Tag: UConn Women’s Basketball

Geno Auriemma went on a brilliant, expletive-laden rant against calling UConn a ‘redeem team’

“How about we just shut the [expletive] up and win games?”

Few people in Women’s college basketball understand the basic concept of winning more than Geno Auriemma. The legendary UConn coach is third all-time in wins (1,093) and can potentially surpass the two people ahead of him — Pat Summit and Tara VanDerveer — by the end of next season.

And with an injured UConn trying to improve upon a disappointing Sweet 16 finish last season, it’s understandable if Auriemma has his eyes on two prizes — a 12th National Championship and sole possession of the all-time wins record.

That’s not why he’s seemingly not buying into any narratives that detract from basic basketball success. Not even the idea of a “redeem team” for a UConn squad that may have fallen short primarily due to its health issues.  For Auriemma: Enough talk, just win games.

(Warning: NSFW language in the video below.)

Phew. That is a coach clearly really UNHAPPY with how his team’s being talked about. Historically, UConn might be a preeminent blue blood. But great blue bloods — ones who win championships, anyway — don’t necessarily carry themselves as if that label means anything. Or as if looking into the past has any bearing on the future. (It almost never does.)

They’re just talented and play hard and together and scrap and claw for every win. For a team entering the 2023-2024 season as one of the title favorites, Auriemma knows that fact better than anyone. That makes this classic rant a vintage coach rant from someone who wants their team purely focused on the road ahead.

NCAAW Game of the Day: South Carolina vs. UConn is Sunday’s cream of the crop

Which team are you betting on to win this one?

There’s a lot going on in the world this Sunday that requires our undivided attention — specifically, the NFL Pro Bowl and the 65th Annual Grammy Awards immediately come to mind.

But if you want some entertainment before the aforementioned events, you’ll want to get into your women’s basketball bag. Beginning at 12:00 pm ET, No. 5 UConn hosts No. 1 South Carolina in what should be the sport’s biggest game of the day.

To be fair, Sunday’s whole slate of women’s college basketball games packs high-profile matchups, including Duke-Notre Dame, Ohio State-Maryland and North Carolina-Louisville. But the 2022 National Championship Game rematch between the Gamecocks and Huskies is certainly the most anticipated.

Both teams enter Sunday’s contest holding noteworthy streaks. UConn hasn’t lost a home game in nearly a year, which puts their current streak of home wins at 16 (11-0 this season). Meanwhile, South Carolina has yet to taste defeat this season. In fact, the Gamecocks haven’t lost a game of any type since March 6, 2022.

So, we should expect a tremendous battle on Sunday, right? Right.

Even with UConn being dealt a bad hand with injuries this year — Azzi Fudd has only appeared in nine games (knee), and Paige Bueckers hasn’t played in any games this season (ACL) —the team is now up to 14 wins in a row and has a record of 21-2. This should be considered one of Geno Auriemma’s great coaching jobs.

The Huskies’ streak and ability to play through adversity will be tested on Sunday, though, against the defending national champions. Whichever test has been thrown at Dawn Staley’s group, they’ve passed. Most notably, their big win at Stanford. As the Gamecocks go on the road for another top-5 showdown, they’ll need to lean on their veteran experience to overcome a hostile environment.

There’s something worth paying attention to in this one, which is the classic offense vs. defense battle.

Led by Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Muhl, UConn might have the most efficient offense in the country. The Huskies have the best field goal percentage (52.0), the second-best 3-point percentage (40.3), are third in assists (20.4) and are one of just 13 teams putting up more than 80.0 points per game on the season. On the other hand, South Carolina has the sport’s best defense. It leads the nation in holding opponents to the fewest points per game (47.0) and the Gamecocks average an NCAAW-best 9.9 blocks per game behind the rim presence of Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso.

So, when the two elite college basketball programs meet on Sunday for a 2022 National Championship Game rematch, there’s no telling how this one will turn out. If you think you know, be sure to head over to BetMGM to bet on either the home underdog Huskies (+4.5) or the favored, defending champion Gamecocks on the road (-4.5).

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UConn star Azzi Fudd to be sidelined indefinitely after re-injuring knee

More unfortunate injury news this season for Azzi Fudd.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: injuries are the absolute worst!

After missing over a month of basketball following a knee injury suffered against Notre Dame in early December, UConn’s sophomore guard Azzi Fudd made her return to the court on January 11 against St. John’s. Less than a week later, Fudd re-injured the same knee against Georgetown, forcing her back to the sideline again, where she is reportedly going to stay for an indefinite amount of time.

