Connecticut Sun vs New York Liberty Prediction 5/8/2026 Today’s WNBA Picks

The Connecticut Sun and the New York Liberty meet Friday in WNBA action from the Barclays Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Connecticut Sun vs. New York Liberty prediction.

Matchup History

The Liberty won the most recent meeting between these two teams back on August 25th, 2025, by a final score of 81-79, making it 8 wins in the last 10 meetings for New York in this matchup.

Connecticut Sun Team Preview

The Connecticut Sun enter the 2026 season playing out their final year in Uncasville before relocating to Houston in 2027. Last season marked the beginning of a hard rebuild, resulting in an 11-33 record one of the worst in recent memory for the Sun. However, the young roster gained serious steam by the end of the year, showing plenty of fight despite the transition. Connecticut features one of the youngest rosters in the league, highlighted by eight rookies and second-year players. The key to the season will be seeing which of their rising stars like Leila Lacan, Saniya Rivers, Aaliyah Edwards, and the newly acquired Diamond Miller, takes the leap. The Sun also brought in veteran presence to help solidify this young core, headlined by Brittney Griner, who is looking for a bounce-back season. Only time will tell if Connecticut can send their tenure in Connecticut out with a bang and a title run, but it seems unlikely going into the year.

New York Liberty Recap

The New York Liberty come into the 2026 campaign looking to shake off a frustrating 2025, where they finished at 27-17, in a season marred by injuries and letting the big three of Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones only playing 234 minutes together and ultimately ending in a first round exit at the hands of the Phoenix Mercury and the departure of head coach Sandy Brondello. This year feels like a massive reset under new head coach Chris DeMarco. The roster is officially loaded; not only did they retain their core stars, but they also landed Satou Sabally in free agency. Adding a versatile scorer like Sabally to a lineup that already features a healthy Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and 6-foot-11 Han Xu gives New York a terrifying amount of length and size. Only time will tell if the Liberty can stay healthy and if they do, this Liberty team has as good of a chance as any to return to prominence in the WNBA in 2026.

Connecticut Sun @ New York Liberty Betting Trends: May 8, 2026

Why the New York Liberty will win

• The Liberty have won 11 of their last 12 home games against Eastern Conference opponents.
• The Sun have lost each of their last five games against Eastern Conference opponents.
• The Sun have failed to cover the spread in each of their last four games against Eastern Conference opponents.
• The favorites have covered the spread in six of the Sun’s last seven games.

Why the Connecticut Sun will win

• The Liberty have lost three of their last four season openers as favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.
• The Sun have won four of their last five road openers against Eastern Conference opponents.
• The Liberty have failed to cover the spread in seven of their last eight games against Eastern Conference opponents.
• The Sun have covered the spread in each of their last seven Friday games.

Total Points Facts

• Ten of the Liberty’s last 11 games have gone UNDER the total points line.
• Nine of the Sun’s last 10 season openers against Eastern Conference opponents have gone UNDER the total points line.

New York Liberty Player Facts

• Breanna Stewart ranked 1st amongst qualified players for fast break points per game (3.8) last season.
• Rebekah Gardner ranked 3rd amongst qualified players for effective field goal percentage (59.1%) last season.

Connecticut Sun Player Facts

• Aneesah Morrow ranked 1st amongst qualified players for rebounds per 36 minutes (13.1) last season.
• Saniya Rivers ranked 1st amongst qualified Guards for steals + blocks per game (2.4) last season.

Matchup/League Facts

• The New York Liberty ranked 1st for opponent three-point percentage last season (31.5%).
• The New York Liberty ranked 1st for free throw percentage last season (83.7%).
• The Connecticut Sun ranked 1st for opponent field goal attempts per game last season (65.4).
• The Connecticut Sun suffered the largest comeback loss after HT last season – led by -19 points vs Indiana Fever on August 17.

Connecticut Sun vs. New York Liberty Prediction

I’m on the Liberty here. It looks like the Liberty are healthy coming into the season which I previously mentioned is a big deal. Now the wild card is Connecticut and their youth, and even at their worst the Sun gave the Liberty some fits last year. That being said, I just think the talent gap is too wide to not back New York here so give me the Liberty in this one.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: New York -9.5