UConn, Quinnipiac could play next season

The UConn and Quinnipiac women’s basketball programs have squared off twice before, most recently in the NCAA tournament in 2018.

Could a third matchup be on the horizon?

The schools have been involved in discussions regarding a game against each other next season, according to multiple sources within UConn’s athletic department. One possibility would be to play at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, as part of a larger event featuring another game between separate schools.

Despite being separated by only 50 miles, UConn and Quinnipiac have met only once before in the regular season. The Huskies beat Quinnipiac 11720 in Storrs on Dec. 27, 1998. The 97point margin of victory is still the largest in school history for UConn.

The schools didn’t meet again until March 19, 2018 in the second round of the NCAA tournament. That, too, was at Gampel Pavilion, and ended with the Huskies winning 7146.

In order to make next season’s matchup happen, the Huskies will

need to rework their schedule. They’re moving to a 20game conference schedule in the Big East compared to 16 in the American Athletic Conference. That, combined with the nonconference slate that would include Quinnipiac, puts them at 32 games — three over the limit.

The Huskies are already scheduled to host Dayton, Little Rock, South Carolina, Maryland and Texas and visit Baylor, California, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia.

Louisville coach Jeff Walz said last month on his radio show that the Cardinals were planning to play the

Huskies next season at the Never Forget Tribute Classic in New York, but UConn officials said nothing has been finalized.

Catherine Avalone / Hearst Connecticut Media Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri celebrates on the sideline as the Bobcats defeated Iona, 5345, in 2017.

Morgan Tencza / For Hearst Connecticut Media Crystal Dangerfield guards Quinnipiac’s Aryn McClure in UConn’s 7146 victory in the 2018 NCAA Tournament Second Round.