UConn’s women open the season sitting at No. 2 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25, but the ranking only tells part of the story. The real headline is what waits on the schedule: a brutal stretch packed with ranked opponents, including No. 1 South Carolina.
That showdown with Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks comes just before Thanksgiving, on Nov. 24 in Uncasville, Conn., and it could carry the No. 1 ranking with it. South Carolina claimed the top spot in Tuesday’s preseason poll, collecting 23 first-place votes from the 31-member media panel.
UConn received six first-place votes, while No. 3 Southern California picked up two.
This is the fifth time since the 2020-21 season that South Carolina has opened as the preseason No. 1. UConn was there last season, and over the last seven-year span the Gamecocks have won two NCAA titles while the Huskies have taken one.
Still, UConn remains a fixture near the top of the poll. The Huskies have finished in the preseason top 10 every year since the 1994-95 season, when they were ranked No.
- That team went on to run the table at 35-0 and win the program’s first NCAA title under Geno Auriemma, and UConn has added 11 more trophies since.
What makes this season’s setup stand out is the sheer number of ranked teams lined up against the Huskies in November and December. It’s a gauntlet from the jump:
No. 5 Michigan, Nov. 5, at Ann Arbor, Mich.
No. 10 Iowa, Nov. 8, at Storrs, Conn.
No. 18 Ohio State, Nov. 12, at Columbus, Ohio
No. 7 Louisville, Nov. 15, at Louisville, Ky.
No. 1 South Carolina, Nov. 24, at Uncasville, Conn.
No. 4 Duke, Nov. 28, at Boston
No. 20 Maryland, Dec. 5, at Brooklyn, N.Y.
No. 13 Notre Dame, Dec. 9, at South Bend, Ind.
No. 9 LSU, Dec. 20, at Nashville, Tenn.
Nine games against preseason Top 25 teams. That is a serious test.
The rest of the preseason poll underlines just how loaded UConn’s path will be. After South Carolina, UConn, and Southern California, the top 10 also includes Duke, Michigan, Texas, Louisville, Vanderbilt, LSU and Iowa.
UCLA checks in at No. 11, followed by North Carolina, Notre Dame, Kentucky, TCU, Washington, Minnesota, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Maryland, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Illinois, West Virginia and N.C. State.
The men’s team has a demanding nonconference slate, too. Dan Hurley’s No.
4 Huskies will face seven preseason-ranked opponents: No. 16 Michigan on Nov. 6 in Boston, No.
5 Arizona on Nov. 18 in Tucson, No. 2 Duke on Nov. 25 in Las Vegas, No.
3 Illinois on Dec. 4 in Chicago, No. 17 Kansas on Dec. 12 in Storrs, No.
9 Virginia on Dec. 20 in New York, and No. 13 St.
John’s on Jan. 29 in New York.
In Other News...
Michigan States Early UConn Test Comes With One Big Unknown
UConns trip to East Lansing for an exhibition against Michigan State offers an early measuring stick for both programs, and it comes at a time when the Huskies are still sorting through lineup questions. These preseason games are less about the final score than the picture they provide, giving coaches a chance to see which combinations work and which roles still need clarity before the regular season begins.
One of the biggest questions hanging over the matchup involves guard Braylon Mullins, who sat out UConns exhibition opener against Syracuse because of an undisclosed injury. His availability for Tuesday had not been confirmed by Monday, and Dan Hurley had not said whether he would take the floor, leaving UConn to navigate another tune-up without knowing exactly what it will have in hand. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Just Got An Early Glimpse Of Its Dangerous Ceiling
The preseason meeting with Texas offered an early look at just how high UConns ceiling can rise this year. At PeoplesBank Arena, Sarah Strong and freshman Jovana Popovic gave the Huskies a pair of answers on offense, while a second-half defensive step forward helped turn a tight matchup into an 83-61 win over a fellow Final Four-caliber opponent.
Strong finished with 27 points and Popovic added 22 points, five assists and six rebounds, reinforcing why this group already looks dangerous even before the games begin to matter. For UConn, the encouraging part may not just be the margin, but the way it handled a heavyweight test against a Texas team that should be part of the national conversation again in 2025 and 2026. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Football Just Got More Urgency In One Crucial Search
The playoff picture in college football keeps shifting, and that matters for UConn in a very real way. With the postseason landscape moving toward a broader format and conference realignment continuing to reshape the sport, athletic director David Benedict has been candid about the challenge facing the Huskies as an independent program trying to improve its path into the mix.
For UConn, the issue is not just scheduling or branding, but access. An expanded playoff could open more doors across the FBS, yet the Huskies would still be navigating that road from outside a conference structure unless they find a league home, and that leaves the program in a familiar spot: needing the right circumstances to get a foothold in a changing postseason race. [Read more 🡒]