UConn closes its three-game preseason slate against Purdue on Tuesday night at PeoplesBank Arena, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. The exhibition will be shown locally on WSFB and streamed on UConn+ for a one-time $9.99 pay-per-view fee.
For UConn, this is the final dress rehearsal before the games start counting, and the Huskies have looked sharp through two outings. They opened with a 72-52 win over Syracuse on Oct. 13 at Mohegan Sun, then followed with a 78-70 victory at Michigan State on Oct. 20. Purdue arrives with its own unbeaten preseason record after wins over Ball State at home and Purdue Fort Wayne on the road, so both teams enter the matchup without a blemish in exhibition play.
The game also gives UConn one more chance to extend a recent edge in a series that goes back to 1938-39. Connecticut is 2-4 all-time against Purdue, but the Huskies have won the last two meetings, including a victory in the 2009 NCAA Tournament and a 75-60 win in the 2024 National Championship. Even so, Tuesday night will not alter that ledger, because the exhibition is not part of the official series record.
That makes the focus less about history than about form, and Nik Khamenia has been one of the clearest signs that UConn has found a rhythm early. Through two preseason games, he has averaged 15.5 points and 7.0 rebounds while going 5-of-9 from 3-point range, and he has added five assists and two steals. Silas Demary Jr. has averaged 14.5 points with six assists and six rebounds, while UConn has held Syracuse and Michigan State to a combined 35.3 percent shooting. Na'jai Hines, Colben Landrew, Junior County and Nils Machowski have also contributed, giving the Huskies depth that has shown up on both ends.
UConn's final exhibition arrives with a simple value: one last look at a team that has won its first two preseason games before the season opener against Gardner-Webb on Monday, Nov. 2 at 9 p.m. in Hartford. If the Huskies carry the same balance and defensive pressure into Tuesday night, the preseason should end the way it began — with UConn looking ready for the games that count.
