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STORRS — The UConn women’s basketball team was already feeling the competitive spirit on Selection Sunday minutes after they were revealed as the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Sophomores Sarah Strong and Kayleigh Heckel entered the practice gym bickering over who was going to stand where to speak with the media, a debate that they decided to settle over a game of rock, paper, scissors.
Heckel threw paper, triumphantly covering Strong’s rock with her palm. Strong refused to go down quietly.
“Best of three,” the All-American forward insisted.
Heckel crowed with delight as Strong tried paper, snipping her classmate’s fingers with scissors to complete the sweep. Strong was furious, grumbling all the way across the court about her defeat. Though there will be no ‘best of three’ in March, it’s safe to say the Huskies are in the right headspace entering the dance.
“This is what we do … and I think they’re very locked in to what they’re doing,” coach Geno Auriemma said Sunday. “You can see that they’re ready. They’re ready.”
After ending a nine-year national championship drought in 2025, the Huskies look to become the first team to go back-to-back since the program won four straight from 2013-16. Here’s a look at UConn’s path to another title:
Sign up here to get UConn sports news straight to your inbox: UConn Alerts
For the third year in a row, the Huskies are meeting a first-time opponent in the first round in UT San Antonio (UTSA). The Roadrunners won the American Conference — which UConn won seven times in a row from 2013-20 — to earn their third NCAA Tournament bid all-time and first since 2009. UTSA has never made it out of the first round, but it did take 2-seed Baylor to overtime as a 15-seed in 2009.
The Huskies open the tournament against UTSA at 3 p.m. Saturday at Gampel Pavilion. The game will air on ABC.
UConn hasn’t been eliminated before the regional rounds since 1993, so assuming the Huskies advance, they’ll get a more interesting matchup in the second round against the winner between 8-seed Iowa State and 9-seed Syracuse.
Syracuse is a familiar foe, especially in the second round. Since the Orange left the Big East in 2013, they have faced UConn four times in the NCAA Tournament with three meetings in the second round. UConn eliminated Syracuse in the second round in 2024 en route to the Final Four and did the same in 2021 and 2017. The Huskies also beat the Orange in the 2016 NCAA championship to complete the four-peat, and their 31-point victory was the second-largest margin in the history of the national title game.
When Auriemma saw Iowa State on the bracket, he immediately thought of his first Final Four team in 1991. Cyclones coach Bill Fennelly was in his sixth season leading Toledo at the time, and the Huskies escaped the 11-seed Rockets in the second round with an 81-80 win.
“Now he’s coming back up to campus just to torment me, I know it,” Auriemma joked Sunday.
Iowa State has struggled to live up to its potential the last several seasons despite boasting one of the best players in the country in junior Audi Crooks. The Cyclones haven’t advanced past the second round during Crooks’ college career, but the All-American center is having another dominant season averaging 25.5 points and 7.8 rebounds on 64.7% shooting from the field.
UConn’s post players outside of Strong have struggled with inconsistency throughout this year, but the Huskies had no problem managing Crooks when the teams faced off in the 2024-25 regular season. UConn routed the Cyclones 101-68 in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena and set a single-game program record with 20 made 3-pointers.
No team seeded lower than No. 5 made the regional rounds last season, so the Huskies are likely to get either 4-seed North Carolina or 5-seed Maryland in the Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, Texas. UConn hasn’t faced North Carolina in the tournament since the 1994 Elite Eight, when the 4-seed Tar Heels eliminated the 3-seed Huskies. It’s been more than a decade since North Carolina’s last Elite Eight appearance in 2014, though the program has two Sweet 16 appearances in the last four years under coach Courtney Banghart.
Maryland last met in the postseason in the 2015 national championship, which the Huskies won 81-58. The Terrapins have made at least the Sweet 16 in four of the last five tournaments, and though they’ve battled injuries throughout this season, head coach Brenda Frese knows what it takes to lead a team in the tournament with three career Final Four appearances and the 2006 national title on her resume.
Maryland’s roster also features a pair of former Huskies in redshirt senior guards Mir McLean and Saylor Poffenbarger. Poffenbarger, who leads the Terrapins in rebounds and assists, played her freshman season at UConn in 2020-21 before transferring to Arkansas, then to Maryland in 2024. McLean also played for the Huskies in 2020-21 but appeared in just three games the following season before entering the transfer portal in Dec. 2021. She played two seasons at Virginia before transferring to Maryland in 2024.
