nation's ninth-ranked freshman. Castle recently had an MRI for a knee injury and will miss "some time," but four-star freshman Solomon Ball stepped up in his absence and scored 10 points in the last game. The Huskies haven't been truly tested yet, but they'll play in the Empire Classic and then face Kansas, North Carolina and Gonzaga before a tough Big East slate.

Indiana Hoosiers

Roster changes: Indiana lost four starters from a team that reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 as a No. 4 seed: Trayce Jackson-Davis (20.9 ppg), Jalen Hood-Schifino (13.5 ppg), Race Thompson (8.4 ppg) and Miller Kopp (8.1 ppg). Indiana added three transfers in the front court – Kel'el Ware from Oregon, Anthony Walker from Miami and Payton Sparks from Ball State – as well as three freshmen, including five-star forward Mackenzie Mgbako and four-star guards Gabe Cupps and Jakai Newton, who's currently out with a knee injury.
Early outcomes: Indiana is 3-0 with a 69-63 win over Florida Gulf Coast, a 72-64 win over Army and an 89-80 win over Wright State. Ware is leading the Hoosiers with 18.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, followed by Malik Reneau (15.0 ppg), Xavier Johnson (14.0 ppg) and Trey Galloway (12.0 ppg)
Season outlook: Indiana was picked to finish sixth in a Big Ten full of uncertainty in the middle of the conference. Playing with six new scholarship players – and without All-American forward Trayce Jackson-Davis and first-round NBA draft pick Jalen Hood-Schifino – will take some serious adjustments, as the first three games have shown. Coach Mike Woodson is thankful to have senior point guard Xavier Johnson back after missing most of last year with a broken foot, as well as senior guard Trey Galloway, but it's clear everyone is still learning to play together. Oregon transfer Kel'el Ware has been a great addition so far, but five-star freshman Mackenzie Mgbako is off to a slow start. After three unconvincing wins to start, there are concerns about Indiana's 3-point shooting, defensive chemistry and depth. The individual talent is there, but Indiana's potential success relies on the new-look roster learning to play as a unit. Johnson also left Thursday's game with what appeared to be an ankle or foot injury, but he was able to walk off under his own power. Woodson didn't have an update postgame, but that's something to keep an eye on heading into the UConn game.

Texas Longhorns

Roster changes: Texas lost Marcus Carr (15.9 ppg), Sir'Jabari Rice (13.0 ppg), Timmy Allen (10.5 ppg) and Christian Bishop (6.6 ppg) from last year's team that reached the Elite Eight. Coach Rodney Terry added transfer guard Max Abmas from Oral Roberts, guard Ithiel Horton from UCF, forward Kadin Shedrick from Virginia, forward Ze'Rik Onyema from UTEP and guard Chendall Weaver from UT-Arlington. Texas brought in two freshmen, four-star guard Chris Johnson and three-star small forward Devon Pryor.
Early outcomes: Texas is 3-0 with an 88-56 win over Incarnate Word, an 86-59 win over Delaware State and an 80-64 win over Rice. Guards Max Abmas, Ithiel Horton and Tyrese Hunter are each averaging 14-plus points this season.
Season outlook: Texas was picked third in the Big 12 preseason poll, behind Kansas and Houston. The Longhorns lost a significant amount of scoring, but they landed one of college basketball's most prolific scorers in Max Abmas, who averaged at least 21 points each of the last three seasons at Oral Roberts. Texas got a boost when former five-star recruit Dillon Mitchell withdrew from the NBA Draft and returned for his sophomore year, and guard Tyrese Hunter is back for his senior year after averaging 14.0 points last season. Texas' ceiling this season may ultimately be determined by the health of senior forward Dylan Disu, who's out with a foot injury. Disu scored 28 points with 10 rebounds in Texas' NCAA Tournament win over Penn State.

Louisville Cardinals

Roster changes: Louisville lost El Ellis (17.7 ppg), Jae'lyn Withers (8.9 ppg), Kamari Lands (5.9 ppg) and Sydney Curry (4.9 ppg). Entering his second year as head coach, Kenny Payne signed top-25 freshman center Dennis Evans and three players outside the top 100 in Kaleb Glenn, Ty-Laur Johnson and Curtis Williams Jr. In the transfer portal, Payne added Tre White from USC, Skyy Clark from Illinois, Danilo Jovanovich from Miami and Koron Davis from Los Angeles Southwest College.
Early outcomes: Louisville is 2-1 with a 94-93 win over UMBC, an 81-71 home loss to Chattanooga and a 61-41 win over Coppin State.
Season outlook: Louisville was picked 14th in the preseason ACC poll, only ahead of Notre Dame. The first year of the Kenny Payne era ended with a disastrous 4-28 record, and KenPom predicts the Cardinals to go 10-20 this year. Louisville lost an exhibition game to Kentucky Wesleyan and a regular season game to Chattanooga. Sophomore guard Michael James is averaging 18 points through three games, and Louisville is hoping transfers Tre White and Skyy Clark can spark a turnaround. But so far, year two under Payne hasn't offered much promise.

Prediction

Due to Louisville's prolonged struggles and Indiana's narrow wins over mid-majors, the Empire Classic seems set for a UConn versus Texas championship game Monday night. Texas won't be at its best until Disu returns, so I'll pick UConn, the reigning national champions, to win the Empire Classic because of their combination of strong 3-point shooting and the 7-foot-2 Clingan inside. Indiana looks like a true work in progress right now with so many new players, but the Hoosiers can leave New York feeling like progress was made if they play a competitive game against UConn and beat Louisville handily.