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Gampel Pavilion as First Night begins on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022 at UConn.

UConn fans shows off her Paige Bueckers jersey at the First Night Block Party on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022 in Storrs.

Gampel Pavilion on UConn's campus in Storrs on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022 before First Night.

Thanks to Azzi Fudd, the white team overcame the blue team in the tiebreaker 3-point contest. 

With the five points added thanks to the crowd's support, Jackson's squad is leading the night 61-51

Aubrey Griffin sunk nine 3-s and Fudd hit 12. Evidently Geno's team has no shortage of capable 3-point shooters.

Caroline Ducharme and Griffin both sink seven 3's for the blue team in the first round. Ducharme's release looks quick and she will be a huge weapon from the perimeter for the Huskies.

But it was Fudd who came on a mission and she did not disappoint. Her shot looked smooth and sure, Fudd is going to be dangerous for UConn this season.

The team of Alex Karaban and Azzi Fudd has won the 3-point contest for the White Team.

The dunk contest is up next, without Patterson to carry the blue team it will take some real power and finesse for them to compete with the white team.

Renee Montgomery takes the opportunity to catch up with her former coach.

When she asked Geno Auriemma what he enjoys about tonight, he said,"that they're not going to actually play."

She jokingly responded,"nothing's changed, coach." A genuine interactions between the two, 

Meanwhile, teams are warming up for the 3-point contest and each player is dropping straight dimes. But we'll see who can get their shot to fall when the pressure is on.

Andre Jackson is the last men's player is Andre Jackson.

Player introductions end, of course, with Paige Bueckers.

The loudest cheers of the night came with Paige's introduction. So loud in fact that it was impossible to hear her walk-up song.

Obviously, Husky fans wanted to give her a strong show of support. Bueckers will miss the season with an ACL injury, but she's still the most popular athlete at UConn.

Bueckers strutted out and donned sunglasses. Perfect.

The loudest cheers of the night, for the one and only Paige Bueckers. Could barely hear her walk up song pic.twitter.com/Ml4a8kbvG8

Freshman Ayanna Patterson walks out to "Jumpman", a song very fitting considering how her hops can take her all the way to the rim.

Fans will have to wait to see Patterson dunk though since she will not be participating in the dunk contest tonight due to tweaking her ankle earlier this week.

More good song choices: "Sweet Caroline" for Caroline Ducharme

The UConn men's coaching staff comes out to Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run."

Hey, Dan Hurley is a Jersey guy. Makes sense.

There's a huge ovation for Geno Auriemma. 

The other perfect song choice? "Ice, Ice Baby" for Ice Brady.

Renee Montgomery receives an incredibly warm welcome from Husky fans as she helps MC the start of the night.

She's back in Storrs to judge the dunk contest and to support Women's Weekend as the school commemorates 50 years of Title IX.

Holding another power, Montgomery judged a cheer-off between blue team fans and white team fans. After thunderous roars from both sides, Montgomery picked the white team fans, giving the white team five extra points added to their score tonight.

The Pavilion is filling up and is split down the middle. Half supporting the blue team and the other half supporting the white team. pic.twitter.com/AF3OA3CT6g

Time to get it started.

Gampel Pavilion is filled to capacity but is split in half: one side is covered in blue and the other is sporting white.

Sides have been taken, but which one will win First Night competitions?

Meanwhile, UConn coaches have been chatting with reporters as focus shifts to inside Gampel Pavilion.

We've learned that Dan Hurley said the hope is that Andre Jackson (broken pinky) will be back in five to six weeks, maybe earlier. The hope is that Jackson can return for UConn's Thanksgiving weekend tournament in Portland, Oregon.

Hurley also said Jackson's absence could lead to an "early season experimentation of Sanogo/Clingan on floor together," per our David Borges.

Also, Hurley picks Samson Johnson to win the dunk contest.

From our UConn women's basketball beat reporter Maggie Vanoni: Geno Auriemma said Ayanna Patterson will be not part of the dunk contest because she recently twisted her ankle and is playing it safe. Also, UConn will play a closed door scrimmage on Oct. 22.

And as the block party ends, we leave you with this:

They even have a mechanical bull machine!! Hope he doesn’t Hurl(ey) 😆 pic.twitter.com/7rSHf6eQjk

Emeka Okafor, a celebrity judge for the slam dunk contest, was spotted just before 6 p.m.

Other notable arrivals: UConn graduate and former track athlete Trisha Bailey, a Hartford native who is gifting the school's athletic department with the lead donation toward a $60 million renovation and expansion of Greer Fieldhouse, It's the largest donation ever to the department and the largest ever to the school from an alum.

If you don't know Bailey's story, read this profile from Mike Anthony that details an amazing journey.

Bailey, who lives in Florida, has a net worth between $650 million and $700 million. Her company Bailey’s Medical Equipment & Supplies now includes Bailey’s Pharmacies, and she has moved into the commercial real estate world.

Here at First Night, Trisha Bailey, who is making the lead donation toward renovation of fieldhouse and will speak at a reception celebrating the 50th anniversary of Title IX tomorrow, chats with AD David Benedict, president Radenka Maric and basketball player Andre Jackson. pic.twitter.com/snSh6Eg26a

She's back on campus this weekend for the official announcement of her gift and for a Saturday night event that commemorates the 50th anniversary of Title IX. She'll be one of 400-plus female student-athletes on hand and she'll be among the featured speakers along with Renee Montgomery, former women’s basketball player and part owner of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream; new UConn president Radenka Maric; and Big East commissioner Val Ackerman.

The students are arriving in masses. With countless games at the block party, it would be a triumph for anyone to just get through them all.

The choices include jumbo beer pong, the Equalizer, surfing, or a literal mechanical bull machine. Of course there’s no alcohol in the life-size beer pong cups but even without inebriation, the students' aim is hilariously off.

Soon they will be watching the true athletes compete for real shots.

Some sights and sounds from tonight’s block party pic.twitter.com/mB1mj4IMpx

UConn students are anxiously anticipating the event and have been lining up at the doors of Gampel since 4:30 p.m. This marks their first opportunity to witness the skills of the 2022-23 teams — and clearly they want the best seats in the house.

The scene outside Gampel Pavilion as students line up for First Night.

The weather is also perfect in Storrs for a block party, not too cold and no sign of rain. The music is bumping and students are filing in, because what better way to entice students than EDM and free food? No need to ponder which food truck to choose as pizza and Dunkin’s sweet doughnut holes are provided to every student.

Basketball is back in Storrs.

The UConn men's and women's basketball teams are holding their annual First Night event at Gampel Pavilion tonight. The show begins in a 7 p.m. and will feature player introductions and skills competitions between two teams selected by Andre Jackson and Paige Bueckers.

Of course, neither Bueckers nor Jackson will be part of the competition. Bueckers is out for the season with an ACL injury while Jackson broke his pinky finger Wednesday and is out indefinitely. 

Here's a full rundown of the teams and the selection process: UConn stars Paige Bueckers, Andre Jackson team captains for First Night. Here's who they picked

We also know that recruiting commitments are expected to be in the building. Women's commits KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade and Qadence Samuels are set to be on hand, along with men's commit Solomon Ball.

Along with the future Huskies, there will be names from the past at Gampel: Renee Montgomery, Stefanie Dolson, Emeka Okafor, and Khalid El-Amin are the celebrity judges for the dunk contest.

Only UConn students and basketball season ticket holders will be in the building. There's also a block party outside before the inside event, and coaches Dan Hurley and Geno Auriemma will meet the media.

We'll be providing live updates all night, so follow along.