Special edition: The ultimate UConn women's basketball 2021-22 season preview

Everything you need to know about the Huskies ahead of the season opener on Sunday.

Ian Bethune

The wait is finally over.

On Sunday, UConn women’s basketball will officially kick off the 2021-22 season, at 1 p.m. against Arkansas at the XL Center. To get you ready, we’ve put everything you need to know about the Huskies into one spot.

How to watch

UConn will play 31 games this season, which breaks down into 18 games on SNY, four on ESPN networks, two on Fox, two on CBS Sports Network, two on FloSports, and one game each on ABC and FS1. The Big East Tournament will be aired on FS1 and FS2.

For fans inside the SNY market, the game will be shown either on television or NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App. For fans outside of market, it will be streamed at FoxSports.com or the Fox Sports App. However, you tuned in to watch the Huskies on SNY last season is the same way you can do so this year.

Check out the full schedule — with television info included — here.

How to follow our coverage

Bookmark The UConn Blog and sign up for the UConn WBB Weekly for coverage of the Huskies all season long. If you haven’t subscribed to the UConn WBB Weekly Premium, you’ll be missing out on insights, analysis, and breakdowns of the team you can’t get anywhere else. Also be sure to listen to Chasing Perfection, our UConn women’s basketball podcast where we discuss everything happening with the Huskies each week.

Follow us on Twitter @TheUConnBlog, on Instagram @UConnBlog or like us on Facebook. Also be sure to follow our staff on Twitter as well: @DanielVConnolly, @MeganGauer and @Ian_Bethune.

Roster recap

UConn returns nearly its entire roster. Anna Makurat departed to begin her professional career while walk-on Autumn Chassion entered the transfer portal and ended up at LSU Eunice, a junior college.

The Huskies also lost longtime assistant coach Shea Ralph, who became the new head coach at Vanderbilt. Former UConn player Morgan Valley replaced her after two years as the head coach at Hartford.

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Offseason/preseason coverage

Note: Italicized links indicate a story on the Weekly Premium.

Season previews

• UConn women’s basketball position preview: The backcourt

• UConn women’s basketball position preview: The frontcourt

• The top storylines heading into the Huskies’ 2021-22 season

• UConn women’s basketball opponent preview: The contenders

• UConn women’s basketball opponent previews: The middle tier

• UConn women’s basketball opponent preview: The others

• Chasing Perfection: 2021-22 UConn women’s basketball season preview

Predictions

• UConn women’s basketball 2021-22 roundtable predictions

• UConn women’s basketball 2021-22 prop bets

• UConn WBB Weekly: Five bold predictions for the 2021-22 season

• Chasing Perfection: Exhibition impressions, season predictions

Coverage/analysis of the team

Rotation/depth

• Breaking down UConn’s rotation battle

• Geno Auriemma breaks down UConn’s rotation battle ahead of exhibition game

• Will the Huskies’ depth hinder player development?

• Geno Auriemma wants UConn players to focus on being “best version” of themselves

• Chasing Perfection: The good (and bad) of UConn’s depth

• UConn women’s basketball’s competition for playing time begins

• Geno Auriemma breaks down UConn women’s basketball’s roster one month into summer workouts

Preseason awards/rankings

• UConn women’s basketball ranked No. 2 in AP Preseason Poll

• UConn women’s basketball picked to finish first in Big East Preseason Poll

• Paige Bueckers named unanimous AP Preseason All-American

Stock watch

• Stock watch: Who’s up and who’s down after UConn’s exhibition

• Stock Watch: Who’s up and who’s down 10 days into UConn’s official practice

• Who’s up and who’s down after UConn’s summer session

Mailbags

• Mailbag: Will Azzi Fudd be better than Paige Bueckers? (November)

• Mailbag: Will UConn’s defense be better than last season? (October)

• Mailbag: Will UConn deploy a high-tempo offense and defensive press more often with a deeper bench? (September)

• Mailbag: Starting lineup, rotation predictions; 2022 recruiting updates and more (August)

General

• Takeaways from UConn’s exhibition win over Fort Hays State

• Evina Westbrook on the many personalities among UConn women’s basketball players

• How the Huskies create positionless basketball players

• 38 things to know about the Huskies

• Breaking down the Huskies’ non-conference schedule

• How UConn women’s basketball is handling NIL

• UConn women’s basketball already capitalizing on NIL

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Stories about the players

No. 5 Paige Bueckers — Sophomore

• How much Paige Bueckers will improve in her sophomore season?

• Film Room: How Paige Bueckers took over against South Carolina

No. 35 Azzi Fudd — Freshman

• Azzi Fudd’s goal: “to win four championships”

• Azzi Fudd’s confidence on the court reminds Geno Auriemma of Paige Bueckers

• Film Room: What makes Azzi Fudd a generational prospect?

Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd

• Azzi Fudd, Paige Bueckers show great chemistry in UConn’s exhibition win

• Azzi Fudd’s theory about Paige Bueckers plus other leftovers from the Huskies’ summer session

• Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers patiently waiting to play together as UConn teammates

No. 14 Dorka Juhász — Grad student

• Dorka Juhász impresses in her UConn debut

• Dorka Juhász fitting in well with UConn women’s basketball

• Film Room: Dorka Juhász could be a versatile scoring option for the Huskies

No. 22 Evina Westbrook — Redshirt senior

• Evina Westbrook “just kind of knew” she’d be returning to UConn

• With newfound confidence in her knee, Evina Westbrook ready for big senior season

• Evina Westbrook and Christyn Williams spent their summer playing with the boys

• Evina Westbrook no longer just “Momma E” for the Huskies

No. 13 Christyn Williams — Senior

• Christyn Williams on her senior year: “I gotta kick some ass”

• Notebook: Christyn Williams “100 percent” after offseason elbow surgery

• Film Room: How Christyn Williams can “kick some ass” as a senior

• Christyn Williams breaks down UConn’s newcomers

No. 20 Olivia Nelson-Ododa — Senior

• Film Room: How Olivia Nelson-Ododa thrives as a point forward

No. 44 Aubrey Griffin — Junior

• A crucial junior season looming for Aubrey Griffin

No. 3 Aaliyah Edwards — Sophomore

• After Olympic experience, versatility is key for Aaliyah Edwards

• Film Room: Aaliyah Edwards displays athleticism & versatility in AmeriCup (Part one)

• Part two: Breaking down Aaliyah Edwards’ knockout stage performance in the AmeriCup

No. 10 Nika Mühl — Sophomore

• How Paige Bueckers and Nika Mühl became “twins”

• Nika Mühl, still bitter about Arizona loss, feels like a freshman again

No. 11 Mir McLean — Sophomore

• Hidden Huskies: Mir McLean just makes plays – when she chooses to

No. 32 Piath Gabriel — Sophomore

• Hidden Huskies: Piath Gabriel has the tools, but can she develop the skillset to become a factor for UConn?

No. 33 Caroline Ducharme — Freshman

• Caroline Ducharme, with “huge” chip on shoulder, quietly surprising at UConn

• Film Room: Caroline Ducharme is a dangerous 3-point threat

No. 42 Amari DeBerry — Freshman

• Film Room: Amari DeBerry is UConn’s prototypical post player

No. 4 Saylor Poffenbarger — Freshman

• Hidden Huskies: Saylor Poffenbarger got some valuable experience as an early-enrollee

Arkansas preview

• Opponent Preview: Arkansas Razorbacks

• Game Preview: Christyn Williams, UConn looking to avenge last season’s loss to Arkansas