It almost felt like last season’s championship game left a little tension hanging in the air between Geno Auriemma and Dawn Staley. Fans noticed it right away when this year’s non-conference schedules dropped and, for the first time since 2013–14, there was no UConn vs. South Carolina game on the calendar. While everyone was busy creating rumors about a rift between the two veteran coaches, you can chill out now, because the myth has officially been busted!

According to Daniel Connolly of UConn WBB Weekly, Geno Auriemma’s Huskies are officially set to face the Gamecocks next season in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase at Mohegan Sun on November 24, 2026. For UConn and college basketball fans in general, this is huge; not only does it revive one of the best matchups of the past decade (these two programs have combined for eight of the last 12 national championships!), but it also gives UConn something they badly need: an actual test. Playing in the Big East doesn’t always offer the same level of competition you see in the SEC.

Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies and Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks have built one of the fiercest rivalries in all of college basketball. For over a decade, these two powerhouses had met every year. And we’re not just talking regular-season battles. These two have clashed on the biggest stages too, including deep postseason games and, most recently, the national championship game in Florida.

Since 2014–15, UConn and South Carolina have played each other 14 times:

• UConn has won 9 games
• South Carolina has won 5 games

South Carolina had a stretch where they won four games in a row, but UConn snapped that streak by beating them twice last season. Both were big wins. The Huskies defeated the Gamecocks in Columbia, 87-58, and we all know the scoreline of the championship game.

But why are these two not playing each other this season?

Simply put, the biggest reason UConn and South Carolina didn’t play this season is likely because of a change in the Big East schedule. For the first time since 2022-23, the Big East went back to a 20-game, full round-robin conference schedule. In the last two seasons, Big East teams played only 18 conference games, so UConn had more room to squeeze in big non-conference matchups. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible this year.

Geno Auriemma typically prefers that the South Carolina game happens in February, right in the midst of Big East conference play. Why? He wants his team to feel the intensity of facing a championship-level opponent before the big dance begins. But this season, there just wasn’t enough room to fit in that high-profile matchup around February like usual. So instead of forcing a date that didn’t work for either side, the two programs agreed to shift their clash to November 2026. It’s not the usual mid-season showdown, but it solves the scheduling headache.

That said, UConn wasted no time making a statement to start its season. They opened with a dominant win over No. 20 Louisville in the Peraton Armed Forces Classic, and it was freshman Sarah Strong who stole the spotlight. Naturally, there was praise coming in soon after, this time from the head coach himself.

Geno Auriemma compares Sarah Strong to two UConn legends!

The Lady Huskies opened the season with a confident 79-66 win over No. 20 Louisville, officially entering the post-Paige Bueckers era. The spotlight was firmly on Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd, and both lived up to the moment, scoring 21 and 20 points, respectively. The NPOY contender also added nine rebounds and five assists to her stat line. Her performance was so impressive that Geno Auriemma couldn’t help but compare her to two legends of the game.

“I think when you have a player like Sarah that can rebound the ball like she rebounds it and then start the break and bring the ball up the floor. I think that’s a whole new dynamic that we’ve had some of those guys in the past, whether it was Stewie or Maya Moore, guys that could just be great rebounders and just bring the ball up the floor. So, I really believe that adds a different dimension to our offense,” Geno Auriemma said.

The Fudd-Strong era is here at UConn, and Auriemma made it clear after the game that things already look different. He even said the team is playing faster now that Bueckers is gone. But will they miss her X-factor when it matters most? Will her absence hurt them in the big dance? We’ll just have to wait and see.