PORTLAND — For much of NCAA Tournament history, the month of March has belonged to UConn women’s basketball. The Huskies aren’t the No. 1 overall seed or a Final Four favorite in 2024 as they’ve been so often before, but 30 consecutive Sweet 16 appearances remains a remarkable streak.
“There’s something to be said for consistency. There’s been the same coaches with very little change over all that time,” coach Geno Auriemma said after UConn advanced with a win over Syracuse in the Round of 32. “This is who we are. This is our culture. This is what we do … The culture of your program and what it stands for can get you to the regionals just about every year if you’re at that level … Once you get there, that doesn’t mean diddly. Now, you better have that guy that gets you from there to the next thing.”
UConn, the 3-seed in the Portland 3 bracket, faces 7-seed Duke at the Moda Center on Saturday (8 p.m., ESPN) looking to return to form after last season ended in heartbreak. The Huskies were upset in the 2023 Sweet 16 by 3-seed Ohio State, ending 14 consecutive seasons of Final Four appearances.
With star guard Paige Bueckers playing like the best version of herself, Auriemma believes UConn’s potential goes as far as the senior can carry them. She averaged 30 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists shooting nearly 57% from the field across the first two games of the tournament, also recording the first postseason double-doubles of her career. After spending all of last season sidelined by an ACL tear, Bueckers is relishing every second of her March Madness experience.
“These high-stakes games, these games that mean everything, I missed it so much. I just told myself before the Big East Tournament and before (the NCAA) tournament to embrace it and have fun,” Bueckers said. “I prayed so hard a year ago today to be in my shoes where I’m at right now, so just (trying) to appreciate it.”
From the Huskies’ biggest challengers to favorites on the other side of the bracket, here are the biggest storylines to watch entering the Portland regional:
Elite Eight could feature Paige Bueckers vs JuJu Watkins
All five players that earned first-team AP All-American honors are still playing in March Madness, but the Portland 3 region could have the only meeting between superstars before the Final Four. USC, anchored by freshman phenom JuJu Watkins, is the 1-seed in UConn’s bracket and would be the Huskies’ Elite Eight matchup if chalk holds in the Sweet 16. The Trojans face 5-seed Baylor on Saturday (5:30 p.m., ESPN).
Watkins and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo became the first freshmen since Bueckers to make the first team, and Watkins is also the first rookie named a Naismith Player of the Year finalist since the UConn star in 2021. Watkins led USC to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1994, averaging 26.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists. She broke national records for most points scored and most 30-point games by a freshman, plus nearly every freshman program record on USC’s books.
Watkins has a height advantage on Bueckers and averages 1.7 blocks per game on the defensive end, but the Huskies guard is no stranger to handling bigger assignments. Her efficiency is what separates her from Watkins, shooting 54% from the field and 43.7% on 3-pointers to the freshman’s 40.7% and 33%.
Baylor, Duke chasing history under new leadership
The last time Duke appeared in the Sweet 16 was also against UConn in 2018, and the Huskies routed the Blue Devils 72-59 behind Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson. Duke was once one of the most prolific programs in women’s basketball, with five straight Elite Eight appearances from 2001-2006 under Gail Goestenkors, and four from 2009-2013 under Joanne McCallie. But coach Kara Lawson inherited an floundering program in 2020, and the team opted not to compete her first year amid COVID-19 pandemic. In her third full season, Lawson has led the Blue Devils to back-to-back March Madness berths for the first time since 2017-18.
Baylor is back in the national conversation too, returning to its first Sweet 16 since legendary coach Kim Mulkey left for LSU in 2021-22. The Bears made the Sweet 16 for 12 consecutive seasons and won a national championship in 2021 under Mulkey, but they were eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in each of coach Nicki Collen’s first two seasons. Baylor will be a significant underdog to top-seeded USC but has already exceeded expectations after upsetting 4-seed Virginia Tech in the Round of 32.
Vic Schaefer looks to make first Final Four run at Texas
The 1-seed opposite the Huskies is the Portland 4 bracket is Texas, and UConn has a history with Vic Schaefer-led teams in the NCAA Tournament. Schaefer led Mississippi State to a 66-64 upset in the 2017 Final Four that snapped the Huskies’ historic 111-game winning streak and ended hopes of a fifth consecutive national championship. Schaefer’s Bulldogs returned to the national championship game in 2018, finishing runners-up to Notre Dame.
Schaefer left Mississippi State after eight years to accept the job at Texas in 2020-21, but he has yet to get past the Elite Eight with the Longhorns. The team reached the final weekend before the Final Four in each of his first two years but lost to the eventual national champion both times — Stanford in 2021, South Carolina in 2022. Led by star freshman Madison Booker, the Longhorns aim to bounce back after in 2024 getting upset in the second round last season.
What’s going on in Albany 2?
The winner of UConn’s Portland 3 bracket will get a Final Four matchup with the champion out of Albany 2, dubbed one of the hardest regions ever entering the tournament. Albany 2 is headlined by 1-seed Iowa and Caitlin Clark, but the Hawkeyes were pushed by West Virginia in the Round of 32. They’ll face a tricky 5-seed Colorado squad that holds regular-season wins over 3-seed LSU, 2-seed Stanford and USC. The Buffaloes upset 4-seed Kansas State in the second round to reach their second consecutive Sweet 16
Arguably the best game of the weekend is between 2-seed UCLA and LSU in Albany 2. It’s the only matchup in the Sweet 16 between two teams ranked in the top 10 entering the NCAA Tournament, and the Tigers are currently third in national championship odds despite their underdog seeding. UCLA and LSU each brought in high-impact transfer in 2023-24 — Lauren Betts for the Bruins, Aneesah Morrow and Hailey van Lith for the Tigers — and boast two of the most talented rosters in the country.