Photos: 2014 UConn Huskies Basketball First Night

Here’s a look some of the sights and scenes from the 2014 UConn Huskies Basketball First Night festivities on Friday, October 17, 2014 at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT.

photo credit: ian bethune

Video: Ray Allen at 2014 UConn Basketball First Night

Former UConn great Ray Allen gives his former teammate Donny Marshall a hug at the 2014 UConn Basketball First Night festivities on October 17, 2014 at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT.

Among the many former players that were on hand for the 2014 UConn Basketball First Night festivities was a UConn legend in Ray Allen.

He was able to be on hand for UConn’s First Night because as of right now, he’s enjoying taking his children to school every day. He hasn’t decided one way or another if he’s going to play in the NBA this season.

Allen was also able to see his name on the Huskies of Honor wall at Gampel Pavilion.

Here’s Allen talking to the full house at Gampel Pavilion on Friday night:

photo credit: ian bethune

Rangers Recall Chris Mueller From Wolf Pack

NEW YORK, October 17, 2014 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the team has recalled forward Chris Mueller from the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) and assigned forwards Jesper Fast and J.T. Miller to Hartford.

Mueller tallied a goal, posted a plus-one rating, and recorded two shots on goal in Hartford’s regular season opener on Oct. 12 at Syracuse. He also registered three points (one goal, two assists), posted a plus-one rating, and recorded five shots on goal in four preseason games with the Rangers this year.

Fast has registered three shots on goal in three games with the Rangers this season.

Miller has recorded seven shots on goal and has been credited with four hits and three blocked shots in three contests with the Rangers this season.

Photos: UConn Basketball Practice Facility

Today is the official opening of the UConn Basketball Practice facility and here are some pictures from the tour earlier on Friday.

photo credits: ian bethune

Video: Future Bright For UConn Football

UConn's freshman running backs #3 Ron Johnson, #26 Joshua Marriner and #22 Arkeel Newsome look on on September 27, 2014 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT.

UConn’s freshman running backs #3 Ron Johnson, #26 Joshua Marriner and #22 Arkeel Newsome look on against Temple on September 27, 2014 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT.

When you take a look at the latest UConn Huskies football depth chart, there are 32 players on the roster who are redshirt sophomores, sophomores, redshirt freshman and true freshman. A good portion of them made their debuts this season.

So when you start to ponder the future of UConn football, especially with Bob Diaco at the helm, you would have to think things are looking up.

Diaco came in with a plan this season and has stuck to it. He’s trying to get the younger players playing time so they gain valuable experience.

While the record doesn’t show it, you can see the improvement in some areas, not all. But they are getting there.

Right now, the defense is ranked in the top 20 for total yards allowed. 13 of the 22 players on the last defensive two-deep have at least two seasons left after this year. Six more have the 2015 season left.

Offensively, 16 of the 25 players have two seasons left. Four more have the 2015 season left. This also doesn’t include guys who are on the upswing right now.

Watch and listen below as Diaco talks about the future of the program at his last press conference:

photo credit: ian bethune

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Huskies Roundup – 10/17/14

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a DAILY basis.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

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

UConn Football links

Tyraiq Beals, New Jersey’s leading WR, further expands on Wednesday’s UConn commitment [the star-ledger]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

UConn Basketball 2014 First Night Rosters Set [sox & dawgs]

UConn’s Jefferson reaching for new heights [carl adamec – sny uconn]

Huskies Set To Kickoff Season With First Night [rich elliott – ct post]

UConn Women’s Basketball: 5 Things For First Night [hartford courant]

Almost ready [journal inquirer]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

UConn Basketball 2014 First Night Rosters Set [sox & dawgs]

2014-15 NCAA Men’s Basketball Rankings – USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll [sox & dawgs]

A list of some expected attendees at UConn’s First Night festivities [david borges – new haven register]

UConn Men’s Basketball: 5 Things For First Night [hartford courant]

UConn ready to host a ‘banner’ First Night [new haven register]

2017 guards Duval and Pierre-Louis raking in interest [sporting news]

Other UConn related links

M. Ice Hockey. Huskies Play Hockey East Opener Saturday Night [uconn huskies]

Longhorns the Most Expensive Game for UConn Huskies Tickets

The UConn Men’s Basketball team shocked the world last season, winning the national title against the Kentucky Wildcats. They entered the tournament as a seven seed, probably a higher seed than their body of work dictated, but clearly an indication that the Huskies were expected to bow out early in the tournament.

That was simply not the case and the Shabazz Napier-led Huskies eventually cut down the nets. It will be a different team this season with Napier, DeAndre Daniels, and Niels Giffey all gone and it will also be much more expensive to purchase UConn men’s basketball tickets. Below is a breakdown of the top three most expensive games on the UConn schedule.

