The ongoing dominance of UConn basketball has started to break records, as the top-ranked Huskies humbled unranked Notre Dame 85-47 on Monday — keeping their perfect 2025/26 NCAA season intact.
Monday's 38-point margin of victory marked the largest in the teams' 20-year rivalry, with the win also snapping the Huskies' three-game head-to-head losing streak against the Fighting Irish.
"UConn showed why they're the best team in the country," Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey said postgame.
Even more, UConn sophomore forward Sarah Strong added her own individual history to Monday's tally, becoming the third-fastest Husky to reach 1,000 career points, with the 19-year-old trailing only program legends Maya Moore and Paige Bueckers — who each did so in 55 games to Strong's 59 — in the race to reach that stat.
"I would love to see if anybody has scored 1,000 points by taking less shots than she's taking," said UConn head coach Geno Auriemma. "She's so efficient."
"It means a lot to me I guess, but I wouldn't be able to do it without my teammates," Strong said after leading the Huskies with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double on Monday night.
How to watch UConn basketball this week
UConn now returns to Big East play, with the No. 1 Huskies taking on unranked Georgetown at 7:30 PM ET on Thursday, airing live on TNT.
Monday's NCAA basketball action will put two of the nation's top guards to the test, as No. 10 TCU faces No. 14 Ohio State in Newark, New Jersey's Coretta Scott King Classic — part of a stacked MLK Day slate.
Buckeye sophomore Jaloni Cambridge is on a tear in this season, averaging 21.8 points per game — good for No. 10 in the country — and tallying 102 points, 20 rebounds, and 20 assists across Ohio State's last three games.
At the same time, TCU has seen similar stylings from Notre Dame transfer Olivia Miles, with the senior putting up a career-high 19.2 points per game while sitting at No. 9 in the nation behind her 7.3 assists average for the Horned Frogs.
Even more, Miles is lapping her collegiate cohort in triple doubles on the season, posting four of the elite stat-sheet performances while all other NCAA players have a maximum of one.
Both teams are meeting expectations head-on this season, impressing following 2025 NCAA tournament exits that spurred significant offseason roster changes.
Ohio State star forward Cotie McMahon transferred to Ole Miss after the Buckeyes' second-round ousting, while TCU graduated standout starting guard Hailey Van Lith and center Sedona Prince.
With Miles and Cambridge leading the charge, however, both squads are flourishing: TCU faltered just once in their 2025/26 campaign so far — a January 3rd overtime loss to unranked Utah — while Ohio State's two season losses came at the hands of titans No. 1 UConn and No. 3 UCLA.
"Ultimately, [TCU forward] Marta [Suarez] and Miles are two of the best players in college basketball," Horned Frogs head coach Mark Campbell said after Sunday's win over Arizona State. "But for our team to reach our full potential, we need these other players to show great growth. And I think we have."
How to watch TCU vs. Ohio State basketball on Monday
The No. 10 Horned Frogs will take on the No. 14 Buckeyes at 12 PM ET on Monday, airing live on FOX.
No. 1 UConn has aced every test in the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season so far, as No. 23 Notre Dame looks to disrupt the undefeated Huskies' national title defense in Monday's nonconference lineup.
Fresh off a 79-66 ranked loss to No. 9 Louisville on Thursday night, the Irish will lean hard on star guard Hannah Hidalgo on Monday.
The junior is averaging 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists on the season, while Hidalgo's 25.1 points-per-game rate trails only No. 19 Iowa State star Audi Crooks on the NCAA stat sheet.
"It's a long season, and I can't dwell on the loss for too long because my team needs me," Hidalgo said after Thursday's fall to the Cardinals.
On the flip side, UConn is racking up blowout wins, with the team's last single-digit victory dating back to a pre-Thanksgiving 72-69 win over No. 8 Michigan on November 21st.
The Huskies are now riding a 34-game winning streak, fueled by consistent output from sophomore Sarah Strong and senior Azzi Fudd.
"I've been trying to tell the girls that UConn is a different beast," Hidalgo said. "If we think certain teams that we have lost to were tough, then we're going to have a rude awakening [against] UConn."
How to watch Notre Dame vs. UConn women's basketball
The No. 1 Huskies will host the No. 23 Fighting Irish at 5 PM ET on Monday, with live coverage airing on FOX.