The University of Connecticut (UConn) is gearing up for a demanding week as they prepare to compete against two of the nation’s premier players. On Tuesday, the fourth-ranked Huskies are set to take on Audi Crooks and her team, Iowa State, during the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase. Following this matchup, they will face off against the seventh-ranked USC Trojans and their talented sophomore, JuJu Watkins, on Saturday.
UConn’s head coach, Geno Auriemma, acknowledged the unique challenges posed by each opponent. He highlighted Iowa State’s notable strengths and their capability to leverage them effectively during games. “Iowa State, everybody knows what their greatest strength is and they are very good at playing through that strength,” he remarked. Auriemma emphasized the need for tailored preparations, saying, “How we prepare for them will probably have to be different from how we prepare for the USC game,” pointing out that both teams and players attract significant attention in the sport.
Iowa State began their season with high expectations, starting eighth in the preseason rankings. However, they have faced difficulty, recently falling out of the rankings after losses to Northern Iowa, South Carolina, and their rivals from Iowa. Crooks, standing at 6 feet 3 inches, is having an impressive season, averaging 21.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Auriemma praised her performance, stating, “She is young, this is her second year. It hasn’t taken her long to get acclimated to college basketball,” indicating that her exceptional skills make her a pivotal player.
The Huskies are determined to implement a collective defensive strategy against Crooks. Star guard Paige Bueckers emphasized the importance of teamwork, stating, “It is not one person who is guarding her; it is all five people on the court.” She expressed confidence in their defensive game plan, assuring that every player, including those coming off the bench, will be equipped to challenge Crooks and hinder the guards’ ability to facilitate plays.
The upcoming game against USC will be a rematch of last season’s Elite Eight showdown, which UConn won 80-73. The Trojans have retained Watkins, who is currently the third leading scorer in the country, averaging 24.7 points per game. Coach Lindsay Gottlieb has enhanced her squad with notable transfers like Kiki Iriafen from Stanford and Talia von Oelhoffen from Oregon State. USC has recorded a single loss this season at home against Notre Dame, who also handed the Huskies their sole defeat in the current season.
In a noteworthy development, Cal has made its debut in the polls at No. 24, marking its first entry since 2019. The Bears boast a 12-1 record this season, with their only loss against No. 15 Michigan State. They recently triumphed over rivals Stanford, defeating them by a significant 20 points, thereby ending a 12-game losing streak in that matchup—making it their largest win against Stanford since the 1981-82 season. Under the leadership of Coach Charmin Smith since 2019, the Bears experienced their first winning season last year, finishing at 17-13 and making it to the WNIT.
Reflecting on previous team goals, Smith noted, “We talked about last year’s goal was postseason play and I wish I had said NCAA Tournament. Now the NCAA Tournament is the goal. Everyone is locked on that.”
In terms of tournament prospects, the NCAA’s NET rankings have South Carolina holding the top spot, followed by Texas and Kansas State. Interestingly, UCLA, which currently holds the No. 1 position in the AP poll, ranks fifth in the NET. Vanderbilt is just outside the Top 25 but sits at ninth in these rankings.