Newcomers fitting in for top-ranked UConn women, No. 3 UConn men’s basketball programs

STORRS, Conn. — The images of the UConn men’s and women’s basketball teams walking off the court for the final time last season couldn’t have been more different.

There was joy as Paige Bueckers led the women’s squad to a record 12th national title. The men’s basketball team’s dreams of winning a third consecutive championship ended with a two-point loss to eventual national champion Florida in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

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Both teams went into the offseason with questions to be answered.

Bringing back a nucleus led by Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong had the women’s program in a familiar position of being a top title contender. The defensive deficiencies that plagued the men’s squad during a failed quest for a 3-peat needed to be addressed.

So far, so good. UConn is the only program ranked in the top five in both national polls. The women’s team has won 34 consecutive games. Saturday’s victory at Georgetown was the 14th straight for the men’s program.

“There is a comfort level,” UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma said. “You are also stepping into a program where there is a set of standards that you have. When you first get in here, you are not sure, ‘how do we do this?’ You spend more time watching rather than doing. It takes a little bit of time, a little bit of talking from the coaches for those kids to get a little more comfortable, a little more assertive.

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“It may be a little bit easier on the guy’s side because some of those guys are 18-19 years old and they are men almost, they played a lot of basketball and they have aspirations to be pros. I think there is a purpose for them being at UConn. For us, sometimes they know they are going to be here for four years so there is, ’I’ll wait my turn.”

Braylon Mullins missed six games before debuting for Dan Hurley’s Huskies in a late-November win over Illinois. Blanca Quinonez was sidelined for the first two women’s games.

They certainly have made up for…

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Publish date : 2026-01-18 15:41:00

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