The original plan was to say by the mid point of conference play that UConn needed to leave the Big East. I thought the men’s team would mimic the women’s team game-to-game dominance, the games would be boring, and the Huskies would run away with their second Big East regular season title in three seasons.

We may still say all those words here at DoaR, either in a blog post or podcast, but not yet.

The UConn men’s basketball team has been fun to watch in Big East play. There have not been blowouts every game like I thought. As winter weather and a blizzard rocks Connecticut, it’s been a perfect storm from an entertainment perspective. UConn is undefeated in the Big East, in first place but in a tight race with close games.

Four of the Huskies last five wins in conference have been by single-digits, with two in overtime. The overtime win at rival Providence, where UConn stormed back on the backs of four 20-point scorers was one of the best college basketball games of the year.

Two more great road games at Big East rivals Seton Hall and Georgetown came after a 12-point win against DePaul. Dan Hurley got his first non-COVID win at his alma mater, which he reminded Andy Katz in an awkward exchange. The Huskies usually struggle to beat the Pirates in Newark, and struggled they did again but held on against the press to win by five. Then held on against the Hoyas in Washington, DC in a Saturday clash that made you forget Georgetown is mediocre once again. Luckily Ed Cooley is telling fans to forget basketball scores entirely.

And a week later, another classic Big East affair in Hartford, with UConn beating Villanova in overtime in an electric environment. The Huskies have yet to play St. John’s this season, with the Red Storm a game back.

Now you can call these good games, or UConn playing down to its competition. As of writing, the Huskies are the only Big East team ranked. Seton Hall had a couple weeks of resurgence before dropping out, and St. John’s is the team receiving the most votes on the outside of the AP.

Or you can just enjoy the Big East for now. UConn’s non-conference schedule was outstanding, seeing them only dropping a close game in Storrs to top-ranked Arizona, while Tarris Reed and Braylon Mullins missed the game. There’s not much to complain about for the 19-1 Huskies who should be playing in April.

So what does the conference have to do with it? The men aren’t in a league of their own, to echo Geno, like the UConn women, yet. But for the sake of UConn football, UConn athletics, and eventually UConn basketball as a whole, the days of the Big East brotherhood part 2 may be numbered.

When Indiana wins the national championship in football, (claiming the double, the CFP national title and the DoaR national title), it shows that anything can happen in the NIL/transfer portal era.

This means UConn will need to get football into a P4 conference and forsake basketball tradition once again. The reasoning for the UConn men to leave just hasn’t played out on the court, yet.