The UConn women’s basketball team has been solidly holding on to the top-ranked spot in the nation so far in the 2025-26 NCAA season. The Huskies have looked unshakable, even when taking on other top 25 programs. They easily handled No. 6 Michigan and recently blew out No. 16 USC on the road. Now, UConn is gearing up for its next test in No. 11 Iowa.
Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma credits his undefeated team’s dominance to his roster construction. After losing key pieces of last year’s lineup to the WNBA Draft, such as Paige Bueckers, Auriemma pivoted to a committee approach, relying on depth in addition to the star power the squad still possesses.
“There’s a benefit to [having depth] because we can play a certain way,” Auriemma said. The coaching legend did also mention that the new strategy comes with a couple of good problems as well.
“But it’s a challenge getting all the players the minutes that they want and that they need. Hopefully, we can manage that balance,” he added.
Iowa head coach Jan Jensen has taken notice of the Huskies’ performance throughout this campaign as she prepares her 10-1 team for the formidable opponent.
“With a team like UConn that is so fast, and they’re almost flawless in every aspect of the game. There’s no time to get too high and certainly low,” Jensen said. “I think this team has the potential to go down as one of Geno’s best. I feel like this particular team, they have a very intense defensive balance to them.”
No. 1 UConn aims to keep its perfect record and continue averaging 90.8 points while limiting its opponents to just 50.5 points per game. Meanwhile, Iowa will be led by Ava Heiden, who’s putting up 15.2 points per game on 65.7% shooting, and Taylor McCabe, who’s averaging 3.1 made 3-pointers this season. The two sides will face off on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET.