HARTFORD, Conn. -- The UConn women's basketball team officially tips off its 2024-25 season next week, and the Huskies will hit the ground running with one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country.
No. 2 UConn will face six top-25 opponents, including four in the preseason top 10 outside of Big East play, though only one other team in the conference, No. 21 Creighton, is currently ranked. Expectations are as high as ever with superstar Paige Bueckers back for her fifth year of eligibility, and the team also added a highly-touted freshman class led by No. 1 2024 prospect Sarah Strong.
The Huskies may grapple with some growing pains, especially early in their schedule, as they work to return multiple players from season-ending injuries suffered last year. Azzi Fudd, the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2021, will return from an ACL tear that ended her 2023-24 season after just two games, and 6-foot-5 center Jana El Alfy is finally set to make her college debut after rupturing her Achilles tendon last June. Still, coach Geno Auriemma is confident already that this roster is capable of going all the way.
"We probably have nine players who can all contribute when they step on the floor, and it's just a matter of now finding the pieces," Auriemma said at Big East Media Day. "It's going to take a little bit of time. We're going to be a different team out on the floor simply because we have different pieces to work with, so I'm hoping that we start to find our identity sometime in November."
From old rivals to programs on the rise, here are the biggest games on UConn's schedule entering 2024-25:
1. No. 6 Notre Dame; Dec. 12 in South Bend, Ind.
There are several higher-ranked opponents on the Huskies schedule, but in a program defined by its history, the longtime rivalries always hit the hardest. This matchup is still an open wound for UConn's returners after the team suffered an ugly 82-67 loss to the Irish at Gampel Pavilion last year on the same day it honored the 2003-04 and 2013-14 national championship squads. Legendary alumni including Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart were all in attendance to watch then-freshman Hannah Hidalgo lead Notre Dame with 34 points to its first win in Connecticut since 2013.
Alongside Hidalgo the Irish return All-American point guard Olivia Miles, who sat out last year recovering from a knee injury suffered at the end of the 2022-23 regular season. The Irish also bring back two-time All-ACC selection Sonia Citron, and they signed a recruiting class headlined by No. 5 prospect Kate Koval. The Huskies lost, 74-60, the last time they played in South Bend in 2022, but they are 12-5 all time on the Irish's home court.
2. No. 2 USC; Dec. 21 at XL Center
The XL Center is already sold out for the highly-anticipated rematch of the 2024 Elite Eight, which 3-seed UConn won in an 80-73 upset over the 1-seed Trojans. USC guard JuJu Watkins is poised to become the next superstar of women's basketball beside Bueckers after earning unanimous first-team All-American honors as a freshman last year. The Huskies host USC at the end of a grueling two-week stretch that includes four opponents ranked in the preseason top 20, so the matchup will provide an early idea of what an NCAA Tournament run could look like for UConn.
USC enters the 2024-25 season with a more experienced Watkins plus a superstar transfer in former Stanford forward Kiki Iriafen. The Trojans also picked up standout Oregon State guard Talia Von Oelhoffen from the portal, and they signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country that includes three players ranked top 20 in 2024.
3. No. 8 Iowa State; Dec. 17 at Mohegan Sun Arena
Iowa State hasn't made an Elite Eight since 2009, which makes them easy to underestimate, but the Cyclones quietly constructed one of the most complete rosters in the country this offseason. Headlined by returning superstar Audi Crooks, Iowa State also brought back a pair of 2024 All-Big 12 selections in sophomore forward Addy Brown and fifth-year guard Emily Ryan, and they signed multiple top transfers including former Oregon State guard Lily Hansford and Marquette standout Kenzie Hare.
The Huskies are 2-1 all time against Iowa State, but they suffered their only loss nearly three decades ago in 1999. The teams have not met since the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament, where UConn routed the Cyclones, 74-36, and went on to win the national title. The Iowa State game comes in the midst of the Huskies' most difficult stretch of schedule, and it will be critical for dictating the team's momentum into its showdown with USC days later.
4. No. 1 South Carolina; Feb. 16 in Columbia, S.C.
The reigning national champions are undoubtedly the biggest test on UConn's schedule, especially because they face off in the middle of Big East play. Despite leading the all-time series 9-5, the Huskies have lost four consecutive meetings with South Carolina, including the first national championship game loss in program history in 2022. The Gamecocks haven't lost a regular-season game since January 2022, and they are favorites to repeat as champions in 2025 after winning two of the last three titles.
South Carolina is the standard by which UConn has to measure itself if it wants to end its championship drought, and the team will face an additional challenge playing in front of a hostile sold-out crowd at Colonial Life Arena. The Gamecocks graduated star center Kamilla Cardoso from last year's title squad, but Cardoso didn't play because of a Brazilian national team commitment when Huskies lost in Columbia last year, so UConn has plenty to prove in the 2025 matchup.
5. No. 15 North Carolina; Nov. 15 in Greensboro N.C.
North Carolina is UConn's third game of the season and its first against a ranked opponent, which will make it a crucial early test of the Huskies' chemistry with their new pieces. Fudd likely won't be active yet, and sophomore forward Ayanna Patterson's status is also questionable for the start of the season, so UConn will have to lean heavily on its young core. The Tar Heels aren't nearly as talented as the Huskies on paper after losing star Deja Kelly to Oregon in the transfer portal, but they return a pair of elite fifth-years in 2024 Cheryl Miller Award finalist Alyssa Ustby and 2022 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Lexi Donarski.
The Huskies have won six consecutive meetings with UNC dating back to 2008, including a 76-64 victory last season in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase. However, trips to North Carolina haven't gone well for UConn in the past: The Huskies' first power conference matchup of 2023-24 was in Raleigh against N.C. State, but they lost, 92-81, with their roster still at mostly-full strength. UConn is 3-4 all time against the Tar Heels in road and neutral-site meetings, but 5-1 when playing in Connecticut.
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