UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma is dearly missing Paige Bueckers, who played a big role in winning the program’s national championship before being picked first overall in the 2025 WNBA draft.
Now, the Huskies head into March Madness with hopes of repeating as champions. Auriemma missed Bueckers but shared his confidence in the program’s chances of winning it all.
“When the NCAA Tournament begins, it’s not going to be as easy as we experienced it last season. I think someone like Paige can do that. But we have enough good players to have as good a chance as anyone else out there to win a national championship.”
Bueckers joined UConn as the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2020. In her freshman season, she swept all major national Player of the Year honors, including AP, Naismith, USBWA, and Wooden Awards. She is the only freshman to achieve this feat. With UConn, Bueckers made four Final Four appearances over her career and capped her career off with a national championship. She finished her stint in Storrs with 2,439 points, ranking third all-time in program history.
Geno Auriemma’s UConn Registers Perfect Regular Season After Dominating St. John’s
UConn dominated Sunday’s game against St. John’s with an 85-49 win at Madison Square Garden. Azzi Fudd scored a team-high 14 points and saw contributions from Allie Ziebell (13) and Serah Williams (11) as well.
This victory gave the Huskies a 31-0 overall record and a 20-0 mark in Big East play. This was UConn’s 11th perfect regular season in school history. After finishing his third straight year going unbeaten in Big East play, Auriemma was proud of his team, saying:
“Well, I think the amount of work that goes into it every day, you know, our shootaround today, it was as if we were playing in the Final Four. We try to treat every game with a lot of respect, every team with a lot of respect. And, you know, everybody’s got to be on board. It’s not easy, as you look around the country, it’s not easy to keep everybody on board these days.
“So, you know, there’s a lot of pressure playing at UConn. It’s like we’re not allowed to lose. If we lose, it’s, ‘What did we do wrong?’ It’s never, ‘Well, the other team played a great game.’ There’s a lot that goes into it. And I’m proud of these kids. They put a lot of their heart and soul into it, and I’m glad they get rewarded.”
The Huskies now look forward to continuing their domination in the NCAA Tournament.
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