# 2019–20 UConn Huskies men's basketball team

The 2019–20 UConn Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Huskies were led by second-year head coach Dan Hurley in their final season of the American Athletic Conference. The Huskies split their home games between the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion on the UConn campus in Storrs, Connecticut. They finished the season 19–12, 10–8 in AAC play to finish in a tie for fifth place. Their season ended when the AAC Tournament and all other postseason tournaments were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was the final season in the American Athletic Conference for the Huskies, as they returned to the Big East for the 2020–21 season.

## Previous season

The Huskies finished the 2018–19 season 16–17, 6–12 in AAC play to finish in ninth place. They lost in the Quarterfinals of the AAC tournament to Houston.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Eric Cobb | 0 | F | 6'9" | 249lbs | Senior | Jacksonville, FL | Graduated |
| Tarin Smith | 2 | G | 6'2" | 185lbs | Graduate Student | Ocean Township, NJ | Graduated |
| Jalen Adams | 4 | G | 6'3" | 195lbs | Senior | Roxbury, MA | Graduated |
| Kassoum Yakwe | 14 | F | 6'7" | 212lbs | Graduate Student | Bamako, Mali | Graduated |
| Mamadou Diarra | 21 | F | 6'8" | 225lbs | RS Sophomore | Queens, NY | Left the team, became a student assistant |
| Kwintin Williams | 22 | F | 6'7" | 221lbs | Junior | Anchorage, AK | Graduated (early) |
| Daniel Brocke | 55 | F | 6'7" | 235lbs | Sophomore | West Hartford, CT | Left the team |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| R. J. Cole | 4 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Junior | Union, NJ | Transfer from Howard. Under NCAA transfer rules, Cole will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| James Bouknight SG | Brooklyn, NY | MacDuffie School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Sep 18, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86 ||||||
| Jalen Gaffney PG | West Chester, PA | Westtown School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Sep 24, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 83 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 44 247Sports: 18 ESPN: 19 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2019 UConn Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 23, 2020. "2019 UConn Huskies Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 23, 2020. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 23, 2020. ||||||

