SHORTLY AFTER UCONN beat Texas in the title game of the Empire Classic last month, coach Dan Hurley entered the Madison Square Garden press room flanked by forwards Alex Karaban and Samson Johnson. While the players were answering questions, Hurley's gaze was fixed on a television on the far wall showing Kansas in the Maui Invitational.
"I just wanted to see what was going on," he joked to ESPN afterward.
Now UConn is in the middle of a five-day stretch in which it's facing two traditional basketball powerhouses.