WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY

WICHITA STATE at NO. 1 UCONN

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

Where: XL Center, Hartford

Records: Wichita State 85; UConn 100

TV: SNY

Radio: UConn/IMG Sports Network, 97.9 FMESPN Hartford, WAVZNew Haven (1300 AM), WICCBridgeport (600 AM), WINEDanbury (940 AM), WGCHGreenwich (1490 AM)

KEEP AN EYE ON

He’s back: UConn coach Geno Auriemma will return to the sidelines after missing one game following surgery to alleviate symptoms of diverticulitis. Associate head coach Chris Dailey guided the Huskies to a 9753 victory over Oklahoma on Dec. 22 in his absence.

Auriemma, who had missed only nine games over the previous 34 seasons, watched the final three quarters on TV.

“It’s kind of weird because you’re sitting there and you can’t make any adjustments, you can’t make any suggestions,” Auriemma, 65, said Wednesday before practice at the Werth Center. “It’s nice to see after a timeout or whenever there’s a dead ball situation the coaches are talking to the players, and then they come out and execute something.”

On top — again: The Huskies finished the 2010s in the same spot where they started: atop the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

“It’s gone by so fast like time does,” Auriemma said in a moment of reflection. “As you get older, time tends to fly. When you think back to 2010, it does seem like a lifetime ago in some ways, given some of the players we had.”

UConn won five national championships, made 10 Final Fours and spent 111 weeks ranked No. 1 over the last decade, including the last full week of 2019. This will be the Huskies’ first game at No. 1 since last January.

“It’s hard to fathom that you could put together a 10year run like that,” he said. “I don’t know what that means going forward for the next 10 years, but after a while, it’s nice to look back.”

Still perfect: The Huskies have won 121 consecutive games in American Athletic Conference play since the 201314 season. All but one have been decided by double digits.

“It’s awesome,” senior forward Kyla Irwin said. “Everyone that’s been here has always worked super hard. We’re just trying to uphold that.”

History at a glance: UConn has won both its meetings with Wichita State, including a 12443 rout in Hartford on Feb. 10, 2018. The 81point margin of victory is the thirdlargest in program history for the Huskies.