March Insanity 2026: 4 groups with one of the best probability to problem UConn for the ladies’s NCAA championship

UConn is a juggernaut.

Geno Auriemma’s Huskies are by some means higher this season after shedding Paige Bueckers and can enter the NCAA event at 34-0. They gained the Massive East event championship recreation over Villanova, 90-51. They beat Creighton within the semifinals, 100-51.

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They gained 5 matchups towards ranked opponents by a median of 20 factors per recreation. Solely then-No. 6 Michigan managed to remain inside single digits of UConn in a 72-69 Huskies win. That was on Nov. 21.

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Since then, solely Villanova on Feb. 18 has completed inside 14 factors of UConn. However that does not make the Huskies a positive factor to win their thirteenth nationwide championship.

UConn’s largest fault isn’t certainly one of its personal. It performed a weak Massive East schedule with out a ranked opponent that it plowed by means of with out problem. How will it reply when it takes on a battle-tested workforce deep in NCAA event play?

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There’s not less than one workforce that might fairly problem a wholesome UConn workforce in a single-elimination event and a handful of SEC groups in search of to affix the dialog.

These 4 groups stand one of the best probability of delivering an upset and UConn’s solely lack of the season.

UCLA

UCLA is UConn’s clear No. 1 challenger. In any season which UConn wasn’t doing what it was doing, UCLA can be the sport’s unquestioned dominant power.

The Bruins are 34-1 , with their solely loss coming towards then-No. 4 Texas on Nov. 26. Since then, they’re 25-0 towards a significantly more durable schedule than UConn’s that includes a grueling Massive Ten slate.

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The place UConn confronted 5 ranked opponents, UCLA confronted 13. The Bruins beat 12 of them, together with a 96-45 drubbing of No. 9 Iowa within the Massive Ten championship recreation. UCLA has a 19-1 document towards Quad 1 opponents vs. 9-0 for UConn.

Even Auriemma acknowledged after UCLA’s dominant Massive Ten championship win that the Bruins can be a fantastic choose for the No. 1 general seed.

“In case you stated UCLA is the primary, primary, I might say, ‘Wow, they’re actually rattling good, and I might have completely no drawback with that,’” Auriemma stated. “I imply, look what they did the final recreation they performed.”

UCLA additionally stacks up fairly properly vs. UConn in superior analytics. UConn ranks No. 2 within the nation in offensive effectivity. UCLA is No. 1

The Huskies are ranked first in defensive ranking whereas the Bruins are ranked twenty fourth. However UCLA has performed a a lot more durable schedule. These measures don’t modify for opponents. UCLA’s NET rating is second solely to UConn’s.

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Massive Ten Participant of the Yr and reigning All-American Lauren Betts leads a roster that additionally options fellow first-team All-Massive Ten choice Kiki Rice.

So far as challengers to UConn go, there’s UCLA, and there’s all people else.

Texas

The remainder of UConn’s high challengers come out of the SEC. Main the cost is a Texas workforce that handed UCLA its solely loss and enters the NCAA event on an eight-game win streak that features 5 wins over ranked opponents and an SEC event championship.

Texas made simple work of No. 3 South Carolina within the SEC title recreation with a 78-61 win and seems to be peaking on the proper time.

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Texas is elite on each ends of the court docket, rating fifth within the nation in offensive ranking and third in defensive ranking. It’s reached these numbers whereas enjoying within the nation’s greatest convention and producing a 14-3 document towards Quad 1 opponents. Solely UCLA has extra Quad 1 wins.

All-SEC alternatives Madison Booker and Rori Harmon paved the way.