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For a program of the Connecticut Huskies' reputation and stature, an eight-year national championship drought is a bit unthinkable. In Geno Auriemma's 40 years leading the most successful women's basketball program in the NCAA, he has never endured a championship drought of this length -- but, with Paige Bueckers in possession of the keys to the Huskies' offense, that wait for a 12th national championship might be about to end.
But UConn does not have the simplest road to the national title game, which will take place in Tampa on April 6. The Huskies are the #2 seed in the Spokane region; they likely will have to get through JuJu Watkins and the top-seeded USC Trojans just to reach the Final Four, before possible matchups with top overall seed UCLA and defending national champions South Carolina.
Bueckers' experience and leadership may matter more than her skillset
The Huskies have a daunting path to the Final Four, but Auriemma told ESPN that an unexpected quality the uber-talented Bueckers has will be decisive as to whether UConn sinks or swims amid the pressure.
"She knows the drill, she knows exactly what's coming ahead of her," Auriemma said of Bueckers. "We go into this NCAA Tournament game on Saturday, Paige is starting, Sarah (Strong) is new, Kaitlyn Chen is new, Azzi (Fudd) didn't play last year, Jana (El Alfy) didn't play last year. It's a lot of new faces on our team. So Paige needs to help that whole process along."
Only time will tell as to whether the young but undoubtedly talented Huskies can handle the intensity intrinsic to March. One thing is for sure, though: Auriemma, Bueckers, and the rest of the Huskies clearly feel the urgency to win entering this NCAA Tournament. Auriemma is ensuring that Bueckers, the Big East Player of the Year and a Wooden Award favorite, is not focused on NIL, the WNBA, or anything not related to defeating 15th-seeded Arkansas State on Saturday, in the first round of the tournament.