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Azzi Fudd hopes to go out on top with the Huskies, who are looking to repeat as national champions. Joe Buglewicz / Getty Images
March Madness is here, and Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies are the favorites to both repeat as national champions and deliver Auriemma a record 13th title. The Huskies are 34-0 and boast the best player in the country in star forward Sarah Strong.
But the path to the Final Four could still present some challenges for the Huskies, who earned the top overall seed and will funnel into the Fort Worth 1 Regional.
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Auriemma will almost certainly see some of college basketball’s biggest coaching stars across the sideline.
The Huskies should have no problems with No. 16 UTSA on Saturday in the first round, but they could face an early test should No. 8 Iowa State beat No. 9 Syracuse in Round 1 to advance to Round 2 against the Huskies in Storrs, Conn.
The Cyclones are headlined by star center Audi Crooks, whose 25.5 points per game rank second nationally (behind only Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes’ 27). Crooks would present an intriguing matchup for Strong and the Huskies. Although UConn ranks first nationally in 3-point percentage and assists per game and second nationally in points per game, the Cyclones are also in the top 12 nationally for all three categories.
No. 5 seed Maryland or No. 4 seed North Carolina would likely be the Huskies’ opponent in the Sweet 16 once the teams head to Fort Worth, Texas. The Terrapins dipped out early in the Big Ten tournament with a loss to Oregon, and the Tar Heels couldn’t get past Louisville in the semifinals of the ACC tournament, but the Terps picked up crucial wins over Ohio State (splitting the series), USC, Michigan State and Kentucky this season and were a much different team in February after a tough January, including a 30-point loss at UCLA. The Terrapins are also strong on the offensive boards (15.7 offensive rebounds per game) and are led by national championship-winning head coach Brenda Frese, who knows a thing or two about March. The Tar Heels are balanced with no solo star and are a top-15 team nationally in 3-point percentage. They also notably split their rivalry series with No. 3 seed Duke.
Looking ahead to the Elite Eight, the Huskies would most likely play No. 2 seed Vanderbilt, coached by Auriemma’s former star player and former ace assistant, Shea Ralph. Ralph, The Athletic’s Coach of the Year, has the most exciting player in the game in Blakes, and one of the spunkier point guards in college hoops in true freshman Aubrey Galvan, who is averaging 13.1 points, 5.9 assists and 2.6 steals per game. That matchup would arguably be UConn’s toughest (and most entertaining) of the season.
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But if for some reason the Commodores fall early, UConn could be looking at No. 3 seed Ohio State or No. 6 seed Notre Dame in the Elite Eight. Along with UConn star Azzi Fudd (17.7 points per game), Ohio State’s Jaloni Cambridge (22.8 points per game) and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo (25.2 points per game) check in as some of the nation’s most dominant guards. No doubt both teams would also love another crack at the Huskies after losing by 30-plus points each in the regular season.
Moving into the Final Four, the Huskies could now potentially see South Carolina. Auriemma and Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley are no strangers as arguably the top two coaches in the game, and they just met in the national title game last season, when the Huskies won with ease, 82-59.
Should UCLA run the table on its side, the Bruins would possibly see the Huskies again, but this time in a national championship, after UConn blew out UCLA in last season’s Final Four by 34 points.
The Huskies got the top overall seed instead of the Bruins this season, essentially because of the eye test, selection chair committee Amanda Braun said Sunday night.
“The debate was pretty close the whole time,” Braun said. “(We) went to a committee vote and we watched a lot of UConn, we watched a lot of UCLA as a group. The vote ultimately gave the edge to UConn.”
The Huskies are hoping to prove the committee right, and it all starts Saturday.
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Grace Raynor is a staff writer for The Athletic covering recruiting and southeastern college football. A native of western North Carolina, she graduated from the University of North Carolina. Follow Grace on Twitter @gmraynor
