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No. 2 seed UConn picked up the most lopsided win in Final Four history over No. 1 overall seed UCLA on Friday, a game they were favorites in despite the seeding discrepancy.
The Huskies were also not an underdog against USC — who didn’t have JuJu Watkins due to a torn ACL — in the Elite Eight and won that game by double digits. When it comes to women’s college basketball, seeding is typically a good indicator of how well teams might do in the NCAA Tournament. No. 1 seeds have won the tournament 23 times, while No. 2 seeds have only won seven times.
So, why is UConn dominating as a No. 2 seed? The short answer is this is UConn we are talking about here — a program that has made 16 of the last 17 Final Fours and won 11 national championships. Geno Auriemma is the winningest coach in college basketball history and Paige Bueckers is one of the sport’s biggest stars.
To further explain UConn’s impressive run, here are five reasons for it.
UConn could have been a No. 1 seed
The truth is, UConn was a No. 2 seed that felt like a No. 1 seed heading into the Big Dance. By no means were the Huskies considered an underdog in the Elite Eight or the Final Four, even against No. 1 seeds. Seeding takes into account several factors, including overall record, strength of schedule and quality of wins, among other factors.
The Huskies had the resume to potentially be a No. 1 seed, but their strength of schedule wasn’t quite as tough as the ones the No. 1 seeds had. UConn had five Quad-1 wins entering the tournament, while South Carolina had 16, Texas 14, and USC and UCLA had 13 each.
That doesn’t mean UConn didn’t have the potential to beat good teams. They just didn’t play as many of those opponents in the Big East vs. the Big Ten and SEC.
Paige Bueckers’ heroics
Here is a fun fact: Bueckers is the only player in the 21st century, male or female, to have beaten a No. 1 seed five times. She helped the Huskies take care of NC State and Stanford in 2022, USC in 2024 and this year it has been USC and UCLA.
While not having a primary scorer has worked out for South Carolina, when shots are not falling you want to have someone on the roster who knows how to take over and do whatever it takes to win.
This is Bueckers’ last NCAA Tournament before heading to the WNBA, and she has been making every minute count. She wasn’t as productive against UCLA, but she didn’t have to be — which we will talk about more below. However, she had a combined 106 points in the previous three games, so she more than pulls her weight. Bueckers is an elite player on offense thanks to her abilities to score and create opportunities for her teammates, plus her high basketball IQ also makes her a solid defender.
Sarah Strong’s maturity
Strong is only a freshman, but she plays like someone with more experience with her ability to operate from the post and perimeter. She leads UConn in rebounds, steals and blocks, while being second in scoring and assists behind Bueckers. Her 22 points and 17 rebounds against USC were key for the Huskies to get the Elite Eight win.
In the Final Four, Fudd was the initial spark with 19 points in the first half, but Strong took over in the last two quarters. As Fudd said, Strong is “even-keeled,” and her consistency means Bueckers doesn’t have to take over every game.
Azzi Fudd can’t be doubted
Bueckers said it best Friday: “If you see her shoot, the whole country and everyone alive should believe in her.”
Fudd has a great shooting form and is very dangerous when she finds her rhythm. Shots were not falling in Spokane, but her team kept her confident and she was the spark that helped UConn immediately take the momentum from UCLA with 19 points in the first half.
She also had one of her best career games against Arkansas State in the first round with 27 points, seven assists and two blocks, which is a good representation of how versatile she can be.
The energy comes from everywhere
Sometimes the box score doesn’t tell the full story, and that’s common for UConn. KK Arnold comes off the bench and her stats don’t always show what does does for the team. She plays good defense, creates opportunities for her teammates and is not afraid to take charges when needed.
Arnold’s energy is contagious and the same thing can be said about Ashlynn Shade. Both were starters last season when the team was shorthanded because of injuries. Shade started 12 games this season, but even mostly when coming off the bench she has leveled up, particularly on the defensive end.
There are also players like Jana El Alfy, who helped the UConn frontcourt become more consistent, and Kaitlyn Chen, who put up 15 points against USC and Auriemma described her as the “perfect addition for what this team needed at the position that we needed it.”
