There's just something about the UConn basketball team and MSG. Whether it be Kemba Walker going on a tear in the Big East tournament in 2011, or the Shabazz Napier-led squad winning the East regional in the NCAA Tournament at MSG in 2014, or earlier that season, Connecticut winning an early-season tournament at Madison Square Garden with a win over the Indiana Hoosiers. Generally, if the Huskies are playing big games in the World's Most Famous Arena, good things are on the horizon.

Perhaps that'll be the case this year too. And believe me, the symmetry of the UConn basketball team beating Indiana at MSG today, nearly ten years to the day of when they did it on the way to a National Championship in 2014, isn't lost on me or any other UConn fans out there. Despite three starters gone from last season's championship team (Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins and Andre Jackson Jr.), and the early season loss of star freshman Stephon Castle, the Huskies have seemingly picked up right where they left off last year when they were routing all six of their opponents in the NCAA Tournament for their fifth National Championship since 1999.

In 2013, UConn had to sweat out a gutty 59-58 win over Indiana at MSG. This year was a totally different story. The final score from Manhattan was 77-57, and UConn led by double-digits for the final 12 minutes of the game. Tristen Newton led the way with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists for the Huskies. Cam Spencer, a fifth-year senior guard who played at Rutgers last year, chipped in with 18 points.

UConn will play the winner of Texas and Louisville in the Empire Classic final on Monday night.