STORRS, Conn. – The University of Connecticut men’s basketball team has announced a 12-game non-conference schedule for the 2014-15 season, highlighted by games against perennial national powerhouses Duke and Florida, and an in-season tournament in Puerto Rico.

The 2014-15 non-conference slate includes six home games, two away games, and four games on neutral courts. In addition, the Huskies will play two preseason exhibition games in early November. Home venues for each game will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 2014 National Champion Huskies will play the first of two exhibition games on Tuesday, Nov. 4, against Division II Southern Connecticut State University. After playing a preseason contest against UConn last year, the Owls went on to have the finest season in school history, finishing with a 30-3 record, 18-2 in the Northeast-10, and reaching the Elite Eight in the NCAA Division II National Tournament. The Huskies’ second exhibition game will be on Sunday, Nov. 9, against Division II Assumption, out of Worcester, Mass., also a member of the Northeast-10.

UConn opens the regular season at home on Friday night, Nov. 14, entertaining Bryant University of the Northeast Conference, which posted an 18-14 record last season.

Following the opener, the Huskies will head for San Juan and participate for the first time in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, Nov. 20, 21, and 23 at Coliseo Roberto Clemente. UConn first opponent in the tourney will be College of Charleston, 14-18 last year, on Nov. 20 at 12:30 p.m. On Friday, Nov. 21, the Huskies will either meet Dayton, which won 26 games last season and reached the NCAA Elite Eight, or Texas A&M, which won 18 games. On Sunday, the final day of the tournament, UConn will face an opponent from among George Mason, West Virginia, New Mexico, or Boston College. The tourney will be televised on the ESPN family of networks.

Upon returning home, UConn will renew its series against the University of Texas, hosting the Longhorns on Sunday, Nov. 30, at noon on ESPN2. Texas won 24 games last season and reached the third round of the NCAA tourney.

In-state rival Yale, which reached the championship game of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament and won 19 games last season, visits the Huskies on Friday, Dec. 5. Following a nine-day break for final exams, UConn will then play host to Baltimore-based Coppin State on Sunday, Dec. 14.

Four days later, on Thursday, Dec. 18, UConn and Duke will meet for the first time in five years at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. The Blue Devils won 26 games last year and are projected to add one of the nation’s top recruiting classes.

Columbia, which won 21 games last year and also participated in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, comes to UConn on Monday, Dec. 22, while in-state rival Central Connecticut makes a visit to challenge the Huskies on Sunday, Dec. 28.

UConn’s final two regular-season non-conference games will take place on the road in January.

On Saturday, Jan. 3, the Huskies will travel to Gainesville to meet Florida. The Gators won 36 games last season, but lost two exciting contests to UConn — in December at Gampel Pavilion and in the NCAA National Semifinals in Arlington. Texas, in front of the largest crowd in college basketball history (79,444).

UConn ends its regular-season non-conference slate on Saturday, Jan. 17, in Palo Alto, Calif., where it will battle Stanford, an NCAA Sweet 16 team last year, at Maples Pavilion.

Game times, home game locations, and television information will be announced at a later date, as will UConn’s complete schedule, including its 18 American Athletic Conference games.

This in from UConn:

STORRS, Conn. – The University of Connecticut women’s basketball team has released its non-conference schedule for the 2014-15 season, as announced by head coach Geno Auriemma on Friday.  The schedule includes 12 games, a figure that includes four at home, three on the road and five at neutral sites.

The Huskies will play their first of two exhibition games against Division II opponents on Saturday, November 1 against Auriemma’s alma mater, West Chester University.  West Chester finished the 2013-14 season with a 19-9 record and a 13-3 mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.  The exhibition portion of the schedule will be rounded out with a game against Post University on Sunday, November 9.  Post finished last season with a 10-16 record, including a 9-10 mark in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.

The regular-season opener is set for Friday, November 14 when the Huskies head west to square-off against UC Davis.  The Aggies finished the 2013-14 campaign with a 15-16 record and a 9-7 mark in the Big West.  UConn defeated UC Davis by a 97-37 margin on December 5, 2013 in Hartford.

