The short-handed UConn Huskies faced a bit of a scare against Syracuse in the second round, but they prevailed to get back to the Sweet 16 for a record 30th consecutive season. There, they’ll face a Duke Blue Devils team that went into Columbus, Ohio and stunned the No. 2-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes to reach this round for the first time since 2018.
Speaking of the 2018 Sweet 16, that was the last time these two programs met in the NCAA Tournament. On that occasion, UConn won by double digits en route to a trip to the national championship game. The Huskies will be expected to advance this time around as well, but the Blue Devils will have plenty of confidence after their upset win over the Buckeyes.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma made headlines in the last few days when he said that he believed he’s coaching the best player in the country in Paige Bueckers as much of the attention has been on Caitlin Clark and Iowa. Auriemma defended his stance ahead of this showdown.
“Listen, I’ve coached the best player in the country a lot more than anybody else coaching in this tournament,” Auriemma said. “It’s OK for someone else to say their player is. If you go by stats, if you go by efficiency, if you go by the…
