The 2023 Empire Classic tournament features three teams that should be excellent and one that has no choice but to be considerably improved this upcoming season. Those teams include UConn, Indiana, Texas (the three excellent teams), and Louisville (the team that has no choice but to be better). With games being played at Madison Square Garden, the crowds should be great and those fan bases will definitely travel.
2023 Empire Classic
Dates: November 19th-20th
Location: Madison Square Garden | Brooklyn, New York
Broadcast: ESPN & ESPNU
UConn
UConn is the reigning national champion and should still be a contender with Tristen Newton and Donovan Clingan returning this year. The Huskies also bring in a stellar recruiting class that includes a likely one-and-done guard in Stephon Castle who has reportedly been superb in practices and exhibitions. It would start the season off right for them to win these two games, especially with the first one coming against what should be a good Indiana team.
Indiana
The Hoosiers look like they’ve locked and reloaded with their freshman class and their class of transfers. They bring in 7-footer Kel’el Ware from Oregon as well as Anthony Walker from Miami and Xavier Johnson from Pittsburgh. They also brought in top-10 recruit Mackenzie Mgbako who should contribute immediately. He is accompanied by two other four-star recruits so chemistry will be key in the beginning of the season.
Texas
The Longhorns is bringing in a ton of transfers this year with only a couple of freshmen to join them. However, one of those transfers is scorer extraordinaire Max Abmas. They also bring in some guard help in UCF’s Ithiel Horton and give them a big man in UVA’s Kadin Shedrick. Coach Rodney Terry will have to get this team to gel quickly if they want to repeat some of the magic from last year’s run that saw a second-place finish in the conference and a win in the NCAA Tournament.
Louisville
The Cardinal was absolutely abysmal last season, winning only four games. However, the Cardinals are bringing in a top-10 recruiting class and were able to haul in three Power 6 transfers from Miami, USC, and Illinois. They have nowhere to go but up from here and should be considerably improved. They’re a bit of a mystery and that could mean an early season upset of one of these other teams.
Check out Project Spurs for up-to-date college basketball coverage and more NCAA tournaments!
