Crazy stat, Farm07! I would never have guessed they'd lost their last 6 in OT. WOW. And while I could think of better teams to take them down than Notre Lame, I'll tip my (Leprechaun) hat to them for doing the whole nation a solid.
That said, I don't see them fading from being at the top of the pre-season list anytime soon. It's notable that their senior classes the past two years have been historically weak for UConn standards and somewhat disguised because they were bookended by the Stewart/Jefferson/Tuck 2016 class and the KLS/Collier 2019 class. Last year's only senior was Saniya Chong, who was the no. 75 recruit, and as a result UConn's recruiting class wasn't even ranked that year. This year's senior class was ranked 4 at the time of signing, but since then both Sadie Edwards and Courtney Ekmark have transferred (to USC and ASU, respectively), and only Nurse (ranked 33rd) and Williams (ranked 14th) remained, so they probably would have been ranked closer to 15th. Two years of recruiting classes like that looks a bit like what we had this year - 10th for our senior class (before Rooks, our highest ranked recruit, transferred) and unranked for our junior class. So it's not surprising that UConn hasn't fared that much better in the post-season, because most of their best talent has been underclassmen, just like us.
Unfortunately, UConn's freshman class was loaded and their class next year features the dynamic duo of Williams and Nelson-Ododa, who both tore it up at the McD's game earlier this week. With those two, plus Duke-transferee Stevens, plus hungry seniors KLS and Collier, and Dangerfield and Walker, I don't see how they're not the odds on favorites to win next year.
That said, I don't see them fading from being at the top of the pre-season list anytime soon. It's notable that their senior classes the past two years have been historically weak for UConn standards and somewhat disguised because they were bookended by the Stewart/Jefferson/Tuck 2016 class and the KLS/Collier 2019 class. Last year's only senior was Saniya Chong, who was the no. 75 recruit, and as a result UConn's recruiting class wasn't even ranked that year. This year's senior class was ranked 4 at the time of signing, but since then both Sadie Edwards and Courtney Ekmark have transferred (to USC and ASU, respectively), and only Nurse (ranked 33rd) and Williams (ranked 14th) remained, so they probably would have been ranked closer to 15th. Two years of recruiting classes like that looks a bit like what we had this year - 10th for our senior class (before Rooks, our highest ranked recruit, transferred) and unranked for our junior class. So it's not surprising that UConn hasn't fared that much better in the post-season, because most of their best talent has been underclassmen, just like us.
Unfortunately, UConn's freshman class was loaded and their class next year features the dynamic duo of Williams and Nelson-Ododa, who both tore it up at the McD's game earlier this week. With those two, plus Duke-transferee Stevens, plus hungry seniors KLS and Collier, and Dangerfield and Walker, I don't see how they're not the odds on favorites to win next year.