Geno Auriemma vs. Dawn Staley. Paige Bueckers, Sarah Strong and the nation’s top offense on the road against the steely reigning champions. A Sunday “College GameDay” game with a federal holiday on Monday. Don’t mind if we do.
How to watch No. 7 UConn at No. 4 South Carolina
Sunday’s showdown puts the winningest coach in the NCAA (Auriemma) alongside the highest-paid coach in women’s basketball (Staley). Geno’s Huskies were the standard-bearers of the sport, with a four-peat from 2012-16 and 11 championships since 1995. The Gamecocks are the incumbent dynasty — two national titles, one perfect season and five total losses in the last four seasons.
Bueckers is a full-blown sensation as a senior, on the floor and in the ratings. She’s a few made free throws shy of a 50/40/90 season on team-high usage. She has the lowest turnover percentage in the Big East and the best offensive rating in the country. She does buoyant, swaggering stuff like this:
This was NICE https://t.co/JWOJ384YNv pic.twitter.com/XsqC7KHxzd
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) January 26, 2025
If opponents fixate on Bueckers, an increasingly steady and ambitious playmaker, there are many other stressors to handle. Even amid a mini-slump, freshman phenom Sarah Strong leads the conference in…
