Story by
UConn basketball earns ‘Kentucky of the East’ claim from Rick Pitino
- Story by
- UConn basketball earns ‘Kentucky of the East’ claim from Rick Pitino
David Butler II-Imagn Images
The post UConn basketball earns 'Kentucky of the East' claim from Rick Pitino appeared first on ClutchPoints .
Ask any Big East fan and they'll tell you that UConn basketball — on the men's and women's sides — has a passionate following.
Advertisement
Outside of Connecticut, maybe no one knows this better than St. John's coach Rick Pitino , who has coached against the Huskies since his days at Providence in the 1980s. Now, his Red Storm are the likely preseason favorite to win the Big East in 2025-26, and if it's not them, it will be UConn, who is just a year removed from back-to-back national championships .
The two UConn-St. John's games in the regular season are sure to be appointment television and he knows when the Huskies come to Madison Square Garden, they'll bring thousands of fans with them.
"Connecticut is like the Kentucky of the east," Pitino, who coached at Kentucky from 1989 to 1997, told CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein. "They have the greatest fan following. Wherever you go, you're going to see a UConn fan. Wherever you go in that neck of the woods, in the mid east so to speak, you see Kentucky. Those two fan bases travel the best and probably have the most passion in college basketball today.'
Advertisement
UConn basketball reloaded for the 2025-26 season
Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
UConn's quest for a three-peat fell well short last year as the Huskies earned an 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lost to eventual champion Florida in the second round. But behind incoming transfers like Silas Demary Jr. and Malachi Smith , as well as impact freshmen Braylon Mullins and Eric Reibe, the Huskies could enter the season as a top-five team.
They will also return All-American candidate Solo Ball, senior leader Alex Karaban and big man Tarris Reed Jr., who has all-conference potential himself.
"UConn's certainly going to have a great team this year from listening to people like yourself who went to watch them practice," PItino told Rothstein. "They're very strong, they're very hungry, obviously, coming off last year. They're deep, they're talented, they're very well coached and they have a great following."
Advertisement
The Big East hasn't released its schedule yet, so we don't know when the Huskies and Red Storm will face off first. We do know, however, that UConn's non-conference slate is filled with marquee opportunities, including a rematch against Florida in the Jimmy V, a showdown with AJ Dybantsa and BYU in Boston, and a trip to Allen Fieldhouse to face Kansas.
Related: Four-star guard chooses Florida A&M over Florida State, USC, Oregon
Related: Tennessee 28-game starter charged burglary, assault after arrest
