PORTLAND, Ore. — Earlier this season, 11-time national champion coach Geno Auriemma didn’t think his UConn Huskies stood much of a shot at making a deep March run. The team had lost multiple key players — six by season’s end — for the year due to injury. By Dec. 3, they already had dropped three contests in nonconference play.
Saturday’s Sweet 16 matchup against 7-seed Duke was far from aesthetically pleasing, but the Huskies did enough to come through with a 53-45 win that punched their ticket to the Elite Eight, surpassing last year’s shocking Sweet 16 exit as well as Auriemma’s previous expectations.
“Childbirth is a miracle,” Auriemma said after the win. “[I thought earlier this season] us getting to the Sweet 16 would be a miracle. And now here we are, we’re in the final eight. Seriously, you can’t make this s— up.”
UConn’s regional final appearance marks the program’s 28th overall, tying the record held by Tennessee.
The No. 3 seed Huskies will face the top-seeded USC…
