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Last year, head coach Geno Auriemma challenged his team by scheduling a tough out-of-conference schedule that included the likes of Baylor, South Carolina, Florida State, Texas, Ohio State and Maryland. Since his team cruised to an undefeated record until the NCAA Tournament last year, he decided to follow up with another tough schedule.
On Monday, the school announced the nonconference opponents that the Huskies will face during the regular season.
The teams are: Ohio State, California, Maryland, UCLA, Michigan State, Nevada, Notre Dame, DePaul, Oklahoma, Duquesne, Texas, South Carolina and Louisville.
On paper, this schedule looks just as challenging, if not tougher, than last year’s. Out of the nonconference teams UConn will face this year, Duquesne and Nevada were the only teams not to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Of the teams that did make the tournament, Oklahoma and DePaul made it to the Round of 32; Texas, Maryland, UCLA, Louisville, and Ohio State made it to the Sweet Sixteen; Notre Dame made it to the Elite Eight, and South Carolina was in the National Championship game.
The games against Nevada and Duquesne will serve as homecoming games for seniors Gabby Williams and Kia Nurse.
The times and locations for all of the Huskies’ home games will be announced at a later time due to the repairs being done on Gampel Pavilion, the on-campus arena for UConn.
- Ohio State (Away): 11/12
- California (Home): 11/17
- Maryland (Home): 11/19
- UCLA (Away): 11/21
- Michigan State (Neutral Site): 11/25 (as part of the PK80 Invitational in Oregon)
- Nevada (Away): 11/28
- Notre Dame (Home): 12/3
- DePaul (Away): 12/8
- Oklahoma (Neutral Site): 12/19 (Hall of Fame Women’s Holiday Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena)
- Duquesne (Away): 12/22
- Texas (Away): 1/15/18
- South Carolina (Away): To Be Announced
- Louisville (Home): 2/12/18
Though the final schedule won’t be released until August, we at least know who UConn will be facing from the American Athletic Conference at home and on the road.