After a five-year stint as head coach at Purdue Fort Wayne, Maria Marchesano returns to where it all started in college, this time as the new head coach for the women’s basketball team. She and her staff will navigate through year one with a roster that is almost entirely revamped, bringing back only two players — including just one starter from a season ago. Here are five games to keep on your radar as the Dawgs enter the 2026-27 season.
1. Butler at UNLV – Nov. 27 at 5:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs will travel to Las Vegas at the conclusion of their first month of regular season play to participate in the annual UNLV Thanksgiving Turkey Tip-Off. The Bulldogs will face off with Summit League foe Oral Roberts before taking on the UNLV Lady Rebels on the 27th. The two squads have only met twice in their respective histories — and not since 2011 — having split those two matchups. Led by seventh-year head coach Lindy La Rocque, UNLV lost some significant experience in the offseason. However, they return their top two scorers in redshirt junior forward Meadow Roland and redshirt senior guard Jasmyn Lott, and they also bring in some key pieces from the transfer portal — most notably Arizona State transfer fifth year guard Marley Washenitz. These reasons help to explain their projected place atop the Mountain West Conference Women’s Basketball preseason poll. The Lady Rebels will certainly not go down without a fight, but if the Bulldogs can limit the impact of the three players mentioned above and can settle into the game quickly, there could be a statement victory in the opening month of the Marchesano era in the cards for Butler.
2. Butler vs. Seton Hall – Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.
The Bulldogs kick off Big East conference play with an intriguing matchup at Hinkle against the Seton Hall Pirates. The Pirates have strung together seven consecutive winning seasons under the direction of head coach Anthony Bozzella — similar to Marchesano with Butler, Bozzella himself graduated from Seton Hall. The 2025-26 season was particularly kind to the Pirates, one that included a top-three finish in Big East conference play and a trip to the WBIT. And although they lost some key pieces in the offseason to graduation and the transfer portal, Preseason All-Big East Team senior guard Savannah Catalon returns for another year in South Orange, alongside fellow guards graduate Shailyn Pinkney and junior Ja’Kahla Craft. But even in a relative down year for Butler last season, the Bulldogs still picked up a 62-55 home win over these Pirates at the end of the regular season. They will do it again in early December if they can use the home crowd’s energy to their advantage and force Seton Hall into uncomfortable shooting situations.
3. Butler vs. Xavier – Jan. 16 at 2 p.m.
The Xavier Musketeers come to Hinkle at the midpoint of the month of January for the newest edition of this classic Big East rivalry. Head coach Billi Chambers enters her fourth season leading the Musketeers, hoping this is finally the year she can take Xavier out of the Big East basement. The Musketeers have won a grand total of five Big East conference games in the last four seasons, with four of those conference wins coming last year. One individual who hopes to be a light at the end of this long, dark tunnel is Preseason All-Big East Team Honorable Mention junior guard Meri Kanerva. In her sophomore campaign last season, Kanerva started in all 30 of Xavier’s games, averaging 10.1 points and a team-leading 3.9 assists per game. Kanerva’s supporting cast this season will consist primarily of new faces, including Purdue transfer sophomore guard Hila Karsh, Arkansas transfer junior forward Maria Anais Rodriguez and South Alabama transfer senior forward Diawna Carter-Hartley. The Dawgs will be best fit to win this game if they can win the turnover battle, capitalize on Xavier’s miscues and control the boards.
4. Butler at Georgetown – Jan. 30 at 2 p.m.
The end of January brings us the battle of the Big East’s bulldog mascots from the nation’s capital. The Bulldogs and the Hoyas have faced off 28 times in the two teams’ histories, with the series having an even split. Their most recent meeting took place in early March at the Big East Tournament, where Georgetown was victorious over Butler 62-58, ending the Bulldogs’ season. The 2026-27 season will be the fourth at the Hoyas’ helm for head coach Darnell Haney, who will once again look to bring his team back to the Big East Tournament Championship Game, as he did in his first season with the team. The Hoyas return four players from a season ago, including senior guard Khia Miller, who led the team with 9.0 points per game, and junior guard Destiny Agubata, who led the team with 5.0 rebounds per game. Georgetown also brings in plenty of valuable experience from the transfer portal, such as Pacific transfer junior guard/forward Winner Bartholomew, Bowling Green transfer junior guard Johnea Donahue, and Northwestern State transfer junior forward Clarence Djuela. Butler will take control of this game if it can turn Georgetown turnovers into points and limit the Hoyas’ ability to create second-chance opportunities off of offensive rebounds.
5. Butler vs. UConn – Feb. 4 at 7 p.m.
February begins for Butler with a matchup against the UConn Huskies, the No. 2 ranked team in the country, and the six-time defending Big East Tournament champions. The Huskies achieved a perfect 38-0 record throughout the 2025-26 season before running into a buzzsaw in the Final Four, falling to South Carolina 62-48. However, under 42nd-year head coach Geno Auriemma, UConn reloads for another go at the title the next season more often than not. Junior forward Sarah Strong is the Big East Preseason Player of the Year, senior guard KK Arnold and sophomore forward Blanca Quiñonez were both named to the Preseason All-Big East Team, and senior guard Ashlynn Shade was an Honorable Mention. Additionally, the Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year is UConn first-year center Olivia Vukosa. The Huskies have already put some commendable products on the court so far this season, with exhibition victories over both Syracuse and Texas. While this game will certainly be an uphill battle for the Dawgs, Butler can best set themselves up for success here by taking care of the basketball and cleaning up on the boards.