## Roster

* Feb 28, 2020 - Sidney Wilson was suspended for the rest of the season for a violation of team policy.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 30, 2019* 7:00 pm, HuskyVision | | Saint Michael's | W 103–64 | | 21 – Gilbert | 8 – Vital | 6 – Vital | XL Center (7,370) Hartford, CT |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 8, 2019* 7:00 pm, SNY | | Sacred Heart | W 89–67 | 1–0 | 18 – Carlton | 8 – Carlton | 5 – Gilbert | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, CT |
| November 13, 2019* 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Saint Joseph's Charleston Classic non bracket game | L 87–96 | 1–1 | 26 – Vital | 16 – Vital | 2 – Tied | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (4,081) Storrs, CT |
| November 17, 2019* 3:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 15 Florida | W 62–59 | 2–1 | 15 – Tied | 8 – Tied | 5 – Vital | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, CT |
| November 21, 2019* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Buffalo Charleston Classic quarterfinal | W 79–68 | 3–1 | 20 – Adams | 10 – Tied | 5 – Vital | TD Arena (4,003) Charleston, SC |
| November 22, 2019* 9:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. No. 18 Xavier Charleston Classic semifinal | L 74–75 $^{2OT}$ | 3–2 | 19 – Bouknight | 12 – Vital | 5 – Gilbert | TD Arena (4,416) Charleston, SC |
| November 24, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Miami Charleston Classic 3rd place game | W 80–55 | 4–2 | 16 – Carlton | 7 – Akok | 7 – Gilbert | TD Arena (3,122) Charleston, SC |
| December 1, 2019* 1:00 pm, SNY | | Maine | W 64–40 | 5–2 | 15 – Bouknight | 5 – Tied | 5 – Vital | XL Center (7,129) Hartford, CT |
| December 4, 2019* 7:00 pm, SNY | | Iona | W 80–62 | 6–2 | 19 – Carlton | 12 – Carlton | 10 – Gilbert | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (5,909) Storrs, CT |
| December 10, 2019* 9:00 pm, ESPN | | vs. Indiana Jimmy V Classic | L 54–57 | 6–3 | 18 – Carlton | 8 – Vital | 8 – Gilbert | Madison Square Garden (10,945) New York City, NY |
| December 18, 2019* 7:00 pm, SNY | | St. Peter's | W 66–56 | 7–3 | 12 – Polley | 8 – Akok | 6 – Gilbert | XL Center (7,514) Hartford, CT |
| December 22, 2019* 1:00 pm, SNY | | New Hampshire | W 88–62 | 8–3 | 21 – Gilbert | 7 – Tied | 5 – Gaffney | XL Center (9,374) Hartford, CT |
| December 29, 2019* 1:00 pm, SNY | | NJIT | W 69–47 | 9–3 | 23 – Vital | 10 – Akok | 7 – Gaffney | XL Center (10,507) Hartford, CT |
| January 1, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Cincinnati | L 51–67 | 9–4 (0–1) | 11 – Adams | 9 – Akok | 3 – Vital | Fifth Third Arena (10,833) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 4, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | at South Florida | L 60–75 | 9–5 (0–2) | 11 – Bouknight | 6 – Bouknight | 8 – Gilbert | Yuengling Center (4,694) Tampa, FL |
| January 8, 2020 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | Tulane | W 67–61 | 10–5 (1–2) | 19 – Polley | 11 – Polley | 7 – Gilbert | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (5,721) Storrs, CT |
| January 12, 2020 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 23 Wichita State | L 86–89 $^{2OT}$ | 10–6 (1–3) | 25 – Vital | 12 – Carlton | 3 – Tied | XL Center (13,281) Hartford, CT |
| January 18, 2020* 12:00 pm, FS1 | | at No. 14 Villanova | L 55–61 | 10–7 | 13 – Vital | 8 – Vital | 5 – Gilbert | Wells Fargo Center (16,723) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 23, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 25 Houston | L 59–63 | 10–8 (1–4) | 14 – Vital | 11 – Whaley | 4 – Gilbert | Fertitta Center (7,035) Houston, TX |
| January 26, 2020 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | Tulsa | L 75–79 $^{OT}$ | 10–9 (1–5) | 16 – Bouknight | 7 – 3 tied | 5 – Gaffney | XL Center (10,509) Hartford, CT |
| January 29, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNews | | Temple | W 78–63 | 11–9 (2–5) | 15 – Vital | 10 – Vital | 5 – Gaffney | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (7,886) Storrs, CT |
| February 1, 2020 1:00 pm, CBS | | at Memphis | L 63–70 | 11–10 (2–6) | 20 – Vital | 9 – Whaley | 3 – Tied | FedExForum (16,240) Memphis, TN |
| February 6, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Tulsa | W 72–56 | 12–10 (3–6) | 22 – Bouknight | 12 – Whaley | 3 – Gilbert | Reynolds Center (4,630) Tulsa, OK |
| February 9, 2020 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | Cincinnati | W 72–71 $^{OT}$ | 13–10 (4–6) | 23 – Bouknight | 10 – Carlton | 4 – Vital | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (9,409) Storrs, CT |
| February 12, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNews | | at SMU | L 75–79 | 13–11 (4–7) | 21 – Bouknight | 7 – Whaley | 7 – Vital | Moody Coliseum (4,249) Dallas, TX |
| February 16, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN | | Memphis | W 64–61 | 14–11 (5–7) | 23 – Vital | 13 – Carlton | 4 – Gaffney | XL Center (15,564) Hartford, CT |
| February 20, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Temple | L 89–93 $^{2OT}$ | 14–12 (5–8) | 21 – Vital | 14 – Whaley | 9 – Gaffney | Liacouras Center (6,604) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 23, 2020 2:00 pm, CBSSN | | South Florida | W 78–71 | 15–12 (6–8) | 24 – Vital | 6 – Vital | 4 – Adams | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (9,524) Storrs, CT |
| February 26, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | UCF | W 81–65 | 16–12 (7–8) | 18 – Tied | 11 – Whaley | 5 – Tied | XL Center (9,480) Hartford, CT |
| February 29, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | at East Carolina | W 84–63 | 17–12 (8–8) | 27 – Vital | 10 – Bouknight | 4 – Bouknight | Minges Coliseum (5,003) Greenville, NC |
| March 5, 2020 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 21 Houston | W 77–71 | 18–12 (9–8) | 26 – Vital | 7 – Bouknight | 2 – Tied | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, CT |
| March 8, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Tulane | W 80–76 | 19–12 (10–8) | 28 – Vital | 10 – Whaley | 4 – Gilbert | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,897) New Orleans, LA |
| AAC Tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2020 2:00 pm, CBS | (5) | vs. (12) Tulane First Round | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Dickies Arena Fort Worth, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Awards and honors
### American Athletic Conference honors
#### All-AAC First Team

* Christian Vital

#### All-AAC Third Team

* James Bouknight

#### All Freshman Team

* James Bouknight

#### Player of the Week

* Week 14: James Bouknight
* Week 17: Christian Vital
* Week 18: Christian Vital

#### Rookie of the Week

* Week 3: James Bouknight
* Week 15: James Bouknight
Source