"Rivalries are fueled with hostility": Analyst Jon Rothstein names Dan Hurley's UConn as part of "most anticipated" games of 2025-26 season 

Dan Hurley has stacked the 2025-26 season nonconference schedule with top teams, including Florida, Kansas, Arizona and BYU. These tough nonconference games will prepare his squad for Big East play, but what people are most looking forward to is UConn vs. St. John's, according to analyst Jon Rothstein.

In a video posted to X on Tuesday, Rothstein discussed some of the "most anticipated" matchups in the upcoming season. He first highlighted some of the significant non-conference games, such as UConn vs. Florida, St. John's vs. Kentucky, Duke vs. Michigan and North Carolina vs. Kentucky.

Rothstein later pivoted to conference play, zeroing in on the rivalries that define college basketball.

"Duke and Carolina, Kentucky and Louisville — those two rivalries don't come close to what's between St. John's and UConn right now," Rothstein said. "And frankly, nothing does, because rivalries are fueled by tension. Rivalries are fueled with hostility. "And last week on this podcast, one of the things I talked about was the fact that the Big East is wide open next season, or this upcoming season, after St. John's and UConn. And that's unequivocally the truth, but it's also because the storylines surrounding these two programs could not be more fascinating."

Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies suffered a clean sweep by Rick Pitino and the St. John's Red Storm last season, losing both matchups. Their first game was a 68-62 thriller at Gampel Pavilion, followed by another defeat at Madison Square Garden two weeks later.

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Analyst observes growing rivalry between Rick Pitino and Dan Hurley entering next season

In only his second season at St. John's, Rick Pitino is already adding fuel to the fire with UConn coach Dan Hurley. After UConn swept the Red Storm in the 2023-24 season, St. John's returned the favor last season, dismantling the dominance that the Huskies had in the Big East.

"Rick Pitino and Dan Hurley — they are the last two coaches to win the Naismith Coach of the Year Award ... Both have won multiple national championships," Jon Rothstein said in the same video. "But Pitino and Hurley are not people who are going to get together for a drink anytime soon. There may be mutual respect, but there’s really nothing but tension and hostility. And then you look at the two teams entering next season."

St. John's won both the regular season and Big East Tournament titles last season and UConn will look to reclaim its position as the top team in the conference next season.

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Edited by Dipayan Moitra