A five-day east coast road trip for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff begins with a game today against the reigning national champions.
The UAPB men’s basketball team is set to face Connecticut at 11 a.m. at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn. The game will be televised on FS2.
UAPB (4-6), which just returned home from the Pacific Northwest, is starting this road trip in the Northeast before flying to Tampa, Fla., for its next game. The Golden Lions have already been to the Midwest and the Great Plains this season.
No. 5 UConn (8-1) is coming off an 87-76 win against No. 9 North Carolina at Madison Square Garden. The Huskies’ only loss this season came at No. 2 Kansas, 69-65.
This will be UAPB’s third-straight game against a ranked opponent. The champs are scoring 85.9 points per game so far this season, meaning UAPB’s struggling defense will be tested once again. The Golden Lions have allowed over 100 points to four teams this year, including their past two opponents, No. 7 Gonzaga and then-No. 25 Oklahoma.
Five Huskies are averaging double digits, led by guard Tristen Newton with 17.1 points per game.
UAPB guard Joe French led the Golden Lions with 26 points against Gonzaga, a nice return to his early season form. He averaged 28 points in UAPB’s first two games, but his numbers dipped afterward. Other than a 29-point performance at Ball State on Nov. 24, he was on a streak during which he averaged 9 points per game prior to playing the Bulldogs.