Hoops heaven

UConn men and women soaring with undefeated records and Top-10 ranks

STORRS — Chuckling loudly as part of a group on the move, Geno Auriemma emerged from the UConn women’s basketball locker room after a team film session Thursday afternoon at Gampel Pavilion, swung open the big blue doors to his right and headed down an arena tunnel.

When he reached the court, where his team was about to practice, Auriemma walked the baseline and greeted staff members from the UConn men’s team, which was wrapping up a shootaround session in advance of their game hours later against Oklahoma State.

Auriemma sat in the front row and held court for a while, media members forming a semi-circle around him, and someone pointed out that students had already lined up at the North Entrance for the men’s game.

“It’s the basketball capital of the world, right?”

Auriemma said. “We were, then we weren’t, now we are.”

The UConn teams had flown to and from Oregon together the week before, returning to Connecticut with significant victories, no losses and early 2022-23 bodies of work that put a new spin on what the season could be about.

By the time Auriemma was chatting and preparing for the next day’s Big East opener against Providence, his team was 5-0

Maggie Vanoni / Hearst Connecticut Media Gampel Pavilion on Nov 14 when the UConn women's basketball team hosted No. 3 Texas.

Jessica Hill / Associated Press UConn's Jordan Hawkins and Adama Sanogo shake hands at the end of Thursday's win over Oklahoma State.