Bueckers is expected to be out six to eight weeks with a broken left knee. How does the injury affect the No. 2 Huskies going forward?
Bueckers' absence will be felt in every part of the floor. The reigning consensus national Player of the Year leads the team in scoring, minutes, assists, steals, and field goals made, and she also leads the team in rebound.
Azzi Fudd, the No. 1-ranked recruit for 2021, will be out for at least two weeks due to a foot injury. In the preseason, coach Geno Auriemma was expected to have unprecedented depth, but he used just eight players.
Our panel looked at what changes Auriemma will make in Bueckers' absence, which players must step up, and how their status is in the tournament.
The Georgia Tech game is on Thursday. UCLA will play the game in Newark, New Jersey, on Saturday. ABC.
What changes will be made to the lineup without Bueckers?
The type of player Evina Westbrook is, he could be all-conference or rank among the top 25 players in the country. That isn't to say that Bueckers' absence doesn't affect the approach of the team. Her loss is huge in both production and her presence on the field. The job of running the team is going to a veteran with playmaking and scoring talents.
The sophomore can also play the point, which would allow the wing shooter to stay in her role. Muhl doesn't often look to create her own shot, and she isn't a scorer or a shooter. If she's at point, opposing defenses can focus more on the other four players on the floor.
The Bueckers injury situation is complicated by the fact that the depth that we all talked about in the preseason isn't there anymore. Fudd has a foot injury and will be out at least a couple of weeks. The junior has not played this season because of ankle and back problems. Saylor Poffenbarger moved.
Auriemma only used eight players against Notre Dame, and only seven healthy players averaged double-digit minutes. The good news is that the 6-foot-2 freshman guard had her best college game against the Irish with 14 points in 14 minutes, shooting 3-for-5 on 3-pointers.
Auriemma has said that he doesn't like the way the team looks when Bueckers isn't on the court. He will have to adjust to that with his team.
We're not going to come up with a bright side to this injury, but the fact is that it will put others in the driver's seat. It was expected that Bueckers would take over that role as a freshman. It put an enormous weight on her, more so than any freshman in the history of the school.
The sophomore guard is expected to be out for six to eight weeks after breaking her tibial plateau in the win over Notre Dame.
Auriemma needs to focus on everything he has seen as an issue, but without having Bueckers as one of the answers. He said after the victory over Seton Hall that they haven't been good on offense all season. Maybe it will come. Right now, not good.
One of the biggest problems for the team was that they weren't consistently hitting outside shots, which meant teams could cheat a bit and play more for the guards driving to the rim or dishing off.
It's time for Christyn Williams and Ducharme to lead the way from the perimeter, and for the team to establish how good its post play can be, led by A.
Bueckers leads in several statistical categories. Where will she be missed the most?
Voepel is in short, everywhere. Bueckers is a key factor in both the offensive and defensive aspects of the game. Let's focus on ball control. She has 16 steals and has 37 assists. She makes other teams waste some of their possessions.
This isn't going to make a big difference in a lot of the games the Huskies play because they are so much better than their opponents. The tide of the loss to South Carolina was turned by turnovers.
Bueckers is not just the best player, she leads the team in hustle plays. She said after the win that she wanted to set the tone. I tried to lay it all on the line tonight.
The bottom line is that anyone with the talent to play Division I can make hustle plays. That's about mindset, and the mentality of the team has always been to wear down the best of opponents with their pace and hustle. Even without Bueckers, the team can still grow if they focus on the best they can.
Evina is third on the team with 9.5 points per game, and she has started all six games this season. She has 20 assists and 12 turnovers.
Barnes agrees with Voepel. The absence of Bueckers will be felt by the team. I think that the University of Connecticut is going to miss her time. The depth that was expected on the bench has not been there. This might be different if Fudd were healthy and playing at the level we know she is capable of.
Bueckers' removal from the lineup means that others have to fill that gap. Auriemma hasn't shown a lot of trust in his bench to play long stretches. The players will have a longer leash because he doesn't have an option. Muhl and Ducharme haven't seen a lot of playing time so far this season. It could be a significant challenge against high-quality opponents.
What are the challenges that will be present in the upcoming games against UCLA and Louisville?
Barnes says that all three teams are very good, and that UConn has shown vulnerability even with Bueckers on the floor. The offensive struggles of the Huskies have been pointed out by Auriemma. He said after the victory that they were playing too fast. We're not letting the way we run the offense develop.
The Huskies' win over the Pirates was similar to what Auriemma said. Bueckers' absence will likely make those struggles worse. Georgia Tech could take advantage of the vulnerability in the offense of the University of Connecticut because of the absence of Bueckers.
Voepel thinks that facing Georgia Tech will be a good test for the Huskies. Georgia Tech is holding opponents to an average of 46.3 points per game after Sunday's 55-54 victory over Georgia. The Yellow Jackets have forced an average of 14.3 turnovers per game, and that's an area where they could be challenged without Bueckers.
Georgia Tech and UCLA were both ranked in the preseason, but neither is a dynamic offensive team. Even without their best scorer, the Huskies have enough perimeter scoring talent with Williams, and enough interior production from Nelson-Ododa and Edwards to outscore the Bruins. That might not happen, but Connecticut has what it needs to survive the next two games. There are plenty of former high school All-Americans on the roster of the University of Connecticut.
The eight-day break between the UCLA and Louisville games gives the coaching staff plenty of time to evaluate how they performed against the Yellow Jackets and Bruins.
The national championship race in women's college basketball will be affected by Bueckers being out for six to eight weeks.
The streak of Final Four appearances by the University of Connecticut is in jeopardy due to an extended absence from Bueckers. The team can still be a very good one even without her, as they will have a lot of time to get used to it. We don't know how long it will take for her to get back to her normal self, or if she will return at all.
South Carolina was my championship pick at the beginning of the season. With or without Bueckers, the Huskies still have the ability to beat anyone. With so many top teams having a lot of experience, the odds of them getting to the last weekend of the NCAA tournament still depend on Bueckers' return. There could be other injuries on other teams that affect the championship landscape. This is the worst possible personnel loss for the University of Connecticut, which needs Bueckers but will not rush her return.
What is the impact of losing Bueckers?
The No. 1 seed is the University of Connecticut. The answer might be different if there were obvious choices to replace the Huskies, but so many other highly regarded teams have struggled in the season's first month and haven't put up good enough résumé. One might expect a drop-off with Bueckers out. The business is result-driven and nothing will change.
We will be watching to see how the team handles the loss of Bueckers. If the Huskies win over Georgia Tech and UCLA, they will stay on the top line. Anything less than that will fall if teams like Louisville, Louisville, and even UCLA take care of business in a week where they should not be challenged.
