NEW YORK — The defending NCAA champions, UConn, will make a highly anticipated return to Madison Square Garden next month for a key game against Gonzaga, which is set to be one of the highlights of the college basketball season at this iconic venue.
This season, the Garden will host 11 teams that have previously secured national championships, including powerhouse programs like Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina.
In total, 11 teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 will grace the court in Midtown Manhattan, with seven of those teams sitting among the top 15.
The action kicks off on Sunday when legendary coach Rick Pitino leads No. 22 St. John’s—making its return to the Top 25 for the first time in nearly six years—against New Mexico as part of the NYC Hoops for Heroes Classic, which supports the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
This matchup will see Pitino face off against his son, Richard, who is the head coach of New Mexico and guided the Lobos to an NCAA Tournament appearance last season.
Another Hall of Fame coach, John Calipari, will bring No. 18 Arkansas to the Garden for a showdown with Michigan during the second game of the Jimmy V Classic doubleheader on December 10. This marks Calipari’s first season with the Razorbacks after leaving Kentucky last spring.
Earlier that evening, No. 11 Tennessee will take on Miami in the first game of the doubleheader.
Just four days later, UConn, ranked third, will clash with No. 4 Gonzaga in a rematch of their December encounter last year in Seattle, which concluded with a Huskies victory.
Last season, UConn achieved a perfect 7-0 record at Madison Square Garden, a venue lovingly referred to by devoted fans as “Storrs South,” on their way to claiming back-to-back NCAA championships.
The following weekend will feature No. 10 North Carolina facing off against UCLA, while No. 19 Kentucky will compete against No. 21 Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic.
Freshman standout Cooper Flagg will lead No. 6 Duke into MSG for a match against Illinois on February 22.
Additionally, St. John’s will host seven Big East home games at the Garden, with key matchups including Villanova on January 11, Georgetown on January 14, No. 15 Marquette on February 4, No. 14 Creighton on February 16, and UConn on February 23.
UConn is also set to return to Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament, scheduled from March 12-15.