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The UCLA Bruins and UConn Huskies, who won the past two national championships, will both play in the third annual Coretta Scott King Classic this year. The Bruins, who won the NCAA title last season, will face the Oklahoma Sooners in the opener on Jan. 18. The 2025 champion Huskies will face the Seton Hall Pirates in a Big East matchup in the second game. "The Coretta Scott King Classic continues to bring my family’s enduring legacy into spaces where young people can see, experience, and embody the values my mother held so deeply," said Dr. Bernice A. King, daughter of Coretta Scott King and CEO of The King Center. "Through the power of women’s basketball, this event creates an opportunity to celebrate excellence while encouraging the next generation to lead with courage, purpose, and a commitment to community." The games, to be played in Newark, New Jersey, will be nationally televised on FOX. It's the second time in three seasons that the Bruins are playing in the doubleheader. Cori Close's team played in the inaugural one against the Baylor Bears two years ago. The timing works out well for UCLA, which will play Big Ten opponents Rutgers and Maryland later that week on the road. "We are proud to return to the Coretta Scott King Classic this season. It is such a blessing to be part of an amazing event that honors the legacy of the King family and brings us together through sport," Close said. "We always look to compete against excellent competition, and we know Oklahoma will bring out the best in us." It's not the first time that UConn and Seton Hall have faced each other in Newark. The two teams last played each other there in 2010. Reporting by The Associated Press. catcrossgame.com

UConn was picked to win the Big East by the league's coaches on Thursday with defending champion St. John's the second choice. The Huskies, who made their third national championship game appearance in the last four seasons, are led by preseason Big East Player of the Year selection Silas Demary Jr. As a junior in the 2025-2026 season, Demary averaged 10.1 points, 5.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds for the Huskies last season following a transfer from Georgia and the SEC. The Red Storm received two first-place votes. St. John's is coming off two consecutive Big East regular-season and tournament titles — the first team ever to do that. Rick Pitino's squad made the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999. They are led by preseason first-team conference selections Tounde Yessoufou and Ian Jackson. Villanova, Marquette and Providence were the next three in the preseason poll. Xavier was picked sixth. Creighton, led by new head coach Alan Huss, was seventh. DePaul, which had its best finish in the Big East a season ago, was chosen eighth with Seton Hall and Georgetown behind them. Butler, under first-year coach Ronald Nored, was the 11th choice. Here are the full Big East rankings: The Big East held its annual media day at a local New York hotel instead of Madison Square Garden, which has hosted the event every year since 2014. The event was presided over by new conference commissioner Tim Brosnan, who took over for Val Ackerman. Ackerman, who was the head of the conference from 2013-26, retired at the end of August. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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