The UConn men’s and women’s basketball teams have taken care of business early this season, with the Huskies men about to face their first real test on Saturday against No. 7 BYU, and the women taking on Ohio State on Sunday.
But while it’s business as usual in the Basketball Capital, Connecticut schools have been making some noise in its metaphorical suburbs, too.
New Haven has not only crashed the D-1 party but proven it belongs so far, with the men’s basketball team earning respect in the season-opener against the Huskies and picking up its first-ever Division I win at UMass Lowell. The UNH women also nearly took down Big East foe Xavier, falling just seven points short in their D-1 debut.
The Central Connecticut State men and Fairfield women each scored power-conference victories, and the Yale and Quinnipiac men appear to be NCAA Tournament contenders.
Here’s an early-season look at the state of the state in college hoops.
Men
1. Yale (2-0)
Not only are the Bulldogs the class of Connecticut outside of UConn men’s basketball, they’re a beacon for mid-major programs, especially for those looking to excel without big NIL advantages or revenue sharing. Head coach James Jones, ‘The Professor,’ has another highly-competitive squad, and the Bulldogs were the preseason favorite to win the Ivy League again, looking to reach the NCAAs for the third straight year and fifth time in seven years.
Yale asserted Whitney Avenue dominance with a 97-60 win over Quinnipiac on Tuesday, and has a very favorable schedule. The Bulldogs could be unbeaten heading into a Dec. 29 matchup at Alabama, just before conference play tips off.
2. Central Connecticut State (2-1)
We’re going to rank the Blue Devils here for now after their stunning upset win at Boston College, their first-ever victory over an ACC opponent. Central’s W has fans in Chestnut Hill ready to revolt, and some on social media are calling for the Eagles’ expulsion from the ACC (tongue-in-cheek, or not). CCSU did fall at Quinnipiac, 71-49, last week, but the BC win is enough to vault them here for now. They’ll look for another win at UMass on Sunday before traveling to Rutgers next week.
Regardless of what happens in the non-conference, head coach Patrick Sellers has built this program into a consistent contender in the NEC, and they should have as good a shot as any Connecticut mid-major of crashing the Big Dance come March.
Dom Amore: ‘They can feel it through the TV’: How Central Connecticut authored an upset over BC
3. Quinnipiac (1-2)
The Bobcats were outclassed in losses to St. John’s and Yale, but there’s no shame in losing to either. It could continue to be a bumpy non-conference road, with games at Pittsburgh and UCF still on the docket this month. But that may only prove to toughen-up this squad, which should be serious MAAC title contenders after winning the regular season each of the past two years. Senior forward Amarri Monroe returned to QU after reportedly having more lucrative offers from high-major programs, and he’d love nothing more than to earn Quinnipiac its first-ever NCAA Tourney bid.
4. Fairfield (1-2)
The young Stags have four freshmen playing major minutes and may go through growing pains this season, but this team was competitive in a season-opening 76-68 loss at Penn State and for one half at Seton Hall. This team won’t be expected to compete for an NCAA bid this year, but the foundation may be being built for a run in the not-too-distant future.
5. New Haven (1-3)
The Chargers earn this spot after picking up their first-ever Division I win, on the road at UMass Lowell earlier this week. UNH played UConn better than Lowell did, too, confounding the Huskies in stretches during the season-opener (a 79-55 loss). There was that 87-43 home loss to Penn State, but nevermind that. UNH will look for its first ever home D-1 win Saturday against Delaware State.
6. Sacred Heart (1-2)
Anthony Latina’s Pioneers have three returning starters from last season, their first in the MAAC, and figure to be competitive this season. There’s not much to write about yet though, with double-digit losses to Duquesne and Villanova and a win over Division III U.S. Merchant Marine Academy so far.
Women
1. Fairfield (2-0)
It might be tempting to call Fairfield’s 75-63 win at Villanova in the season-opener an upset, but that wouldn’t be doing service to the Stags, who have been Top-25-caliber good over the last three seasons under head coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis. The 34-year-old head coach is a Geno-like 61-7 over the last three seasons, and her team is the clear favorite to reach the NCAAs out of the MAAC for the third straight year.
Junior forward Meghan Andersen is one of the best bigs in the country, and currently ranks second in the nation in scoring at 32.5 points per game, to go along with 6.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. She had 35 points and 7 rebounds in the win over Villanova. Fairfield has tests against No. 11 North Carolina and No. 21 Iowa still on the schedule, and it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see them win one of them.
2. Quinnipiac (1-2)
If anyone can challenge Fairfield in the MAAC, it’s Quinnipiac, which went 28-5 last season and lost to the Stags in the conference title game. Tricia Fabbri knows what it feels like to be a mid-major power, having guided QU to the NCAA Tournament five times, and taken them on a dream-like run to the Sweet 16 in 2017. The Bobcats opened the season with close losses to Rutgers (64-55) and St. John’s (53-51), and figure to be a MAAC contender again.
3. New Haven (1-2)
We’ll put the Chargers here after they opened up Division I play with two competitive losses, 53-46 at Xavier, and 57-45 at Iona. They then crushed D-3 Purchase College at home. It’s a pretty respectable start for head coach Debbie Buff’s program.
4. Yale (0-2)
The Bulldogs were competitive in home losses to Northeastern and Hofstra, but there’s a lot of work to do to try and turn things around after a 4-23 campaign last season.
6. Sacred Heart (0-2)
The Pioneers have reached the NCAA Tournament in two of the last three years, but with star guard Ny’Ceara Pryor now at Texas A&M, they’ll have a challenge in trying to contend again. A game at Central on Thursday night could shift these rankings.
5. Central Connecticut State (0-2)
CCSU was picked fifth in the preseason NEC poll, and the Blue Devils have opened the season with a 71-50 loss at Bryant and a 65-40 loss at Providence. Their showdown against the Pioneers Thursday will be a good measuring stick for where they are among the state’s mid-majors.