5 pm
With the news that Bueckers had knee surgery Monday and is expected to have an eight-week recovery, her return is now projected to be February 2nd.
Bueckers had an anterior tibial plateau fractured and a torn meniscus repaired in her left knee, so this has to be considered an optimistic projection. If this timetable is accurate, what will she miss, and what will the No. 7 Huskies do in her absence?
Bueckers was expected to miss the Louisville and Oregon games. She will likely miss the rest of the nonconference schedule, including the South Carolina and Tennessee games.
The first two games without Bueckers were a disappointment for the team. After the loss to Georgia Tech, which snapped the longest winning streak in school history, coach Geno Auriemma said he didn't think the team would be able to fix the issues they were having.
The second-half comeback in the victory over UCLA seemed to make things more positive. The upcoming game with Louisville is expected to be similar to Georgia Tech because of the strong defense of the Cards. The Huskies shot just 31 percent from the field.
The number went up to 41 percent against UCLA, with the three healthy guards for the Huskies, Christyn Williams, Evina Westbrook and datememe datememe, a combined 14-of-41 (34.1%) from the field.
The pressure is on the players with Nika Mhl and Azzi Fudd out with injuries. Fudd is expected to have a stress reaction in her foot soon. We've come to expect that the two strengths of the team are limiting turnovers and hitting outside shots.
One of the biggest positives out of the UCLA victory was the performance of forward Dorka Juhsz, the transfer from Ohio State who had her best game yet in a Huskies uniform. Her 16 points and 16 rebound were indicative of the ability of the two-time All-Big Ten first teamer.
It will make a big difference if she can keep producing, and give support to her teammates. The injured forward is still not back.
We'll see how healthy the Oregon team is by the middle of January, after it has gone through its own struggles with injuries. The Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas was the site of the 73-57 loss to the South Carolina. The depth of the South Carolina team is so good that they have continued to cruise at the top spot despite the absence of injured guard Destanni Henderson.
The Lady Vols are tied for the seventh spot with Connecticut in this week's AP poll, but they would need a bit of an accelerated healing period to be able to face Bueckers. The Feb. 6 game will be the last nonconference game for the University of Connecticut, so if it doesn't make a difference nationally by then, the NCAA tournament seeding won't be made up.
Nobody can pencil in Big East victories for the University of Connecticut. Since they left the Big East, the Huskies haven't lost to a conference opponent. Is that streak going to end during Bueckers' absence?
The Big East has four teams off to the best starts in the conference. They will face them all in a row, starting with a game against Marquette on Dec. 29 and ending with a game against Creighton on Jan. 9.
If Bueckers does return in eight weeks, she would be back for the two games against the other teams. She would return with seven games left on the regular-season schedule.
Bueckers' return coming in time for her to still be a factor this season will be a priority for the Huskies. For the next eight weeks, they have to establish who they are without her.
