Key Highlights
- Voepel began covering women's basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996. Follow on XCharlie CremeCloseCharlie CremeESPN. comCharlie Creme projects the women's NCAA tournament bracket for ESPN. com. Jan 13, 2026, 09:00 AM ETEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsDespite losing guard Paige Bueckers from last season's national championship team, UConn has kept rolling in typical Huskies fashion. A little more than midway through the 2025-26 regular season in women's college basketball, UConn and sophomore Sarah Strong remain the favorites to win the NCAA title and national player of the year award -- just as they were before the season tipped off in early November. As great as Bueckers was at UConn, the Huskies are still lethal.
- The star combination of Strong and guard Azzi Fudd leads a deep squad that has a good chance at the program's seventh perfect season. UConn's top challengers are much the same as last year: Texas, South Carolina and UCLA, which have one loss each.
- They made up the 2025 Final Four in Tampa and could do the same this year in Phoenix. Still, this season has held some surprises -- good and bad.
- And after two weeks of upsets, several conference races should be exciting all the way to March.
- Plus, no matter how strong UConn looks, the other contenders aren't conceding anything.
