Sports Analysis
With March Madness on a roll, the University of Connecticut Huskies are not letting up the fight for the National Championship.
The Huskies went 33-3 this season with a conference record of 18-0. UConn looked unstoppable this year in the Big East conference, winning the conference championship over Creighton 70-50. UConn had three losses this season to the University of Southern California, Notre Dame and Tennessee. USC, a fan favorite, led by sophomore star guard JuJu Watkins has not had the March they hoped for as Watkins will be out for the remainder of the season due to an ACL tear in USC’s game against Mississippi State. UConn, however, is not letting up the heat, winning its first-round game against Arkansas 103- 34. Azzi Fudd made a statement as it was her first NCAA tournament game in 728 days, and she dropped 27 points, seven assists and six steals in 22 minutes.
The Huskies went on to play South Dakota State, with Paige Bueckers tying her career all-time high of 34 points in her last home game as a Husky. They beat South Dakota 91-57.
Bueckers will be leaving college basketball after five years and is projected to be the No.1 draft pick for the 2025 WNBA Draft. To celebrate her last home game at Gampel Pavilion and thank her fans, Bueckers partnered with Dunkin Donuts to buy 1,500 tickets for UConn students. Bueckers also has shown herself to be an all-around player, teammate and business woman. She was named first-team AP All-American for the third time, is a Naismith Player of The Year finalist and will have her own Nike commercial playing all throughout March.
Bueckers is also the only player in college basketball, the WNBA, and the NBA to shoot over 50% field goals, 40% three-point field goals and 90% free throws. Though she declared for the 2025 WNBA Draft, Bueckers is making the most of her last few moments as a Husky. After her last home game, Bueckers addressed UConn students and fans thanking them for their support, saying, “This will always be home.”
In UConn’s Sweet Sixteen matchup, Bueckers set a new career high of 40 points against No. 3 Oklahoma Uviersity. Their game started with a high rate of turnovers, with UConn at 8 and Oklahoma at 11 in the first quarter. UConn had an explosive second half, beating Oklahoma 82-59. UConn put up 50 points all in the second half, with Oklahoma only scoring 23.
Paige Bueckers scored 29 points in the second half, leading to her new career high. With her 40 points, Bueckers set a school record as the highest UConn scorer in an NCAA tournament.
Uconn then moved on to their Elite 8 game against USC. Though Uconn lost their first game to USC, this game they came back ready to battle. Paige Bueckers had a slow start but scored another 30-point game.
With Notre Dame’s loss to TCU in the Sweet Sixteen and Watkins’ injury, UConn’s biggest battles will most likely be UCLA, Texas, TCU and South Carolina.
South Carolina will make their fifth straight Elite Eight appearance, and TCU, led by Hailey Van Lith, will be making their first-ever Elite Eight appearance. Hailey Van Lith scored 26 points against No. 3 seed Notre Dame in a 71-62 win. LSU, Van Lith’s former school, will also be moving on to their third straight Elite Eight appearance. LCU will be facing off with Lauren Betts and UCLA for a much-anticipated Elite Eight matchup.
“XL UConn 2022” by Enterprise8875 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