If UConn advances to the Elite Eight, Auriemma could go head-to-head with a former player and assistant in Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph. Ralph played for UConn from 1996-2001 and was a first-team All-American in her junior season, leading the Huskies to the 2000 NCAA championship as the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Ralph also spent 13 years as an assistant coach from 2008-21, helping UConn to an additional six national titles.
Since Ralph was hired at Vanderbilt in 2021, the team has appeared in three straight NCAA Tournaments and had its winningest season since 2007 this year. The Commodores are led by superstar guard Mikayla Blakes, the only player besides Strong in the national player of the year conversation. The sophomore guard leads the country in scoring averaging 27 points plus 4.4 assists, 2.9 steals and 3.8 rebounds.
The Huskies could also see a regular season rematch with 3-seed Ohio State in the Elite Eight. UConn dominated that meeting 100-68, and the team has unfinished with the Buckeyes in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State upset the Huskies as a 3-seed in the 2023 Sweet 16, marking the program’s only exit before the Final Four in the last 15 years.
Geno Auriemma, UConn could face off with a former player in the Elite Eight. Why he’s not thrilled
If chalk holds, the Huskies would get a rematch of last year’s national championship at the Final Four in Phoenix against South Carolina, the 1-seed in the Sacramento 4 region. The perennial powerhouses have won three of the last four NCAA titles between them, and the Gamecocks have appeared in every Final Four since 2021.
No. 2 seed Iowa is the other biggest threat to come out of Sacramento 4, which would give the Huskies a chance to avenge their 2024 Final Four loss to the Hawkeyes. UConn routed Iowa 90-64 when the teams met in the Women’s Champions Classic at Barclays Center on Dec. 20.
On the opposite side of the bracket, 1-seeds UCLA and Texas are both favorites to make it back to the Final Four for a second straight season. Texas won the SEC Tournament with an impressive 78-61 victory over South Carolina, and UCLA dominated Iowa 96-45 in the Big Ten championship to cruise to its second straight conference tournament title.
The Huskies blew out UCLA 85-51 in the 2025 Final Four, but it hasn’t seen Texas in the postseason since the 2016 Elite Eight. UConn has never lost to Texas in four NCAA Tournament meetings, though Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer eliminated the undefeated Huskies on an overtime buzzer beater in the 2017 Final Four when he was leading Mississippi State.
UConn’s Geno Auriemma gets exclusive about his future plans, why he’s so charged up now
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Sophomores Sarah Strong and Kayleigh Heckel entered the practice gym bickering over who was going to stand where to speak with the media, a debate that they decided to settle over a game of rock, paper, scissors.
Heckel threw paper, triumphantly covering Strong’s rock with her palm. Strong refused to go down quietly.
“Best of three,” the All-American forward insisted.
Heckel crowed with delight as Strong tried paper, snipping her classmate’s fingers with scissors to complete the sweep. Strong was furious, grumbling all the way across the court about her defeat. Though there will be no ‘best of three’ in March, it’s safe to say the Huskies are in the right headspace entering the dance.
“This is what we do … and I think they’re very locked in to what they’re doing,” coach Geno Auriemma said Sunday. “You can see that they’re ready. They’re ready.”
After ending a nine-year national championship drought in 2025, the Huskies look to become the first team to go back-to-back since the program won four straight from 2013-16. Here’s a look at UConn’s path to another title:
Sign up here to get UConn sports news straight to your inbox: UConn Alerts
First and second rounds
For the third year in a row, the Huskies are meeting a first-time opponent in the first round in UT San Antonio (UTSA). The Roadrunners won the American Conference — which UConn won seven times in a row from 2013-20 — to earn their third NCAA Tournament bid all-time and first since 2009. UTSA has never made it out of the first round, but it did take 2-seed Baylor to overtime as a 15-seed in 2009.
The Huskies open the tournament against UTSA at 3 p.m. Saturday at Gampel Pavilion. The game will air on ABC.
UConn hasn’t been eliminated before the regional rounds since 1993, so assuming the Huskies advance, they’ll get a more interesting matchup in the second round against the winner between 8-seed Iowa State and 9-seed Syracuse.
Syracuse is a familiar foe, especially in the second round. Since the Orange left the Big East in 2013, they have faced UConn four times in the NCAA Tournament with three meetings in the second round. UConn eliminated Syracuse in the second round in 2024 en route to the Final Four and did the same in 2021 and 2017. The Huskies also beat the Orange in the 2016 NCAA championship to complete the four-peat, and their 31-point victory was the second-largest margin in the history of the national title game.
When Auriemma saw Iowa State on the bracket, he immediately thought of his first Final Four team in 1991. Cyclones coach Bill Fennelly was in his sixth season leading Toledo at the time, and the Huskies escaped the 11-seed Rockets in the second round with an 81-80 win.
