- The UConn Daily
- Posts
- UConn Daily Digest: Thinking About Dual Basketball Championships
UConn Daily Digest: Thinking About Dual Basketball Championships
Has this ever happened before?
Aman Kidwai
October 31, 2025
In partnership with
Welcome to this week’s UConn Daily, and thank you for being a subscriber. What a glorious time of year it is, with football in crunch time, basketball getting started, and hockey hitting the ice!
You can find our work in Storrs Central, the UConn Blog on SB Nation, and the UConn WBB Weekly, UConn Hockey Hub, Hook C Baseball, and Husky Football Forum newsletters! Please consider sharing or supporting our work!
Across all sports, we’ve got you covered with all the recent happenings and storylines from in and around Storrs.
Photo: Ian Bethune
Headlines
MBB Building Confidence
After an expected blowout of Boston College to start exhibition play, UConn men’s basketball proved its mettle against Tom Izzo and No. 22 Michigan State in a foul-laden win in Hartford.
Solo Ball had an off shooting night, but found workarounds to put the ball in the hoop. He and Alex Karaban tied for the team lead with 18 points, followed by a productive night for junior Jayden Ross, who had 13 points and a steal.
“That’s the Jayden Ross that we’ve seen on a daily basis, a lot,” Hurley said postgame. “That was exciting to see, and we need that, especially with Braylon out.”
Even in a game with 74 total free throws, UConn demonstrated an improved defensive outlook compared to last year. The Huskies pressured the ball well, especially on the perimeter, and showed they can maintain a high level throughout the roster.
Newcomer Silas Demary Jr. made his preseason debut, combining good defense with nine points, four rebounds, and three assists despite foul trouble.
Tarris Reed Jr. sat out again, giving Eric Reibe his second start and his first look at a top frontcourt matchup. He held his own, hauling in a team-high seven rebounds and adding five points. Comfort on the floor will come with experience, but Hurley liked what he saw from his backup big man.
“I thought [Reibe] held up pretty well for a freshman versus those Big Ten frontcourt players,” he said.
Both coaches had high praise for the other postgame. Hurley called Tom Izzo “one of the best to ever do it,” and half-joked about how he’s stolen the veteran’s leadership style, tactics, culture, and more. Izzo commended the Huskies’ movement-heavy offense and conceded that his “guards weren’t really read for that.”
UConn kicks off the regular season with its first-ever matchup against the newly transitioned Division I program at the University of New Haven on Monday, Nov. 3 at Gampel Pavilion.
Should the Huskies have gone for two in OT?
UConn and Rice battled to an eventual 24-24 tie to set up overtime. The Husky offense had gone cold, punting four times in its final five drives, but the defense was beginning to make stops after a vulnerable first half, though it was still getting gashed by the run.
College football overtime begins with each team getting one possession starting on the opponent’s 25-yard line. There is no clock; whoever outscores their opponent in the possession wins.
Rice opened OT with a touchdown, kicking the extra point to take a seven-point lead. UConn needed a touchdown to keep overtime alive, with an extra point to tie and the opportunity to go for two and the win, to score 8 in that overtime round instead of seven. UConn scored a touchdown, but opted for the tie and to keep playing.
Should the Huskies have gone for two? A successful conversion wins the game. A failure loses it. An extra point keeps the game going and you take your chances with an overtime round where you have the first possession.
Jim Mora did not weigh in on his decision to kick the extra point. He took one media question after the game and only spoke for about two minutes in his Week 10 availability.
Statistically, you are looking at the odds of converting a two-point conversion (getting a touchdown from the two-yard line) against the odds of winning an overtime round where you have the ball first. The math here is dependent on many factors, including how good both teams are and the circumstances, but the added factor: starting in the second overtime, teams have to go for two after a touchdown.
UConn settled for a field goal on its possession and then lost the game as Rice ran in a TD for the win. The Husky offense was sputtering, the defense was stopping nothing. Instead of one play to win the game, they took their chances extending the game, and it didn’t work.
