There are many questions regarding the state of UTSA’s men’s basketball program after a tumultuous 2022-23 season. A 10-22 overall record including an awful conference total of 4-16 raised many eyebrows among Roadrunner fans. The disastrous campaign led to the loss of 13 players either through graduation or the transfer portal, meaning that head coach Steve Henson would have to completely rebuild the roster. If it was not already difficult, many fans have called for the firing of Henson after yet another lackluster basketball season.
The challenges have never been greater for UTSA, with the ‘Runners now moving to a solid basketball conference in the American Athletic Conference and ranking dead last in the revamped conference in program expenses. However, there will still be a sense of excitement at UTSA as new opponents and a completely new roster will give the Roadrunners some optimism.
UTSA will start their inaugural AAC season at home facing a familiar foe in the UAB Blazers on Jan. 2. Making a deep run into the National Invitational Tournament last season, the Blazers finished the season with a 29-10 record and will be a tough test to open the conference schedule. Steve Henson’s squad will then face another former Conference-USA school in the Rice Owls on Jan. 6, followed up by one of the toughest games on the schedule against former NBA All-Star Penny Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers. This is one of the featured games on the schedule and will show the quality that the AAC has to offer. Next, we will see the Roadrunners return to the Convocation Center to face Charlotte on Jan. 13.
A quick turnaround sees them on the road at Tulsa on Jan. 17 which is followed up by a blockbuster back-to-back set of home games against Florida Atlantic and Tulane. Coming off the best season in program history, the Florida Atlantic Owls were perhaps the biggest shock of the college basketball season after reaching the 2023 Men’s Final Four. This will undoubtedly be UTSA’s toughest conference opponent of the season. They will then travel to play South Florida and head into February facing off against Rice, this time at the Convocation Center. Another quality basketball program in the Wichita State Shockers awaits them on Feb. 7 and new opponent East Carolina will follow soon after.
Two road games will follow with visits to Charlotte and a trip to Philadelphia to play Temple University. South Florida will visit the Roadrunners on Feb. 21 and after that UTSA will face an old foe in the North Texas Mean Green at the Super Pit in Denton. Tulsa will play the return matchup in San Antonio on Feb. 28 and UTSA will open up March facing SMU in Dallas. The AAC regular season finale will see UTSA host Temple, which brings an eventful conference slate to a close. The Roadrunners are in for a very difficult round of games, but the squad is looking to bounce back in a big way after last season’s disappointing campaign.
My prediction for the record will be 8-8 in the overall conference play. I have optimism over the squad and although I believe they will struggle early, a late-season surge could see the Roadrunners create some shockwaves within college basketball. A brand new team with a chip on their shoulder can be a scary opponent to face, and with pressure on Steve Henson to produce results, this could be a very interesting season for Roadrunner basketball.