“Now he’s coming back up to campus just to torment me, I know it,” Auriemma joked Sunday.
Iowa State has struggled to live up to its potential the last several seasons despite boasting one of the best players in the country in junior Audi Crooks. The Cyclones haven’t advanced past the second round during Crooks’ college career, but the All-American center is having another dominant season averaging 25.5 points and 7.8 rebounds on 64.7% shooting from the field.
UConn’s post players outside of Strong have struggled with inconsistency throughout this year, but the Huskies had no problem managing Crooks when the teams faced off in the 2024-25 regular season. UConn routed the Cyclones 101-68 in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena and set a single-game program record with 20 made 3-pointers.
Fort Worth 1 regional
No team seeded lower than No. 5 made the regional rounds last season, so the Huskies are likely to get either 4-seed North Carolina or 5-seed Maryland in the Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, Texas. UConn hasn’t faced North Carolina in the tournament since the 1994 Elite Eight, when the 4-seed Tar Heels eliminated the 3-seed Huskies. It’s been more than a decade since North Carolina’s last Elite Eight appearance in 2014, though the program has two Sweet 16 appearances in the last four years under coach Courtney Banghart.
Maryland last met in the postseason in the 2015 national championship, which the Huskies won 81-58. The Terrapins have made at least the Sweet 16 in four of the last five tournaments, and though they’ve battled injuries throughout this season, head coach Brenda Frese knows what it takes to lead a team in the tournament with three career Final Four appearances and the 2006 national title on her resume.
Maryland’s roster also features a pair of former Huskies in redshirt senior guards Mir McLean and Saylor Poffenbarger. Poffenbarger, who leads the Terrapins in rebounds and assists, played her freshman season at UConn in 2020-21 before transferring to Arkansas, then to Maryland in 2024. McLean also played for the Huskies in 2020-21 but appeared in just three games the following season before entering the transfer portal in Dec. 2021. She played two seasons at Virginia before transferring to Maryland in 2024.
If UConn advances to the Elite Eight, Auriemma could go head-to-head with a former player and assistant in Vanderbilt head coach Shea Ralph. Ralph played for UConn from 1996-2001 and was a first-team All-American in her junior season, leading the Huskies to the 2000 NCAA championship as the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Ralph also spent 13 years as an assistant coach from 2008-21, helping UConn to an additional six national titles.
Since Ralph was hired at Vanderbilt in 2021, the team has appeared in three straight NCAA Tournaments and had its winningest season since 2007 this year. The Commodores are led by superstar guard Mikayla Blakes, the only player besides Strong in the national player of the year conversation. The sophomore guard leads the country in scoring averaging 27 points plus 4.4 assists, 2.9 steals and 3.8 rebounds.
The Huskies could also see a regular season rematch with 3-seed Ohio State in the Elite Eight. UConn dominated that meeting 100-68, and the team has unfinished with the Buckeyes in the NCAA Tournament. Ohio State upset the Huskies as a 3-seed in the 2023 Sweet 16, marking the program’s only exit before the Final Four in the last 15 years.
Geno Auriemma, UConn could face off with a former player in the Elite Eight. Why he’s not thrilled
Final Four
If chalk holds, the Huskies would get a rematch of last year’s national championship at the Final Four in Phoenix against South Carolina, the 1-seed in the Sacramento 4 region. The perennial powerhouses have won three of the last four NCAA titles between them, and the Gamecocks have appeared in every Final Four since 2021.
No. 2 seed Iowa is the other biggest threat to come out of Sacramento 4, which would give the Huskies a chance to avenge their 2024 Final Four loss to the Hawkeyes. UConn routed Iowa 90-64 when the teams met in the Women’s Champions Classic at Barclays Center on Dec. 20.
On the opposite side of the bracket, 1-seeds UCLA and Texas are both favorites to make it back to the Final Four for a second straight season. Texas won the SEC Tournament with an impressive 78-61 victory over South Carolina, and UCLA dominated Iowa 96-45 in the Big Ten championship to cruise to its second straight conference tournament title.
The Huskies blew out UCLA 85-51 in the 2025 Final Four, but it hasn’t seen Texas in the postseason since the 2016 Elite Eight. UConn has never lost to Texas in four NCAA Tournament meetings, though Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer eliminated the undefeated Huskies on an overtime buzzer beater in the 2017 Final Four when he was leading Mississippi State.
UConn’s Geno Auriemma gets exclusive about his future plans, why he’s so charged up now
Continue reading...
