NCAAW: No. 2 UConn, No. 22 Louisville meet in Women’s Champions Classic

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Saturday night, Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY hosts the inaugural Women’s Champions Classic.

The opening game between the Tennessee Lady Vols and No. 17 Iowa Hawkeyes (7 p.m. ET) will serve as the appetizer for the event’s main course, when the No. 22 Louisville Cardinals will challenge the No. 2 UConn Huskies (9 p.m. ET). Both games will be broadcast on FOX.

Expect a big game from player-edition Paige, UConn

The evening should serve as a showcase for the Huskies and their headliner, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, Paige Bueckers. Bueckers has been characteristically brilliant for undefeated UConn in her redshirt senior season, shooting over 60 percent from the field while averaging more than 20 points per game. Bueckers likewise leads the Huskies with 4.7 assists per game.

Saturday also will mark the official debut of Bueckers’ player-edition Nike GT Hustle 3. She’s the first college athlete with her own, dedicated colorway.

Among other personal details, the shoes include a mantra repeated to Bueckers by her dad: “Be You, Be Great.” So, expect greatness from Bueckers in her new baby blues under the bright lights of Barclays.

That’s unfortunate for Louisville. This is the Cardinals’ fourth matchup of the still-young season against a ranked team. Thus far, they’re 0-3, most recently fumbling away a double-digit advantage over No. 11 Oklahoma in the SEC/ACC Challenge. The difficult schedule, with no game more daunting than Saturday’s showdown with the Huskies, should equip the Cardinals well for March, with the tough losses becoming valuable lessons for head coach Jeff Walz to impart to his young team, which features six freshmen in the team’s rotation.

To have a chance to hang with Huskies, one of those youngsters, such as guard Tajianna Roberts, who leads the Cardinals in minutes and points per game, has to be one of the best players on the floor, or at least the best freshman. Of course, against UConn, that’s a huge ask, especially as Sarah Strong separates herself as the nation’s best freshman—and the next foundational star in Storrs. Strong is coming off her most productive game of the season, scoring a season-high 22 points as she shot 75 percent from the field and 4-for-5 from 3. Her seven boards, two assists and two steals also helped the Huskies overcome a sluggish first half to hammer Holy Cross.

On top of Bueckers and Strong, grad guard Azzi Fudd could deliver a sparkling shooting performance, while sophomore guards KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade can provide two-way playmaking (from Arnold) and even more knockdown shooting (from Shade).

In short, don’t be surprised when the Huskies run away with this one.

New coaches, new styles clash in Iowa-Tennessee

The opening game profiles as a more competitive contest between two still-undefeated squads.

As our Zachary Draves has emphasized, Iowa, long known as a fast-paced scoring machine, is winning with defense under new head coach Jan Jensen. This new identity will be put to the test against Tennessee, as the Lady Vols might have replaced the Hawkeyes as one of the nation’s most fearsome offensive forces under their new head coach, Kim Caldwell. The Lady Vols arrive in New York fresh off a thrilling, if imperfect, win over Florida State in the SEC/ACC Challenge; it will be the Hawkeyes’ first game in over a week, when they last defeated BYU at the Cancun Challenge.