UConn’s guys’s and females’s basketball groups are both in the Elite Eight all at once for the very first time because 2014. Another significant truth? Both won their particular champions that year. Oh, and the very same thing occurred in 2004.
There is still a great deal of basketball delegated play before possibly raising the prize, however Saturday was currently an interesting day for UConn fans. Dan Hurley’s guys’s group saw an unbelievable 30-0 run versus Illinois. The ladies’s group simply played in the program’s 30th successive Sweet 16.
The guys’s group has actually been a heavy preferred to protect their nationwide title, Geno Auriemma’s females’s team would’ve been excused for not even making it this far. It’s not that the females’s group isn’t talented– they’ve set the requirement through the years– however the 2023-24 Huskies have actually been counting on a seven-player rotation due to injuries and lack of experience.
Auriemma’s group was appearing like among the greatest groups in the country throughout preseason, however then 5 Huskies suffered season-ending injuries.
The Huskiespractically had a significant slip up late in the video game versus Duke. After routing by 20 in the 3rd quarter, heaven Devils had actually climbed up back to make it a five-point video game with under a minute staying. The primary offender?
“The tiredness aspect ended up being a huge concern due to the fact that it required us to alter our tactical plan,” Auriemma stated postgame. “We got up 20 due to the fact that we simply pressed it, pressed it, pressed it. And after that I seemed like, ‘OK. We require a breather here or we’re not going to have the ability to end up the video game.'”
In spite of taking that breather, the Huskies got it done behind a 24-point efficiency by redshirt junior guard Paige Bueckers. She likewise contributed 5 rebounds, 3 takes and 2 blocks. Bueckers won 11 significant awards in 2021 throughout her freshman season, however she remained all of last season with a torn ACL. She is back to her routine self, having actually led UConn with 21.9 points per contest this season, while likewise enhancing her defense.
Needless to state, the Huskies are thankful to have her back.
“I’m not actually shocked when the ball enters the hoop for her,” senior forward Aaliyah Edwards stated. “Some of the relocations that she gets leading up to the pail is quite excellent, however that’s simply how Paige plays basketball, and it’s gorgeous to see.”
Edwards has actually been another dominant gamer for UConn. She got in Saturday’s video game averaging 17.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per contest. She was UConn’s essential gamer in 2015, when they made it to the Sweet 16 however failed versus Ohio State.
UConn just signed in 6 gamers versus Duke, however the group still finished the job. Previously this weekend, Auriemma stated not having numerous gamers offered ends up being harder in March due to the fact that of what’s at stake. He stated this group appears to have a little additional energy this time around.
