The UConn Huskies suffered a shocking 73-61 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in Saturday’s Sweet 16 in the Seattle 3 Regional, which means Geno Auriemma’s group is missing the Elite Eight for the first time since 2005.
“The problem with streaks is the longer they go, you’re closer to an ending than you are to the beginning of it. It’s just a matter of time,” Auriemma said.
The expectations were high for UConn, even in a roller coaster of a season, with a lot of buzz about how the Huskies were trying to reach their 15th consecutive Final Four. When the season tipped off in November, they hadn’t shaken off the injury bug that also bothered them last year. They had to do without star player Paige Bueckers all season after she tore her ACL during preseason. Azzi Fudd stepped up and became the leader of the team — until she suffered a knee injury early December and wound up playing just 14 games. There were multiple other setbacks, but the Huskies had been resilient enough to make their 29th consecutive Sweet 16.
And then the pressure set in, both mentally and on the court.
No. 2 seed UConn had a small lead after the first quarter and Auriemma seemed to like what he saw for the most part, but the Huskies had a…