Week 10 brings a matchup with UAB, a team coming off a huge upset over ranked Memphis in Week 8 and a bye in Week 9. The Blazers have playmakers on offense and renewed spirit after a coach and QB change.
It’ll be a noon kickoff at the Rent.
Looking for unbiased, fact-based news? Join 1440 today.
Join over 4 million Americans who start their day with 1440 – your daily digest for unbiased, fact-centric news. From politics to sports, we cover it all by analyzing over 100 sources. Our concise, 5-minute read lands in your inbox each morning at no cost. Experience news without the noise; let 1440 help you make up your own mind. Sign up now and invite your friends and family to be part of the informed.
Women’s basketball unveils championship rings
Geno Auriemma now has two more championship rings than fingers. The Huskies unveiled their new jewelry in a team ceremony. Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, and Caroline Ducharme are credited with having designed them.
rings fit for champions 💍
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB)
1:13 AM • Oct 24, 2025
The quest for No. 13 begins Tuesday, Nov. 4, at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The Huskies will play No. 20 Louisville at Alumni Hall, tipping at 5:30 p.m. E.T. and streaming on ESPN.
Ice. Bus.
We are a half-month into hockey season, and both Husky squads have had a solid start.
Mike Cavanaugh’s team is 3-3-0 and ranked No. 9 nationally in the most current USCHO Poll, looking ahead to a weekend where they host Harvard and Merrimack. The first three weekends of the year all yielded splits as the Huskies faced increasingly tough competition, from Colorado College to No. 17 Ohio State to No. 5 Boston University.
The UConn Hockey Hub has a recap and some analysis from UConn’s 8-4 win over BU, and a recap and analysis piece from their 3-1 loss the next day. Also, a look into Carlin Dezainde’s moonwalk celebration as the Huskies scored eight goals in a game for the first time since January 2021.
Friday will be Harvard’s first game of the year. Merrimack has shown great promise, upsetting No. 7 Quinnipiac last Friday, but also inconsistency, losing to LIU the weekend prior. Friday’s matchup against the Crimson is set for 7 p.m. and Saturday’s against the Warriors will be at 6 p.m., both at Toscano Family Ice Forum.
Joey Muldowney has led the charge in goals with five. No other Husky has more than two, though the team lead in points belongs to Jake Richard, whose five assists and one goal tops Muldowney’s total by one. Senior Tyler Muszelik has made all but one start in net, sporting a 2.63 GAA and a .914 save percentage.
Chris MacKenzie’s team is a bit deeper into its season but has seen similar success. A 5-2-1 record has put the Huskies at No. 8 nationally, according to the latest USCHO Poll, with their first Hockey East matchup waiting in the wings this weekend. UConn welcomes Holy Cross to Toscano Family Ice Forum Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Kyla Josifovic currently holds the top spot for points and goals with four and eight, followed by Brooke Campbell with six, and Meghane Duchesne-Chalifoux with five. Tia Chan continues to be dominant in net, allowing just 12 goals in eight games (1.49 GAA), with a save percentage of .956.
Fall sports update
Fall sports are nearing their end. What have the soccer, field hockey, and volleyball teams been up to?
Men’s soccer is 8-3-4 with the No. 36 RPI in the country. The Huskies have secured wins against lighter conference opponents in Villanova, Creighton, and St. John’s, but failed to compete with the best of the Big East, losing to ranked Bryant and Georgetown. Just two games remain in the regular season. Wins against both Butler (Nov. 1) and Seton Hall (Nov. 7) could give UConn its first 10-win season since 2018. While the Huskies have an outside chance at an at-large bid for the 48-team NCAA tournament, their best bet at a berth is to win the Big East.
