UConn women’s basketball moves to No. 2 in AP Top 25, setting up top-ranked showdown with No. 1 South Carolina

UConn women’s basketball’s clash on Monday night against the South Carolina Gamecocks will be a meeting between the two top teams in the country. In the latest AP Top 25 poll, top-ranked Louisville’s 14-point loss to No. 4 NC State meant South Carolina took over as No. 1 while the Huskies moved up one spot to No. 2.

This will be 25th time UConn plays in a matchup of the top two teams in the country. The Huskies are 6-1 as the second-ranked team and 21-3 overall. The last time UConn played in such as game was back on Dec. 2, 2018 when then-freshman Christyn Williams dropped 28 points on Notre Dame to lead the Huskies to a 89-71 victory.

UConn and South Carolina have faced off as No. 1 and No. 2 twice before. The Huskies blew out the top-ranked Gamecocks 87-62 at Gampel Pavilion in 2014-15 and then beat South Carolina 66-54 on the road the next season as the top ranked team in country.

The Huskies’ three losses came to Tennessee in 1998-99, Notre Dame in the 2001 Final Four and Baylor in 2011-12.

Bueckers sweeps Big East weekly awards

Paige Bueckers joined elite company on Monday by being named Big East Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week. She’s just third UConn player to earn a conference player of the week nod, joining Maya Moore and Williams — who did so after her 28-point performance at Notre Dame.

Bueckers scored 30 points in the Huskies’ wins over St. John’s and Marquette last week while shooting 11-15 from 3-point range. This is the seventh time she’s been named the Big East’s Freshman of the Week.

Fellow freshman Aaliyah Edwards made the conference’s weekly honor roll after averaging 16.5 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 86.7 percent in two games. She also set a career-high with 22 points against St. John’s.