UConn wins Big East tournament title by dominating Villanova

UConn capped its Big East tournament title run Sunday night with a 90-51 drubbing of Villanova. The championship is the Huskies’ 24th Big East crown and marked the program’s 50th consecutive win, the fifth-longest winning streak in NCAA women’s hoops history.

The Huskies had four players in double figures, led by fifth-year senior Azzi Fudd, who finished with 19 points and sophomore Sarah Strong, who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes. Strong, who averaged 17 points, seven rebounds and five steals through three Big East tournament games (while shooting 68 percent from the floor), was named the conference’s Most Outstanding Player. Fudd and KK Arnold, who set the tone defensively for UConn in its three Big East tournament games, were both named to the All-Tournament team.

Advertisement

The Huskies have averaged a near 40-point margin of victory so far this season, their highest margin since the 2015-16 season, and their performances through the Big East tournament were no different. While playing a deep bench — no Huskies player logged more than 27 minutes in any Big East tournament game — UConn outscored its Big East opponents by an average of 45 points per game.

The added rest for UConn’s main rotation through the conference tournament should be an added benefit to the Huskies’ momentum as they enter the NCAA Tournament as the favorites. UConn is seeking to become the first team to repeat as national champions since the program did so in 2015 and 2016.

They probably went into this season with the specter of ‘Well, they just lost arguably the best player in the country last year (Paige Bueckers) and there’s no way they can repeat,’ and I think there’s a real drive in them to prove that we’re worthy,” Auriemma said. “It’s not going to be easy. It’s never as easy as, sometimes, it looks. It’s going to be really hard. … But, I think we’re prepared for whatever happens. If we play well, we have a chance to win. If we don’t play well, we have to lose. That’s kind of been the case for 40-some years.”

Now, they return to Storrs, Conn., and await Selection Sunday. In the two top-16 reveals, the Division I women’s basketball committee placed UConn in the top spot and UCLA at No. 2. Yet, the Bruins’ impressive 51-point win in the Big Ten tournament title game over Iowa, which came after the most recent top-16 reveal, has sparked conversations about which team will and should be the No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday.

Advertisement

The committee will have plenty to compare and discuss. UConn ranks No. 1 in the NET and has gone undefeated this season. The Huskies are 9-0 in Quad 1 wins. UCLA ranks No. 2 in the NET and went 31-1 this season. The Bruins’ obvious advantage in their resume is an 18-1 record in Quad 1 wins thanks to the strength of the Big Ten this season. Their only loss was against Texas, which is predicted to be the No. 3 seed. Further, the Huskies and Bruins share six common opponents (four Big Ten teams, Tennessee and South Florida).

The Big Ten had seven teams in the most recent top-16 reveal, putting the depth of the conference on full display. Even if that’s not enough to push UCLA to the No.1 seed, it’s definitely seen as an advantage that made UCLA battle-tested this season, potentially more so than UConn, which doesn’t have the same strength of schedule. And yet, Auriemma said that he believes that even though there aren’t as many NCAA Tournament teams in the Big East, that it’s the style of play across the league that has so successfully prepared UConn teams for March Madness every year.

“The big thing is you learn to play against styles that involve a lot of player movement — a majority of the teams in our league, that’s how they play,” Auriemma said. “The thing that helps us a lot in the NCAA Tournament, when we play teams who don’t move as much … it really, for us, our defense actually gets even better during the tournament than it is during the regular season. It has been like that for as long as I can remember.”

NCAA Tournament automatic qualifiers

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

Advertisement

Villanova Wildcats, Connecticut Huskies, Women’s College Basketball

2026 The Athletic Media Company