The men's basketball team will close out the exhibition portion of their season Sunday as the Huskies host Division II UMass-Lowell at 1 p.m. in Gampel Pavilion.
Sunday's game is the first of nine games the Huskies will play in Storrs.
There is still no indication if senior Jerome Dyson, junior Donnell Beverly or freshman Jamal Coombs-McDaniel will be cleared to play on Sunday.
Dyson and Beverly could not play on Wednesday due to the pending routine educational document review for eligibility certification. Coombs-McDaniel is waiting for initial eligibility clearance from the NCAA eligibility center.
Last year, the Huskies beat the River Hawks 82-63 at the XL Center in what was also last year's final exhibition game.
On Wednesday, UConn opened up exhibition play against American International with a dominating 106-67 win over the Yellow Jackets. For the Huskies, the exhibition games are more about getting the team used to playing with each other on the court, rather than trying to crush weaker opponents.
"[AIC] is going to be the easiest team we ever play in our life," said Stanley Robinson. "You know the Big East play is going to be harder, ten times more physical. It's going to be hard to just get shots off in the Big East. So we can only build on it, and other than that, we've got to be ready to just bring it."
In last year's game against UMass, the River Hawks kept the game close with aggressive shooting from behind the arc, making 12 out 38 three-pointers.
"They made threes early, and yet we came out the gate playing defense, which I was really happy with," Calhoun said after last year's game. "Sometimes we have to get into these games. Sometimes the name on the jersey - it certainly doesn't change my way of thinking, but it changes the kid's way of thinking. If you put Louisville across the jersey they would just be more geared up."
Similar to the AIC squad, UMass does not have much size in the front-court. The River Hawks have no one listed at center on their team roster and their tallest player is Ali Kanaan, a 6-foot-9 senior from Quebec. Their next two tallest players check in at 6-foot-7.
With this lack in taller players, freshman Alex Oriakhi has a chance to mimic his 16 point, 16 rebound performance against AIC.
"I was very encouraged with Alex," Robinson said. "I always knew he had it in him. He's a beast, when it comes down to playing basketball. I was excited overall."
With the status of Dyson, Beverly and Coombs-McDaniel up in the air, freshman Jamaal Trice will look to make his second start for the Huskies.
Against AIC, Trice finished the game with nine points, three assists and a steal in 27 minutes of action.
"I thought Jamaal did a great job defensively," Calhoun said after Wednesday's game. "He was very smart on the screens, he was going over the top of picks; he made life a lot better for everybody and he runs offense like a veteran. I was really happy with his play; he was just solid."
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