By many measures, that the Huskies made it to Bridgeport in any respect, a lot much less its regional closing, was a testomony to their depth and expertise. To Auriemma, UConn’s coach since 1985, it was a basic notion.
“We’re on this sport lots as a result of now we have actually good gamers that come to UConn they usually perceive that for those who come to Connecticut, the expectations are extremely excessive, the bar is ready very, very excessive,” Auriemma stated on Sunday. He added: “I’d prefer to say you might have a alternative, however I don’t assume you might have a alternative for those who come and play there. You’d higher get your self into this sport.”
Simpler stated than accomplished.
UConn’s beginning lineup was cyclical this season, a consequence of two-thirds of the roster lacking at the least two video games with accidents or diseases. The Huskies have employed 11 totally different setups this season, and their longest streak with a constant lineup was six video games.
Bueckers, a sophomore guard who earned Nationwide Participant of the Yr honors final season, was absent for almost three months and required surgical procedure to restore a December knee harm. Fudd, a freshman who has been a star for UConn behind the 3-point arc, missed 11 video games due to a foot harm. Aubrey Griffin, a junior who was a dependable reservist in her first two seasons however finally had again surgical procedure, didn’t play in any respect. And so forth.
The season’s first loss got here in November, a pummeling within the Bahamas by South Carolina, the nationwide event’s high total seed. A visit to Atlanta a number of weeks later went awry when the Huskies misplaced by 13 factors to an unranked Georgia Tech, which went on to lose within the first spherical of the N.C.A.A. event. A sport in opposition to Louisville, one of many sport’s greatest groups and a No. 1 seed, become a loss. Coronavirus points at UConn led to the cancellations of Huge East matchups in opposition to Georgetown and Villanova. A highway journey to Oregon, additionally unranked, yielded one other 13-point defeat, and in February, a loss to Villanova ended UConn’s 169-game profitable streak in opposition to convention opponents within the common season and league tournaments.
The Huskies’ fortunes began to show after that loss. A sharper protection started to maintain opponents at bay, and offensive manufacturing in opposition to the Huskies plunged. Villanova, as an illustration, managed simply 40 factors in opposition to UConn within the convention event championship sport on March 7, lower than a month after scoring 72 in opposition to the Huskies.