Alexa Philippou
Multiple Authors
NEW YORK — The No. 1 UConn Huskies completed their 11th undefeated regular season in program history Sunday night behind an 85-49 win over St. John’s — positioning themselves nine wins away from repeating as national champions and tallying their seventh undefeated campaign.
“When you are fortunate enough to go through 31 games and win them all, there is something to be proud of,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “There is something good about it, and they should feel really good about it.”
Added national player of the year candidate Sarah Strong: “Coach came in [to the locker room and] said he was proud of us. We also have a lot to work on to get ready for the Big East tournament, so just enjoy the win now and be ready to get back to work.”
Sunday night’s win was the Huskies’ 47th consecutive victory, tied for the fifth-longest win streak in Division I history, with UConn boasting five of the top six streaks. The Huskies last lost on Feb. 6, 2025, at Tennessee.
The Huskies tied a bow on their flawless regular season in front of a crowd of 9,612 that filled the lower bowl at Madison Square Garden for the venue’s first standalone women’s college basketball game.
Auriemma insisted that his team’s 31-0 season hasn’t been an easy journey, particularly as his players navigate unparalleled pressure “dealing with the ghosts” of the program’s storied past.
And yet, the Huskies have certainly made it look that way on the court. Their plus-37.8 scoring margin this season is on pace to be the third-highest in DI history behind two previous UConn teams.
Sunday was more of the same for the Huskies, who used a 24-9 first quarter to put host St. John’s on its heels.
They ultimately shot 57% on the night and forced 22 turnovers, their depth on display once more with six players finishing with at least nine points.
The target on UConn’s back will intensify as it looks ahead to the Big East tournament, where it will face either Georgetown or Butler in Saturday’s quarterfinals, and ultimately the NCAA tournament. The Huskies have been the No. 1 overall seed in both early bracket reveals.
While the outside narrative surrounding the Huskies has been that they are better than last season, Auriemma rejects that notion, particularly given that they no longer have superstar and No. 1 WNBA draft pick Paige Bueckers to lead them and lean on.
“I do think when the NCAA tournament begins, it certainly is not going to be as easy as we experienced it last season,” Auriemma said. “I think somebody like Paige can [take over the postseason]. We have enough good players to have as good a chance as anybody else out there to win a national championship.”
The coach is hardly short of talent, with two likely All-Americans in Strong and Azzi Fudd, plus more options coming off the bench. But Auriemma knows the regular season doesn’t always have much bearing on March. Last season, his team sported three losses and was a No. 2 seed before its dominant run to the program’s 12th national title and first since 2016. The previous two times he’s had teams enter the postseason undefeated — 2017 and 2018 — both squads fell in the Final Four in devastating fashion.
“Generally, the best team usually wins the national championship, but not always,” Auriemma said. “It’s the team who comes together at the right time. We’ve got a great group. We can do a lot of different things, and our defense has been really, really good all season long. So if we stay in that mindset, then we’ll have a chance.”
“The postseason is going to have a lot of ups and downs,” added Strong, “so I think everyone having each other’s backs and being there for each other is going to help us.”
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