It’s been more than two years since the UConn women’s basketball team lost a game in Big East play, and total dominance has become the norm for the Huskies since they rejoined the conference in 2020.
UConn went undefeated in the Big East for a second straight season last year, cruising to its fifth consecutive sweep of the conference’s regular season and tournament championships, averaging a 30-point margin of victory. The competitiveness of the Big East has slipped in recent years, in part because smaller athletic departments are struggling to retain talent in the transfer portal era against the resources of power conference programs. The Big East went from sending five teams to the NCAA Tournament in 2023 to just two — UConn and Creighton — last season.
But despite the conference’s declining presence on the national stage, Huskies coach Geno Auriemma believes they have a chance to right the ship this year.
“The challenge for us is to try to get three or four teams in the NCAA tournament, and I thought last year we were we were so close,” Auriemma said Friday during a press conference on Zoom. “I think Marquette can very easily be an NCAA tournament team. Seton Hall, Villanova, St. John’s come to mind based on what happened last year and how close they were. So I’m optimistic about about the regular season, and we’ll see how that goes.”
The Big East expanded in 2025-26 from 18 to 20 conference games, which Auriemma said has its pros and cons. There’s hope that additional conference games will benefit the Big East as a whole, but the additional Big East matchups cost the Huskies the chance to strengthen their schedule with games against top-ranked teams.
“I can see both sides of it. I can understand why everybody wants to play a balanced schedule so one team doesn’t have a much more difficult schedule than the other,” Auriemma said. “I think for for us, it’s not optimum that we lose out on two non-conference games that could be really beneficial for us, but we’re part of the Big East, and so we do what we can to help the conference … We’ll see whether or not that has any effect in and whether it enhances people’s chances of getting in the tournament.”
As conference play begins this weekend, here’s what to expect from the Huskies’ Big East competition:
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Xavier
Game dates: Nov. 30 in Cincinnati; Jan. 28 at Gampel Pavilion
Preseason ranking: No. 11
2024-25 record: 1-17
The Musketeers have been consistent residents at the bottom of the Big East with a single regular-season conference win in the past three seasons, though they did pull off an upset over 6-seed DePaul in last year’s Big East tournament. The team has never finished better than seventh since joining the Big East in 2013, and UConn is 9-0 in its all-time series with Xavier.
DePaul
Game dates: Dec. 7 at Gampel Pavilion; Feb. 4 in Chicago
Preseason ranking: No. 8
2024-25 record: 8-10
DePaul is going through a transition period after legendary coach Doug Bruno, a longtime friend of Auriemma, retired after 38 seasons at the helm of the program. The team will be led this year by Jill Pizzotti, who served as interim coach in 2024-25 while Bruno was dealing with health issues. The Blue Demons also graduated their two leading scorers from last year and are 2-5 to start this season. They lost Wednesday 61-49 to Loyola Chicago, who UConn beat by 52 points on Nov. 12.
Marquette
Game dates: Dec. 17 at PeoplesBank Arena; Feb. 14 in Milwaukee
Preseason ranking: No. 2
2024-25 record: 12-6
Marquette has the most talented roster in the conference outside of UConn with three players on the preseason All-Big East team. The Golden Eagles have four returning starters averaging at least 12 points per game, and their only losses through six games are to Minnesota and No. 10 Iowa State. They also hold a power conference win over Wisconsin, but they’re still unlikely to seriously challenge the Huskies after two losses by 30-plus in 2024-25.
Butler
Game dates: Dec. 28 in Indianapolis; Feb. 7 at PeoplesBank Arena
Preseason ranking: No. 9
2024-25 record: 5-13
Butler has made significant improvements since coach Austin Parkinson took over the program in 2022, and it reached the third round of the WNIT in 2025, but the team has yet to finish in the top half of the Big East. The Huskies are 8-0 all-time against the Bulldogs, and every win in the series has been by at least 26 points.
Providence
Game dates: Dec. 31 in Providence, R.I.; Feb. 22 at Gampel Pavilion
Preseason ranking: No. 10
2024-25 record: 6-12
Providence and UConn have a long series history, but the Friars have gotten within 20 points of the Huskies just once since 1995. The team is 5-2 to start 2025-26 with a quality win over Boston College, though it also suffered an upset at home to Howard in its season opener Nov. 4.
Seton Hall
Game dates: Jan. 3 at PeoplesBank Arena; Jan. 25 in South Orange, N.J.
Preseason ranking: No. 3
2024-25 record: 13-5
Seton Hall received Auriemma’s first-place vote in the conference’s preseason coaches’ poll with first-team All-Big East guard Jada Eads back for her sophomore season. Junior Savannah Catalon also made the preseason all-conference team, and the Pirates are undefeated to start 2025-26, but UConn is undefeated in the series since 1994.
St. John’s
Game dates: Jan. 7 at PeoplesBank Arena; March 1, site TBA
Preseason ranking: No. 6
2024-25 record: 5-13
Despite an early-season loss to Harvard, St. John’s could be better than expected after picking up a signature win over No. 24 Oklahoma State last week. The Red Storm added four immediate contributors from the transfer portal led by former Liberty guard Brooke Moore, so they should get even more competitive later in the season as the newcomers settle in.
Creighton
Game dates: Jan. 11 in Omaha, Neb.; Feb. 11 at Gampel Pavilion
Preseason ranking: No. 5
2024-25 record: 16-2
Creighton hasn’t missed an NCAA Tournament since 2021, but the Bluejays are going through a rebuild after graduating four starters from last year’s squad that finished second in the Big East. They added a strong freshman class with three recruits ranked in ESPN’s top 100 to a pair of key senior returners in Kennedy Townsend and Kiani Lockett. Creighton has seen some expected growing pains with so many new pieces, starting 1-4 with three losses to mid-major opponents.
Villanova
Game dates: Jan. 15 at Gampel Pavilion; Feb. 18 in Villanova, Pa.
Preseason ranking: No. 4
2024-25 record: 11-7
The Wildcats return star guard Jasmine Bascoe, who averaged 16.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 2024-25 to earn first team All-Big East honors as a freshman, and they also picked up former Notre Dame forward Kylee Watson from the transfer portal. But Villanova’s start to the season has been underwhelming with losses to Fairfield and Princeton.
Georgetown
Game dates: Jan. 22 in Washington, D.C.; Feb. 26 at PeoplesBank Arena
Preseason ranking: No. 7
2024-25 record: 4-14
Georgetown returned just two starters from 2024-25 but the team brings back 2024 Big East Sixth Woman of the Year Brianna Scott, who missed last season with an ACL injury. The Hoyas likely won’t be one of the best teams in the conference, but they proved they have the ability to challenge top teams after leading No. 7 Maryland through three quarters before eventually falling 85-66 on Nov. 9.