Next up for the Huskies is a rematch of last year’s NCAA national semifinal matchup as the team remains in the Golden State to take on Stanford.  The Cardinal finished the year ranked sixth in the Associated Press Poll and won the Pac-12 regular season crown before falling to UConn, 75-56, in the aforementioned matchup.  Stanford was 33-4 overall last year but the Huskies have won four-straight and seven of the last eight showdowns between the two squads.  The Stanford matchup is set for a 9 p.m. ET tip and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

The 2014-15 home opener is set for Sunday, November 23 against Creighton.  The Blue Jays were 20-14 overall and 12-16 in the Big East last year.  The team finished the season rated No. 83 in the RPI and advanced to the second round of the NIT.

The Huskies will head to the Sunshine State over Thanksgiving to compete in the Gulf Coast Showcase at Germain Arena in Naples.  UConn will open the event on Friday, November 28 against the College of Charleston and will face either Minnesota or Vanderbilt on Saturday.  Sunday’s contest will pit the Huskies against either Georgia Tech, Green Bay or Villanova.  SNY will have complete coverage of the Huskies during the event.

UConn has won 52-straight regular-season tournament games dating back to a 57-37 loss to Vanderbilt on December 29, 1992 at the Hilton Head Super Shootout.

The Huskies will partake in the Jimmy V Classic for the fourth-straight season when the team travels to South Bend, Ind. on December 6 for a showdown with Notre Dame.  The Irish finished the 2013-14 season with a 37-1 overall record and won the ACC regular season and tournament crowns before falling, 79-58, to UConn in the national championship game.  The Irish had beaten the Huskies four-consecutive times before losing each of the last two matchups between the two teams.  Game time is set for 3:15 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN.

UConn will welcome DePaul to the Nutmeg State on Friday, December 19 in a contest between two former conference rivals.  The Blue Demons posted a 29-7 record last year and won the Big East regular season and tournament championship before advancing to the Regional Semifinal of the NCAA Tournament.  The Huskies are 11-1 all-time vs. DePaul with the only blemish coming during Ronald Reagan’s first term as president.

Next up for the Huskies is a contest against UCLA on Sunday, December 21 at Mohegan Sun Arena as part of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Women’s Holiday Showcase.  The contest is set to tip at 5 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPN2.  UCLA suffered through an injury-riddled 2013-14 season and finished with a 13-18 overall mark, including 7-11 in the Pac 12.

After breaking for over a week for Christmas, the Huskies will welcome Duke to Connecticut on Monday, December 29.  The Blue Devils finished last season ranked No. 9 nationally and were 28-7 before exiting the NCAA Tournament in the second round.

Next on the docket is a meeting with St. John’s on Sunday, January 4 in the Maggie Dixon Classic at Madison Square Garden.  This will mark UConn’s second-consecutive appearance in the Maggie Dixon Classic and St. John’s finished last year with a 23-11 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The12-game non-conference slate will be rounded out with a game on Monday, February 9 against South Carolina in the Constitution State.  USC finished last season ranked No. 8 nationally and won the SEC regular season title before bowing out in the NCAA Regional Semifinal.

Game times, home game locations and television information are TBA. A complete SNY broadcast schedule will be announced at a later date.

2014-15 Non-conference Schedule Notes
– 12 total games
– Four home games, three road contests and five at neutral sites
– Four games against teams in last year’s RPI top-10
– Four games against teams that won a conference championship in 2013-14
– Four games against teams that advanced to the 2014 NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal
– Two games against teams that advanced to the 2014 NCAA Tournament Regional Final

*Does not include matchups for Naples Tournament

After seeing their bullpen falter late in the game last night, the Boston Red Sox look to get back on track in the middle game of a three-game set with the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

First pitch is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. The game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Cardinals television market, you can catch the game on Fox Sports Midwest. If you don’t live in either market you’re in luck as ESPN will have coverage of the game (outside of Red Sox and Cardinals television markets). You can also catch the game online at WatchESPN or the WatchESPN app where available. And if you can’t catch the game on television, you can always listen on the 2014 Red Sox Radio Network.

Joe Kelly makes his first start for the Red Sox and eighth overall this season. In his previous seven starts, all with the Cardinals, Kelly is 2-2 with a 4.37 ERA. Obviously, he’s never faced the Cards before. He’s made 35 appearances (20 starts) at Busch Stadium and is 9-7 with a 2.90 ERA.

Shelby Miller makes his 22nd start (23rd appearance) of the 2014 season. In his previous 22 appearances (21 starts), Miller is 8-8 with a 4.14 ERA. He has never faced the Red Sox before.

