UConn MBB To Meet Vanderbilt In Legends Classic Semifinal
PRINCETON, N.J. – The UConn men’s basketball team will face Vanderbilt in the second game of the semifinal doubleheader of the Roman Legends Classic on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
BYU and Southern California will kick off the semifinal doubleheader at 2:30 p.m., with the UConn-Vanderbilt game following 30 minutes after its conclusion, starting approximately 5 p.m. Both games will be televised by ESPN2.
On Thursday, Dec. 3, the semifinal winners will meet in the Roman Legends Classic championship game at 7 p.m. (ESPN), followed by the tourney’s third-place game at approximately 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2).
UConn has a 3-0 record all-time against Vanderbilt, out of the SEC, the most recent a 73-53 win on March 25, 2004, in the NCAA Tournament Phoenix Regional semifinals as the Huskies were on their way to the program’s second NCAA Championship. The other two games were part of a home-and-home series in November, 2001, and December, 2002. UConn has never met BYU or Southern Cal in basketball.
This season marks the 14th year of the Legends Classic, which was won by Auburn last season with a 79-65 win over Richmond. The tournament was originally scheduled for Nov. 23-24 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., but the coronavirus pandemic necessitated the move to the Mohegan Sun Arena.
A quick look at UConn’s tournament opponents:
Vanderbilt (Head Coach: Jerry Stackhouse, Southeastern Conference) Following a stellar 18-year pro playing career and a four-year pro coaching career, Jerry Stackhouse is beginning his second season at Vanderbilt this fall...a strong nucleus returns for the Commodores, led by a trio of starters in sophomores Scotty Pippen, Jr and Dylan Disu and senior Maxwell Evans...Vanderbilt also welcomes a pair of transfers in former 5-star recruit DJ Harvey (10.8 ppg at Notre Dame in 2018-19) and Quentin Millora-Brown
(7.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg at Rice in 2018-19)...Vanderbilt won the 2011 Legends Classic title.
Southern California (Head Coach: Andy Enfield, Pac-12 Conference) Entering his eighth season at USC, Andy Enfield has rebuilt the Trojans' program...USC has won 109 games combined in the last five seasons, the winningest five-year stretch in school history...the Trojans were 22-9 this past year, their fourth 20-win season under Enfield...USC is expected to return a strong young core in sophomores Ethan Anderson, Isaiah Mobley, and Max Agbonkpolo...they are joined by the No. 2 recruit in the nation (per ESPN.com) in Evan Mobley, a 7-foot center from Temecula, Calif.
Brigham Young (Head Coach: Mark Pope, West Coast Conference) In his first year as head coach, Mark Pope led BYU to a record of 24-8, the most wins for a first-year coach in the program’s history…BYU rose to #14 in the rankings, its highest ranking since 2011…the 2019-2020 Cougars led the nation with a 42.2 3-point field goal percentage…this season, the Cougars welcome eight newcomers, including the No. 7 transfer in the nation (per ESPN.com) Matt Haarms (8.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.0 bpg at Purdue in 2019-2020).