Dan Hurley, UConn Earn Deserved Hype in Big East Rankings

It’s an understatement to say the UConn Huskies have high expectations in 2025-26. After falling short in an unprecedented three-peat bid against the eventual national champion Florida Gators, head coach Dan Hurley has the roster prepared to control the Big East once again.

CBS Sports recently ranked the top-flight mid-major conference, separating each team into tiers with UConn standing above the crowd, only accompanied by Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm in the ‘title contenders’ category.

Unlike St. John’s, however, the Huskies return three starters to pair with elite 5-star recruit Braylon Mullins and Georgia transfer Silas Demary Jr. in the backcourt. Solo Ball and Alex Karaban, along with the newcomers, form a dangerous offensive attack filled with sharpshooters from just about everywhere on the court.

“A top-10 offense is in the cards when you infuse this collection of talent into the best schematic offense you can find in the sport,” CBS Sports' Isaac Trotter wrote about the Husky offense.

Huskies Must Improve vs. Pitino, Creighton in League Play

Still, as talented as the Huskies were in 2024, there were signs of underperformance just from looking at the records. The back-to-back national championship squad of 2023 lost just three games, while the 2024 team that chased history lost twice as many games in Big East play alone.

St. John’s figures to be a thorn in their side in conference play again, though, with Creighton not too far behind. The Huskies will be looking to rectify a 0-2 record against Pitino’s squad last year and a 1-2 record against the Bluejays as well.

Nonetheless, UConn is still a heavy favorite to make another dominant run to and through the NCAA Tournament next season and accomplish the unprecedented feat of winning three national championships in four years.

It won’t be an easy path as Hurley has put together one of the most impressive non-conference schedules in program history, featuring both of their 2024-25 NCAA Tournament opponents, Illinois and Florida, blue-blood Kansas, Big 12 programs BYU and Arizona, and Texas out of the SEC. They might take a few bruises in those games, but the Huskies will no doubt be ready for a potential history-making season after that slate.