Women’s soccer soared to an 11-3-3 record in 2025 and the third seed in the Big East tournament. The Huskies lost just one game in all of conference play and will either play Georgetown (who gave UConn its sole conference loss) or Xavier, who UConn tied 1-1 in September, in a semi-final game on Nov. 6. The Huskies rank No. 46 nationally according to RPI, below Xavier (No. 29) and Georgetown (No. 15).
Volleyball sits at 16-6 after an 11-1 start to its season. The Huskies are squarely in the middle of the conference standings with five teams above and below them. Ellen Herman-Kimball’s squad will play six more matches of conference play before the Big East Tournament kicks off in Milwaukee the weekend before Thanksgiving. The Huskies play next Friday night against St. John’s.
Field hockey holds a 5-1 conference record and is in second place in the standings behind Liberty. All seven of the team’s losses have come against ranked programs, both in and out of Big East play. UConn sits at RPI No. 12 with just one game remaining in the regular season — a matchup at Quinnipiac on Friday at 3 p.m.
Weekly Rewind
Men’s Basketball
UConn men’s basketball 2025-26 positional preview: Frontcourt – UConn has plenty more depth this year than it did last year.
UConn men’s basketball 2025-26 positional preview: Backcourt – Silas Demary Jr. and Solo Ball headline a deep Husky guard rotation.
2025-26 Big East Preview: Conference Contenders – Who else will compete with UConn outside of St. John’s?
2025-26 UConn men’s basketball schedule preview: Buy games – What to expect from the softer games from UConn’s non-Big East slate.
2025-26 UConn men’s basketball schedule preview: Elite non-conference games – The Huskies will play five teams included in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll.
2025-26 Big East Preview: The Basement – Shedding some light on the cellar dwellers of the Big East.
Big East Opponent Season Preview | Tier 1: The Contenders ($) – St. John’s tops the list of conference contenders this year.
Big East Opponent Season Preview | Tier 2: The NCAA Tournament Hopefuls ($) – Some teams could surprise us in the league.
Big East Opponent Season Preview | Tier 3: The Dreamers ($) – These Big East opponents can only dream of an NCAA playoff berth.
Breaking Down UConn’s 2026 Commits + Season Outlook with CBS Sports' Adam Finkelstein – Finkelstein talks all things UConn hoops ahead of the season opener.
Exhibition: UConn men’s basketball tops Michigan State, 76-69 – UConn took care of Tom Izzo’s squad in its final tune-up of the preseason.
Women’s Basketball:
Podcast: Taking stock of UConn’s preseason – Takeaways from Sunday’s exhibition, preview of the season opener against Louisville, a full roster breakdown, and more.
UConn women’s basketball receives 2025 national championship rings – The Huskies celebrated last year’s championship win with a ring ceremony.
Breaking down UConn’s five newcomers - Two transfers and three freshmen headline this year’s group.
Football:
UConn Loses Another OT Heartbreaker at Rice, 37-34 – The Huskies have now lost all three overtime games they have played in this year.
How Did UConn Opponents Fare in Week 9? – Three of four Husky opponents had a bye week.
Beyond the Box Score: PFF Grades - Rice ($) – The defense missed a brutal 30 tackles.
Hockey:
Preview: UConn takes on Harvard and Merrimack this weekend ($) – After splitting their first three series, the Huskies will try to start stacking wins with back-to-back games at home.
No. 11 UConn moonwalks to 8-4 win over No. 4 BU How UConn flipped a bad start into blowout win ($) – The Huskies looked like they were going to be routed in the early going against BU, but instead walked out with an 8-4 victory.
No. 11 UConn's offense goes quiet in 3-1 loss to No. 4 BU – After putting up eight goals on Friday night, the Huskies were held to a season-low on Saturday.
Poor night from offense, special teams sink UConn against BU ($) – The Huskies were held to season-lows in shots and goals by the Terriers.
If you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, please consider sharing it with a friend or two - it would mean a lot to us!
Be sure to follow The UConn Blog!
Reply