Indiana Basketball Opponent Preview: Hurley's Huskies a National Title Contender Again

Indiana drew the defending national champion UConn Huskies in the first of two games in the 2023 Empire Classic, which will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 19 and 20. Here's what UConn's offseason has looked like, and what Indiana can expect from the Huskies on game day.

Matchups for the 2023 Empire Classic came out on Monday, and Indiana drew the defending national champion UConn Huskies.

Indiana and UConn will begin the Empire Classic on Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. ET, followed by a matchup between Texas and Louisville inside the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City. The losers of the games on Nov. 19 will play in the third place game on Nov. 20 at 4:30 p.m. ET, followed by the championship game at approximately 7 p.m. ET.

Coach Mike Woodson built another difficult nonconference schedule for the Hoosiers in 2023-24, which also features Kansas and Auburn, but this matchup against UConn will be Indiana's first major test of the season. 

In coach Dan Hurley's third season, UConn ran through the 2023 NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed, winning each game by an average of 20 points. UConn experienced its fair share of roster turnover, but Hurley did well in the transfer portal and high school recruiting to build what looks like another national contender.

Here's what UConn's offseason has looked like after winning the national title, and what Indiana can expect from the Huskies on Nov. 19.

UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley and center Donovan Clingan (32) react to the crowd as they are honored with a parade through downtown Hartford / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Departures

UConn lost three starters from last year's national championship squad, headlined by 6-foot-9 forward Adama Sanogo, the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Sanogo averaged 17.7 points and 7.2 rebounds, but his loss is softened by the return of 7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan, a projected top-10 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft who's capable of putting up similar numbers to Sanogo as a sophomore. 

Starting shooting guard Jordan Hawkins is off to the NBA, joining the New Orleans Pelicans as the No. 14 pick. He was one of college basketball's best 3-point shooters last year, averaging 16.2 points per game on 38.8 percent 3-point shooting. UConn's third outgoing starter is Andre Jackson, who finished sixth on the team in points per game, but was crucial to their championship run with lockdown wing defense, rebounding and slick passing. 

Other notable losses include Joey Calcaterra and Naheim Alleyne, who were UConn's top guards off the bench. Calcaterra shot 44.6 percent from 3-point range, and Alleyne contributed 5.2 points per game. Altogether, UConn lost just over 65 percent of its scoring from last year, but remains positioned as one of college basketball's top teams after a successful offseason of recruiting.

Arrivals

UConn landed one of the top 3-point shooters in the transfer portal, Cam Spencer. After beginning his career at Loyola Maryland, the 6-foot-4 Spencer started all 34 games for Rutgers in 2022-23 and tied for the team lead in points per game. Spencer averaged 13.2 points and shot 43.4 percent from 3-point range on 4.9 attempts per game. He'll play a key role in replacing Hawkins.

Hurley also brings in one of the nation's top high school recruits. Stephon Castle is ranked No. 12 overall and No. 3 among point guards in the ESPN Top 100 for the class of 2023. Out of Covington, Ga., Castle stands at 6-foot-6 and is already projected to join Clingan as UConn's second lottery pick in next year's draft.

Castle headlines a 2023 UConn recruiting class that's ranked No. 4 in the 247 Sports Composite team rankings and includes top-50 prospects Solomon Ball and Jaylin Stewart, as well as fellow four-star recruits Jayden Ross and Youssouf Singare.

Projected starting lineup matchups

• Tristen Newton – Xavier Johnson
• Cam Spencer – Trey Galloway
• Stephon Castle – Mackenzie Mgbako
• Alex Karaban – Malik Reneau
• Donovan Clingan – Kel'el Ware

While UConn and Indiana didn't play against each other last year, there are a few connections in the starting lineup. 

On his prior team, Rutgers, Cam Spencer played two games against Indiana last season, coming with mixed results. In the first matchup, Spencer struggled. He scored just three points in 17 minutes of action, making 1-of-5 field goal attempts, but Rutgers' defense suffocated the Hoosiers in a 63-48 win in Piscataway, N.J. In the second matchup, Spencer scored 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting, but Indiana claimed a 66-60 win at Assembly Hall. Galloway guarded Spencer a solid amount in both matchups, creating an intriguing rematch this season.

One of Indiana's most important offseason moves was replacing starting forwards Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson, and Kel'el Ware, the No. 2 player in the transfer portal, should help. A former top-10 recruit in the class of 2022, Ware spent his freshman year at Oregon, where he matched up against UConn on Nov. 24 in the Phil Knight Invitational. It was just his fifth college basketball game, but Ware posted a career-high 18 points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes against Adama Sanogo, the eventual NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, and Donovan Clingan. The rest of Ware's season didn't meet these standards, though, as he finished the year averaging 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds. If Woodson can tap into Ware's potential, this matchup on Nov. 19 could feature two eventual first-round picks, Ware and Clingan.

These lineups could obviously change before game day, but UConn appears to present some mismatches for Indiana. UConn's three-guard lineup would challenge Mgbako's perimeter defense, and Karaban's 3-point shooting ability would frequently draw Reneau out of the paint, too. On the flip side, Mgbako and Reneau will have a size and strength advantage over their defenders.

Season outlook

UConn is widely regarded as a national title contender in 2023-24, and they'd be the first team to win back-to-back championships since Florida in 2006 and 2007. Despite the loss of Sanogo, Hawkins and Jackson, UConn returns three of its top-five scorers, including point guard Tristen Newton (10.1 ppg, 4.7 apg), forward Alex Karaban (9.3 ppg, 40.2% 3-point) and center Donovan Clingan (6.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.8 bpg). Add sharpshooting transfer Cam Spencer and five-star guard Stephon Castle, and UConn should carry a top-10 national ranking into its matchup against Indiana.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• 2023-24 IU NONCONFERENCE SCHEDULE: Indiana released its 11-game nonconference schedule on Tuesday, which features high-profile matchups against Kansas and Auburn, then two games against UConn, Texas or Louisville in the Empire Classic. CLICK HERE
• RACE THOMPSON INJURY: Former Indiana basketball forward Race Thompson posted on Instagram on Tuesday that he fractured his right tibia plateau two months ago. Thompson originally signed with the New York Knicks summer league team, but he was unable to play. CLICK HERE