South Carolina and UConn set for early-season rematch at Mohegan Sun

South Carolina and UConn will meet again before the calendar turns to December, with the two powerhouse programs scheduled to face each other Tuesday, Nov. 24, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The matchup is part of the 13th annual Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase, which will feature a doubleheader with UCLA facing St. John’s before UConn and South Carolina meet at 8 p.m. ET.

For South Carolina, the game provides an early test against a program it has encountered repeatedly on the biggest stages of the sport.

The Gamecocks and Huskies last met in the 2026 Final Four, when South Carolina defeated UConn 62-48 in Phoenix and ended the Huskies’ undefeated season.

That result gives the November meeting a different context from an ordinary nonconference game.

It will be the first time the programs face each other since that Final Four matchup, and it continues a series that has become one of the defining nonconference rivalries in recent women’s college basketball.

Another chapter in a closely contested series

UConn enters the game with an 11-6 advantage in the all-time series.

The teams have met 14 times over the last 11 years, including two NCAA tournament championship games.

UConn defeated South Carolina 82-59 in the 2025 national championship game, while South Carolina won the 2022 national championship by beating the Huskies 64-49.

The rivalry has changed considerably from its earliest meetings.

UConn won the first eight games between the programs, but South Carolina has since established itself as a consistent challenger on the national stage.

The November meeting will therefore arrive with plenty of recent history behind it, even though both teams will be operating with different rosters from their previous encounters.

UConn will have a demanding November

The game against South Carolina is only one piece of an unusually difficult opening month for UConn.

The Huskies begin their regular season Nov. 2 against Cornell at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford before traveling to Michigan on Nov. 5.

They then return to Gampel Pavilion in Storrs on Nov. 8 to host Iowa.

The Hawkeyes are beginning a two-game series with UConn, with the Huskies scheduled to make the return trip to Iowa City during the 2027-28 season.

UConn enters that matchup with a 7-4 all-time record against Iowa, including a 90-64 victory in their December 2025 meeting at Barclays Center.

The Huskies then travel to Ohio State and Louisville before opening Big East play against Seton Hall on Nov. 20.

Four days later comes the South Carolina game.

UConn then faces Duke at Boston’s TD Garden on Nov. 28.

The schedule means UConn will have several high-level opponents on its résumé before the calendar reaches December.

The program’s official schedule lists 10 of its 12 nonconference opponents among teams that reached the 2026 NCAA Tournament, including South Carolina, Duke, Louisville, Iowa, Ohio State, Maryland, Notre Dame and Tennessee.

Sarah Strong gives UConn an established centerpiece

UConn will enter the season with Sarah Strong back in the lineup.

Strong is the reigning consensus National Player of the Year, giving Geno Auriemma a proven centerpiece as the Huskies begin another championship campaign.

That makes the South Carolina matchup particularly significant from a basketball standpoint.

Rather than waiting until the NCAA tournament to measure itself against one of the country’s premier programs, UConn will have an opportunity to test its roster against South Carolina during the opening weeks of the season.

The game also comes early enough that both coaching staffs will still be learning about their teams.

That creates an interesting tactical element.

The result will matter, but the game should also provide both programs with information about how their personnel handle an opponent with national-title experience.

South Carolina brings a new group into the matchup

South Carolina will have a different look from the team that defeated UConn in the 2026 Final Four.

The Gamecocks’ 2026 recruiting class was ranked No. 2 nationally by the Hall of Fame announcement and included two players ranked inside the top six of the 2026 SportsCenter NEXT 100: Oliviyah Edwards at No. 3 and Jerzy Robinson at No. 6.

That incoming talent adds another layer to the matchup.

For Dawn Staley, the challenge will be integrating new players into a program that has already spent several seasons operating at the highest level of the sport.

For Auriemma, the task will be similar in a different form as UConn builds around Strong and prepares for a schedule packed with ranked-level opponents.

Neither team can assume that what worked in the 2026 Final Four will automatically carry over into November.

The venue adds another dimension

Although UConn is listed as the home-side opponent in the schedule, the South Carolina game will not be played at Gampel Pavilion or another traditional campus venue.

It will take place at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The venue is also scheduled to host the Big East Women’s Basketball Tournament from March 5-8, 2027.

Mohegan Sun will therefore feature UConn women’s basketball multiple times during the 2026-27 season.

The Huskies are scheduled to play Syracuse there in an exhibition on Oct. 12 before returning for the South Carolina matchup in November.

The Hall of Fame Showcase itself is built around four nationally prominent programs.

UConn and South Carolina headline the second game, while UCLA and St. John’s meet earlier in the doubleheader.

UConn’s schedule leaves little room for a slow start

The South Carolina game falls into a stretch that could quickly shape the national perception of UConn’s season.

Michigan, Iowa, Ohio State, Louisville and South Carolina all appear before the Huskies reach the end of November.

Duke follows just four days after the Gamecocks.

Maryland, Notre Dame, Tennessee and LSU then continue the demanding nonconference schedule in December.

The schedule also gives UConn repeated opportunities to test itself away from home.

The Huskies will play at Michigan, Ohio State, Louisville and Notre Dame, while also facing South Carolina and Duke at neutral sites.

That could make the early-season stretch particularly useful for evaluating how the team responds to different environments.

A rematch with national significance

South Carolina and UConn do not need to wait until March to renew their rivalry.

Their November meeting guarantees another high-profile matchup between two programs that have recently shared the sport’s biggest stages.

The 2026 Final Four meeting gave South Carolina a 62-48 victory and ended UConn’s unbeaten season.

The 2025 national championship game went the other way, with UConn winning 82-59.

Now the next chapter will be written at Mohegan Sun on Nov. 24.

With UConn building around the reigning National Player of the Year and South Carolina bringing another highly regarded recruiting class into its program, the matchup should offer an early look at how both championship-caliber programs are taking shape for the 2026-27 season.