In basketball, and sports in general, there’s always a risk of injury — mostly everyone is well aware of that fact, especially players and members of programs. But I can’t imagine that understanding that possibility makes reality any easier to deal with.

For UConn’s women’s basketball program, the ramifications of the injuries are obvious — the team takes a significant blow without its two best players Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers (Torn ACL) on the court, which was also the case last year when the two dealt with injuries.

But schools can always reset and bring in a new crop of players when the time comes. On the other hand, the players are the ones whose careers are altered by the setbacks. They must reshape and rehab mentally and physically to return to their peak levels. Whether they can or not isn’t the question, but the process that goes into it really makes you feel for these young athletes.

Nevertheless, it’s a waiting game now for Fudd and the Huskies women’s basketball team. They’ll have to operate without her for the time being in a tough Big East conference. Could Fudd return in time for an end-of-season push? Will she return at all? Time will tell.

UConn has +600 national championship odds at DraftKings Sportsbook.

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UConn star Azzi Fudd to miss 3-6 weeks after injuring right knee against Notre Dame

Injury news is always tough.

The 2022-23 women’s college basketball season has yet to complete its first full month of play and the sport has already received its first tough break of the year.

For the second season in a row, one of the nation’s top players will be sidelined for quite a bit of time. And for the second straight season, that player is a UConn Husky.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Huskies women’s basketball program announced that standout sophomore guard Azzi Fudd is expected to miss three-to-six weeks after sustaining a right knee injury in a game against Notre Dame over the past weekend.

Unfortunately for Fudd, who was averaging 24.0 points per game before Sunday’s showdown with the Fighting Irish (which she exited in the first half), the recent injury is just the latest of her early career. Last season as a freshman, she missed around two months with a foot injury sustained just before Thanksgiving, which kept her out until the thick of conference play.

As Fudd recovers and rehabilitates the right knee, she’ll join another injured star Husky on the sidelines. Junior guard Paige Bueckers also missed a chunk of her sophomore season before suffering a torn left ACL this past offseason to put her 2022-23 season completely out of the question.

UConn, now 6-1 and out of the Top 5, will have to stem the tide while Fudd is out of the lineup. Head coach Geno Auriemma’s squad did just that a season ago while Bueckers rehabilitated, and then went on to march to the 2022 national championship game, where they finished as the runner-up.

Can they draw from prior experiences?

The Huskies have +7000 national championship odds at DraftKings Sportsbook.

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Iowa women’s basketball slated to take part in Phil Knight Legacy tournament in November

Iowa appears like it’s on an early collision course with Paige Bueckers and Connecticut in the Phil Knight Legacy tournament in November.

We might have a game of the year contender in the first week of the 2022-23 women’s college basketball season.

Iowa women’s basketball announced on Monday that they would be participating in the Phil Knight Legacy College Basketball Tournament on Nov. 25. The Hawkeyes will open up their 2022-23 campaign against Pac-12 foe Oregon State. Oregon State finished with a respectable 17-14 record last season.

Not to completely gloss over Oregon State and the opening contest, but the bracket posted for the tournament should widen the eyes of any fan of college women’s hoops. On the other side of the bracket Connecticut faces Duke. The idea of a potential Connecticut-Iowa matchup should have every hoops fan salivating.

Both Uconn and Iowa will surely enter the upcoming season in the top 10. While Iowa unfortunately fell in the second round of last year’s NCAA tournament, they certainly have the talent to go way further. Uconn did exactly what they always do, making the Final Four for the 13th consecutive year in a row. Both teams feature arguably the best hooper in the nation.

Paige Bueckers was probably Connecticut’s most hyped-up recruit since superstar Breanna Stewart. She proved that hype was warranted right away, becoming a leader early in her freshman year. Her offensive output declined a bit last year due to an injury, but she’s still clearly one of the nation’s elite.

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark was the nation’s leader in points per game and assists per game. It goes further than just the stat line, though. Clark’s long range shooting has made her one of the biggest stars in all of women’s basketball.

This right here is the matchup every fan, every person involved with women’s basketball should be hoping for. Clark and Bueckers are leading the way for the next generation of women’s basketball stars alongside South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston. They are leading a movement that is getting more and more people interested in women’s hoops.

The last time these two matched up against each other was in the Sweet 16 of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Uconn got the better of Iowa, winning 92-72, but both looked like potential superstars. Now after both have reached that elite status, a super matchup between two of the biggest stars in the sport would be monumental.

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