Last season, UConn had a weak (for its own standards) non-conference schedule, though not for a lack of trying.

South Carolina got bumped off by the Big East adding two extra games. USC was supposed to be a national title contender, only for JuJu Watkins to miss the entire season with a torn ACL. Notre Dame took a step back after losing significant pieces to the transfer portal. Tennessee faceplanted in year two of the Kim Caldwell era.

As a result, the Huskies won almost every game by double-digits but didn’t see a truly elite team until South Carolina in the Final Four.

UConn isn’t letting the same thing happen twice. On Monday, the Huskies revealed a gauntlet of a 2026-27 non-conference schedule. Including exhibitions, they’ll face off against 12 teams that made the NCAA Tournament, five that reached the Elite Eight and two others from the Final Four. There are established powers, programs on the rise and plenty of grudge matches.

At worst, UConn will measure itself against South Carolina, the presumed preseason No. 1. But Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State, Louisville, Duke, Maryland, Notre Dame and LSU could easily all end up in the top 10 at some point, too. Those are the types of teams that the Huskies will face in the regionals and beyond.

Earlier in the summer, Geno Auriemma joked that if UConn went .500 in non-conference play, “that would be a good year.” While that’s a bit extreme, it’d be a surprise if the Huskies made it to Christmas without a loss. That might not be a bad thing, either, as this past season showed.

But UConn’s non-conference slate isn’t just difficult in terms of the competition. The way the schedule falls will be its own challenge.

For the first time in over three decades, the Huskies won’t have a single non-conference game after the new year. Their final such contest comes on Dec. 20 against LSU in Nashville. After that, UConn will only take the court against the Big East — where it has won 70 straight games, including the last 68 by 10+ points.

That’ll be far more difficult than any contest. The Huskies will have to push themselves and prepare for the NCAA Tournament without playing a meaningful game for over two months.