The No. 7 Huskies enter the home stretch of the season this weekend as the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament with a fully replenished roster including the return of Paige Bueckers and Defensive Player of the Year Big East Nika Mühl.
“I can’t wait to see how we hold up after three days, who will come in and if we can really, really play well as a team or if we can play well as a team and not rely too much on one individual,” said Geno Auriemma after training on Thursday: “It’s been five or six years since we had the ability to put so many good players on the pitch. I hope it pays off.”
Bueckers spent 10 weeks recovering from a broken tibial plateau and torn meniscus before returning to the court in UConn’s win over St. John’s on Feb. 25.
In his first two games, Bueckers had 10 points, five rebounds and six assists in 26 total minutes. While the reigning National Player of the Year was on a 15-minute restriction last week, Auriemma said he expects Bueckers to play more this weekend.
“Today she had a really, really good day. It’s the best she’s watched since she’s been back,” he said. “I don’t see her playing 35 minutes three games in a row, let’s put it that way. I can’t tell you exactly how many minutes, but it will be over 15.”
UConn’s path to winning its second consecutive Big East Tournament title (ninth consecutive conference tournament, including the American Athletic Conference) begins with Saturday’s quarterfinal game at noon against the winner of the first round of the seeded No. 8 Providence against No. 9 Georgetown.
The Huskies have faced both the Hoyas and Friars for the past 10 days, most recently beating Providence on Senior Day, 88-31.
In both games, Mühl led the Huskies in interceptions, including a career-high six against Georgetown. The sophomore received her first career conference honor when she was named the league’s defensive player of the year on Thursday. Mühl became the 11th Husky to win the award and the second in a row after Olivia Nelson-Ododa last season.
“It took me a bit of time to understand what it means and everything, but after realizing it, I’m proud of myself and I’m proud of my team,” Mühl said. “I feel like it’s not just an individual award, it’s also a team award and it shows how good our defense is and how good our defense can be.”
The 5-foot-10 guard said the recognition surprised her when Auriemma told the team during Wednesday’s movie session.
“I didn’t expect anything. I wasn’t looking forward to anything, I was just very shocked and surprised,” she said.
After being out for three games in December with a foot injury, Mühl rejoined the starting lineup on 12 January at Butler. Two games later, she played her first 40-minute game. With so many players balancing injuries and absences, Auriemma has looked to Mühl more than ever this season to lead the team’s defensive aggression.
Since returning from injury, Mühl has started in 16 games and has averaged five points, two steals and 3.6 assists in 28.3 minutes per game.
“It’s interesting that last year and this year our team changed quite a bit when we put Nika in the starting lineup, so obviously she plays a pretty big role and she likes the defensive side of the pitch,” said Auriemma said. “She gives us something no one else does and I think the coaches who voted recognized that. She was a bit surprised but I told her I wasn’t surprised. …
“She keeps the other team’s playmaker every game and kind of sets the tone for us and how we’re going to do it and what kind of pressure we’re going to have. She spins really well on the next play. She bounces back. For someone her size, she gets her hands on a lot of passes and she just has an infectious spirit that makes the difference…. It’s just how she protects her man and then she protects your man too. is like having three people sometimes…. In today’s times, she’s an anomaly, I would say.
BIG EAST UPDATE SPECTATOR POLICY
The conference announced that fans attending the tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena will no longer be required to present proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to enter the arena. While the Big East still recommends fans wear masks, the tournament’s mask requirement has also been waived.
FIELD SCOUTING: CONTAINERS
Villanova: The Huskies faced Villanova once in the regular season and it was memorable as the Wildcats upset UConn, ending the program’s 169-game winning streak. Since Villanova’s 72-69 victory over UConn, the Wildcats (21-7, 15-4 Big East) finished the regular season 5-1, securing the No. 2 seed in the tournament. Meanwhile, UConn has won seven straight since losing and fired Bueckers, Nelson-Ododa and Caroline Ducharme.
From Paul : UConn was poised to end its conference winning streak in Chicago on Jan. 26 had it not been for a last-second Ducharme shot to edge DePaul 80-78. In the teams’ second meeting of the season (February 11 at Storrs), DePaul was without second-leading scorer Sonya Morris due to injury. UConn won the blowout 80-64. The Blue Demons are led by Big East freshman Aneesah Morrow, who leads the nation with 26 double-doubles and 14.0 rebounds per game.
2022 Big East Tournament Schedule (Mohegan Sun Arena)
First rounds: Friday March 4 / Matches broadcast live on FloSports
Game 1: No. 8 Providence vs. No. 9 Georgetown at 11 a.m.
Game 2: No. 7 St. John’s vs. No. 10 Xavier at 1:30 p.m.
Game 3: Seton Hall No. 6 vs. Butler No. 11 at 4 p.m.
Quarter-finals: Saturday March 5
Game 4: UConn No. 1 vs Game 1 winner at noon on FS1
Match 5: DePaul #4 vs Marquette #5 at 2:30 p.m. on FS2
Game 6: Villanova No. 2 vs. Game 2 winner at 7 p.m. on FS2
Game 7: No. 3 Creighton vs Game 3 winner at 9:30 p.m. on FS2
Semi-finals: Sunday March 6 / Games broadcast on FS1
Game 8: Winner of Game 4 vs Winner of Game 5 at 3 p.m.
Game 9: Winner of Game 6 vs Winner of Game 7 at 5:30 p.m.
Championship: Monday March 7 / Match broadcast on FS1
Winner of match 8 vs winner of match 9 at 8 p.m.