1.) November 30, 2014 vs. Texas Longhorns | Gampel Pavilion | Average Ticket Price = $256.48

According to UConn partner Easy Seat, the most expensive game in Connecticut this year will be when the Longhorns visit Gampel Pavilion the last day of November. The average ticket price is currently just above $250 with the cheapest tickets available starting at $170. Rick Barnes and company have not been in national title talks for quite some time now, but they are still a big draw on the road and the most well-known program visiting the Huskies this season.

2.) March 1, 2015 vs. SMU Mustangs | XL Center | Average Ticket Price = $240.36

The Huskies lost to the Larry Brown led Mustangs last season 64-55 at SMU. They’ll try to return the favor this season when SMU visits on a Sunday afternoon on the 1^st of March. SMU expects to be one of the better teams in the AAC and this will undoubtedly be a hotly-contested game.

3.) December 31, 2014 vs. Temple Owls | XL Center | Average Ticket Price = $180.71

What better way to ring in the New Year than to catch a UConn Huskies game? They’ll host Temple at 1:00 PM EST on the 31^st of December for a Wednesday afternoon matchup. You’ll have plenty of time to do other festivities once the game is finished so make sure to grab your tickets now!

UConn Basketball 2014 First Night Rosters Set

The rosters for the UConn Huskies basketball programs’ “First Night” festivities were voted on by the fans of both teams and here’s how they shape up:

Team Kevin (White Unis)	Team Geno (Blue Unis)
11 Kia Nurse	23 Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis
21 Omar Calhoun	23 Nnamdi Amilo
12 Kentan Facey	10 Sam Cassell Jr.
41 Kiah Stokes	22 Courtney Ekmark
4 Moriah Jefferson	15 Gabby Williams
22 Pat Lenehan	5 Daniel Hamilton
44 Rodney Purvis	35 Amida Brimah
30 Breanna Stewart	3 Morgan Tuck
51 Natalie Butler	14 Sadie Edwards
1 Phil Nolan	14 Rakim Lubin
3 Terrence Samuel	24 Briana Pulido
20 Tierney Lawlor	11 Ryan Boatright
	12 Saniya Chong

Here’s the schedule for the “First Night“:

3 p.m. – Fan Fest on Fairfield Way
5 p.m. – Doors Open
5:30 p.m. – 6:30 PM– Autograph Session
6 p.m. – Pre-event begins
7 p.m. – Showtime

We’ll have pictures from “First Night” later on Friday night as well as from the entire day at UConn.

We’ll be getting a tour of the new practice facility for both teams and then we’ll be there for the dedication of the practice facility as well.

2014-15 NCAA Men’s Basketball Rankings – USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll

The first set of college basketball rankings are out and it’s the USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll with the Kentucky Wildcats as the preseason favorites.

They are followed by the Arizona Wildcats, Duke Blue Devils, Wisconsin Badgers and Kansas Jayhawks.

The UConn Huskies, the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions, are ranked No. 15 by the coaches. The only other team from the American Athletic Conference that is ranked is the SMU Mustangs who come in at No. 22.

The Memphis Tigers are the only team from the American among the others receiving votes.

RANK	TEAM	REC	POINTS
1	Kentucky (24)	29-11	785
2	Arizona (3)	33-5	746
3	Duke (2)	26-9	715
4	Wisconsin (3)	30-8	706
5	Kansas	25-10	654
6	North Carolina	24-10	598
7	Florida	36-3	568
8	Virginia	30-7	519
9	Louisville	31-6	507
10	Texas	24-11	479
11	Wichita State	35-1	471
12	Villanova	29-5	439
13	Gonzaga	29-7	423
14	Iowa St.	28-8	323
15	Connecticut	32-8	292
16	Virginia Commonwealth	26-9	259
17	San Diego State	31-5	251
18	Michigan State	29-9	241
19	Oklahoma	23-10	237
20	Ohio State	25-10	223
21	Nebraska	19-13	156
22	SMU	27-10	149
23	Michigan	28-9	139
24	Syracuse	28-6	128
25	Iowa	20-13	56
Others receiving votes:
Harvard 47; Stanford 47; Kansas State 37; Pittsburgh 36; Utah 26; Memphis 25; Minnesota 18; UCLA 15; New Mexico 11; Oregon 9; Louisiana Tech 8; Colorado 8; Arkansas 8; Dayton 6; Providence 5; Notre Dame 5; Massachusetts 4; Georgetown 4; Illinois 4; Texas-El Paso 4; Florida State 3; Baylor 2; George Washington 1; Miami (Fla.) 1; Toledo 1; Saint Mary’s 1.