STORRS, Conn. — The Huskies hosted ESPN College Game Day at Storrs on Saturday morning for the first time in a decade and it got UConn fans hyped with Villanova (and eventually March Madness) on the horizon.
“I’m ready for this,” Jack Stair, a student, said. “I’m so excited!”
The two-hour fan fest was held at Gampel Pavilion hours before the men’s basketball team took on Villanova. Husky pride was loud and clear as students lined up to get the best seat in the house as early as Friday night.
“Anything, anything for this team,” one student said.
One of the biggest stars at Gampel - both during his playing days and on Saturday morning - was Rip Hamilton.
The legendary Husky received a rousing applause from the crowd when he walked to center court. ESPN's Jay Williams asked Hamilton to attempt a shot from half-court.
“You know what’s crazy, Jay, I ain’t got my UConn jersey on but it’s okay, I’ve made a lot of buckets here,” Hamilton said. “So hopefully I can make one in front of the greatest fans in the world. And I can’t let a Duke guy show me up in my hometown.”
It was nothing but net.
This is the fourth time UConn has hosted ESPN College Gameday and the first since 2014. Gampel Pavilion hosted the first-ever College Gameday for basketball in 2005.
“After the national championship, this is kind of like the cherry on top,” Jessica Deans, a student, said.
No. 1 UConn looks to shake off its early-week loss to the Creighton Bluejays as they take on the Villanova Wildcats. Saturday’s game is the second time the two teams meet this season.
The Huskies have gone 14-0 in home games. They are 14-2 against the Big East and Villanova is 8-7 against conference opponents.
Tip-off starts at 8 p.m. on FOX.
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