February college basketball explores the rigid depths of conference rivalries, but some teams just can’t quench their competitive thirst.
UConn’s Big East conference play, which has thus far featured zero losses, is going to be interrupted twice before the postseason: This Thursday, Feb. 6 against No. 19 Tennessee, and again on Feb. 16 against No. 2 South Carolina. Both games seem far from their routine Big East cakewalks, but truthfully, that seems like the point. Iron sharpens iron, and some adversity for a team that hasn’t lost since before Christmas will help come March.
For the Volunteers, a Husky visit was probably scheduled as a litmus test to see how they fare against non-SEC opponents. They only faced one ranked team in non-conference play. However, after dropping five of nine games so far in the SEC, head coach Kim Caldwell’s team isn’t playing out of curiosity. They’re fishing for a statement win.
Here’s what to watch for as one of women’s college basketball’s most heated and historic rivalries resumes (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN):
A top two offense vs. a top two defense
Obsession over Paige Bueckers’ greatness often fades deep into the winter, thanks to the aforementioned Big East competitive mediocrity. You have to be a sicko, or a diehard UConn…
