As February advances, we are getting closer and closer to March… and therefore March Madness! Last year, UConn women’s basketball defied the odds and won the National Championship, the program’s first since 2016. It was also a significant moment for the eventual No. 1 WNBA Draft pick Paige Bueckers, who spent five seasons at UConn, and persevered through injury in hopes of winning a championship before leaving for the pros.
Should UConn be favorites to repeat as NCAA champions?
At 25-0, No. 1 UConn are steamrolling toward back-to-back National Championships.
Chelsea Leite has been writing about professional basketball since 2021, and covers both the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Tempo as a credentialed reporter for SB Nation.
Despite Bueckers’s departure, this UConn team may be even better this season. Led by redshirt senior Azzi Fudd and superstar sophomore Sarah Strong, UConn has been ranked No. 1 all season and are the last undefeated women’s program in the country at 25-0. They won’t face another ranked opponent now until March Madness, and seem to be steamrolling toward a possible undefeated season and back-to-back National Championships.
They are so powerful in the Big East Conference that the Huskies even kept Strong out for rest in one of their recent games — something that is unheard of in women’s college basketball. Strong is averaging 19.2 points per game in just 27.4 minutes, leading the country in win shares and second nationally in points per scoring attempt (1.38). She very likely leads the Player of the Year conversations as a sophomore despite playing less than 30 minutes per game.
UConn’s other star, Azzi Fudd, likely won’t be held out for rest anytime soon. Fudd is in her fifth and final college season, with sights set on declaring for the WNBA draft this spring. After an injury-filled college career, Fudd’s goal in returning to UConn this season was to get as much playing time as she could in order to show WNBA scouts her full potential as a player. She could very well be drafted No. 1 overall in the 2026 WNBA Draft, with UConn sending two No. 1 picks in a row to the WNBA (and Dallas Wings) after Bueckers last year. Fudd is also being strategically deployed by her coach, averaging 17.4 points in just 28.2 minutes per game.
As the only ranked team in the Big East, UConn is already set to win the regular-season title, is the favorite for the conference tournament, and will likely get the No. 1 seed in the March Madness bracket. Are they a lock for back-to-back National Championships, though? Will other teams be able to keep up with a group that hasn’t even had to put in 100% effort yet? Is there a specific team you think could beat them?
Let’s chat in the comments below!
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