UConn set to play in revamped Hall of Fame Showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena

UConn women’s basketball’s annual contest at Mohegan Sun Arena will have a new look this season. The Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase is set to change to a tournament format, so the Huskies will play Utah on Nov. 21 followed by either Michigan or Syracuse on Nov. 23 in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Tip-time and broadcast information will be announced later while tickets go on sale on Friday, Sept. 5.

While UConn has played a regular season contest at Mohegan Sun Arena in nine straight years (excluding the Covid campaign), its historically been a one-off. Now, the Huskies will get a pair of games out of it — and both could be against new opponents.

UConn and Utah have never faced off previously. The Utes have been on the rise in recent years, making four straight NCAA Tournaments while winning the Pac-12 Regular Season title in 2023. Head coach Lynne Roberts departed last season for the Los Angeles Sparks but the school replaced her with former associate head coach Gavin Petersen.

Last season, Utah went 22-9 and made the NCAA Tournament field as an 8-seed but fell to Indiana in the first round.

In their second game at the casino, the Huskies will play the team with the matching result.

UConn and Syracuse share a long history as conference foes in the old Big East but have also met a handful of times in the NCAA Tournament recently.

The last four contests have all come in March Madness, the latter three of which have been in the second round. The Huskies took down 6-seed Syracuse 72-64 in 2024, blasted the 8-seed Orange 83-74 during the bubble tournament then scored a 94-64 victory in 2017. Their historic fourth consecutive national championship in 2016 came over Syracuse, 82-51. The Orange put together a 16-0 run in the third quarter and it didn’t matter one bit.

UConn is 41-12 against Syracuse all-time.

As for Michigan, the two schools have somehow never faced off. Led by former St. John’s coach Kim Barnes Arico, the Wolverines have made seven straight NCAA Tournaments and even reached the Elite Eight in 2022. They feature a pair of rising sophomore stars in 2025 Co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year Olivia Olson and Syla Swords.

These are now the third and fourth official dates on UConn’s calendar. The Huskies will open the season on Nov. 5 at Ramstein Air Base in Germany against Louisville and will take on Iowa in the Champions Classic on Dec. 20 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Elsewhere in the non-conference, UConn is set to hit the road for contests at USC and USF. The Huskies will also host Tennessee, with Ohio State and Notre Dame are expected travel to Connecticut as well.

Since the Big East is switching back to a 20-game schedule, UConn should have two more opponents on its non-conference slate.

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