49-63		60-51
1. Brock Holt	3B	1. Matt Carpenter	3B
2. Dustin Pedroia	2B	2. Kolten Wong	2B
3. Yoenis Cespedes	LF	3. Matt Holliday	LF
4. Mike Napoli	1B	4. Matt Adams	1B
5. Daniel Nava	RF	5. Jhonny Peralta	SS
6. Xander Bogaerts	SS	6. A.J. Pierzynski	C
7. Christian Vazquez	C	7. Oscar Taveras	RF
8. Mookie Betts	CF	8. Jon Jay	CF
9. Joe Kelly	3B	9. Shelby Miller	CF
Joe Kelly	SP	Shelby Miller	SP

NOTES:

Here is how the hitters have fared against the starting pitchers during the regular season over their careers.

More links (bolded) will be added if/when they become available so please check back often.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

Jon Lester’s potential return to Boston could follow Mike Lowell template [rob bradford – weei.com]

Sox: ‘Nothing physical’ with Clay Buchholz, ‘no red flags’ before trade of Allen Craig [clubhouse insider]

Kelly to make Sox debut against best friend [espn boston]

Buster Olney on MFB: ‘Unlikely’ Tom Werner would become next MLB commissioner [full count]

John Farrell on D&H: ‘Getting [Clay Buchholz] back on track might be the No. 1 objective as far the rotation goes’ [full count]

Kelly Johnson to be activated, Mookie Betts might be odd man out [providence journal]

Shane Victorino expected to be ready for spring training [providence journal]

Henry Owens unlikely to pitch in majors this season [providence journal]

Why the Red Sox didn’t come close to trading Koji Uehara [providence journal]

Kelly returns to St. Louis to face best friend Miller [red sox]

A Semi-Educated Guess on What the Red Sox’ Starting Rotation Will Look Like in 2015 [touching all the bases]

photo credits: getty images, getty images

After going 1-5 on the homestand, the Boston Red Sox head out on an eight game, nine day road trip. Tonight, they’ll kick it off with the first game of a three-game set with the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

First pitch is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. The game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Cardinals television market, you can catch the game onFox Sports Midwest. And if you can’t catch the game on television, you can always listen on the 2014 Red Sox Radio Network.

Rubby De La Rosa hits double digits in starts for the Red Sox this season. In his previous nine starts, De La Rosa is 3-4 with a 3.64 ERA. He has never faced the Cardinals.

Lance Lynn makes his 23rd start of 2014 for the Cards. In his previous 22 starts, Lynn is 11-8 with a 2.98 ERA. He has never faced the Red Sox during the regular season in his career.

49-62		59-51
1. Brock Holt	CF	1. Matt Carpenter	3B
2. Dustin Pedroia	2B	2. Kolten Wong	2B
3. David Ortiz	1B	3. Matt Holliday	LF
4. Yoenis Cespedes	LF	4. Matt Adams	1B
5. Daniel Nava	RF	5. Jhonny Peralta	SS
6. Xander Bogaerts	SS	6. A.J. Pierzynski	C
7. Christian Vazquez	DH	7. Oscar Taveras	RF
8. Will Middlebrooks	3B	8. Jon Jay	CF
9. Rubby De La Rosa	3B	9. Lance Lynn	CF
Rubby De La Rosa	SP	Lance Lynn	SP

NOTES:

RP Heath Hembree and OF Corey Brown have been called up from Triple-A Pawtucket. RP Steven Wright was optioned back to the PawSox to make room for Hembree. Allen Craig was placed on the 15-day DL with a foot injury to make room for Brown.

Here is how the hitters have fared against the starting pitchers during the regular season over their careers.

More links (bolded) will be added if/when they become available so please check back often.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

Shane Victorino to undergo season-ending back surgery today [clubhouse insider]

Sox newcomer Allen Craig put on DL with ankle injury [clubhouse insider]

Report: Tom Werner among finalists to replace commissioner Bud Selig [clubhouse insider]

Lackey ‘wasn’t surprised’ by trade to Cardinals [csn new england]

Red Sox pitching prospects and their changeups [providence journal]

Unsentimental John Lackey excited to be a Cardinal [providence journal]

De La Rosa leads Sox vs. Cards in World Series rematch [red sox]

On the clock? Making sense of Henry Owens’ likely big league timetable [alex speier – weei]

It’s Time to Move on From Clay Buchholz, and Other Thoughts on the Revamped Red Sox [touching all the bases]

photo credits: getty images, getty images