Geno Auriemma isn’t letting talk of an undefeated season or a national title seep into UConn’s daily mindset.“If I told them that we’re playing for an undefeated season, a national championship, I think they would s*** themselves. So, we don’t talk about that,” he said ahead of the Villanova game. For Auriemma, it’s an incremental improvement in every game. 

“My thing with them is every little thing that we do every day, I want to come to practice tomorrow and go, ‘Hey, how was yesterday? Was it better than the day before? Yes. Okay, we’re on the right track,” he said. Going into the Villanova game, he has the same mindset. The Wildcats are the challengers in the Big East, sitting at No.2 with a 5-2 record. It’s arguably the most difficult conference game for UConn. Let’s look at how the two teams size up before the game. 

How to watch UConn vs Villanova?

Date: Thursday, January 15

Time: 7 p.m. ET

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Location: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, CT

TV: FS1

Stream: Fox Sports

Radio: UConn Sports Network (97.9 Fox Sports and affiliates)

UConn vs Villanova: Predicted Lineups

Villanova

Brynn McCurry

Jasmine Bascoe 

Kelsey Joens 

Dani Ceseretti 

Denae Carter 

UConn

KK Arnold 

Azzi Fudd 

Sarah Strong 

Ashlynn Shade

Serah Williams 

UConn vs Villanova: Injury Report

UConn

Villanova

Match Preview and Prediction

Led by sophomore point guard Jasmine Bascoe at 17.4 points per game, Villanova has the ability to give UConn a run for its money if they play at their best. UConn is 47-18 all-time against Villanova. The Huskies haven’t lost to the Wildcats in three years, and coming into this game, momentum is with them. 

The Huskies are on a 33-game win streak before this meeting, which is tied for the seventh-longest win streak in program history. They earned their fifth sweep of the Big East weekly awards, with Sarah Strong earning Player of the Week honors and Blanca Quiñonez earning Freshman of the Week honors. Just goes to show the star power that Villanova is going up against. But as a team, they can match the Huskies in a couple of categories. 

The Villanova offense is deep and is also barely second to UConn in turnovers per game, assists per game, and made 3-pointers per game (9.4). Villanova’s main advantage over the Huskies is on the defensive glass, where the Wildcats lead the Big East with 26.6 defensive rebounds per game. However, UConn has played the tougher schedule between the two as its strength of schedule on Warren Nolan ranks at No.3 in the country. 

On the other hand, Villanova is at No.21. So, it’s clear that UConn are behemoths and they haven’t shown any cracks so far. While UConn doesn’t depend on its outside shooting a lot (3p rate per Barttorvik 35.4%), Azzi Fudd gives it enough edge from the three-point line.  Sarah Strong’s all-around game gives them everything from points to chance creation.

For Villanova, the key will once again be Bascoe and McCurry. These two will need to combine for the majority of the points, like their West Virginia win earlier this season, for them to have a chance. However, while Denise Dillon’s side can put up a fight. The prediction remains a Connecticut win. The skill and experience gap is just too huge, at least based on performances so far. For an upset, they will need a couple of players on the Huskies to have a seriously off day.