The UConn Women dominated Notre Dame on Sunday, but they paid a severe price. With under a minute to go and the game in hand, their best player Paige Bueckers, fell awkwardly, fracturing her tibial plateau in her knee. This injury has a six to eight-week timeline; thankfully, there was no ligament damage in the knee. Bueckers is averaging 21.2 points per game this season and is the engine that drives UConn. This piece will examine the extensive impact of Paige Bueckers’s injury on Uconn and how they will replace her production.
Paige Bueckers’s Injury Update and Impact
Impact on UConn as a team
Geno Auriemma, the UConn head coach, even stated in a recent postgame interview that “I don’t like our team without Paige on the court. If she misses time, I am going to have to like it.” His statement worries me because this injury has a six to eight-week timetable. Rushing her back from this injury will jeopardize her for the stretch run. The schedule ahead for the Huskies is intense; they have Georgia Tech on Thursday, then UCLA, and Louisville in a couple of weeks. These three games are some of the most challenging when Paige will miss. Tech is an excellent defensive team that just beat 20th ranked Georgia. Louisville is off to a fantastic start this season with a 7-1 record and a dominating win over Michigan. They have an excellent post player, Emily Engstler, who will be challenging for UConn to handle. It’s hard for me to think that UConn can beat Louisville without Bueckers. Later in the season, they will play Oregon and South Carolina again. Without Bueckers, UConn faces immense challenges in those games.
How to Replace Bueckers
To replace Paige’s production, everyone on the team must step up. Nika Mühl will probably move into the starting lineup as the new point guard. She has underperformed this season, averaging two points per game; they need much more from her if they want to compete with Louisville. In addition, Evina Westbrook; is underperforming this season, averaging 9.5 points per game. She must increase her scoring by at least five to seven points for UConn to succeed without Bueckers. Star freshman Azzi Fudd is injured; UConn needs her back and excellent form. She carried UConn against USF with 18 points and six threes. The emergence of Caroline Ducharme is another crucial factor to UConn’s success; she had 14 points in the fourth quarter against Notre Dame. For Connecticut to succeed well, Paige is out; they will need brilliant performances from all four of these players and help from the rest.
Impact on UConn’s tournament Seeding
Considering the six to eight-week timeline of Paige’s injury and UConn’s demanding schedule, there will be a negative impact on their seeding. The Huskies will lose to Louisville and could drop another game or two in the time that Paige is sidelined. However, Geno is an excellent coach, and I am confident that he will ensure they do not crumble amid this adversity. Connecticut will start Big East later this month with games against Marquette and DePaul. These two games will be more challenging without Paige. If they lost to one of those teams, their seeding would fall. Because of their demanding schedule, I do not think a one seed is possible with their injuries. A loss to DePaul or Marquette may send them tumbling down to the three or four lines unless UConn can pick up some big wins late in the season.
Seeding is essential in the tournament because it helps determine the matchups that teams will face to achieve their goals. A three seed is forced to play a 14, then a 6 or 11, and that second game is always challenging. Tennessee was upset as a three-seed last year to 6 seed Michigan. Even 11 seeds have caused significant issues with BYU and Buffalo in the past few years. Therefore I am very concerned that their streak of 13 consecutive final fours is in substantial jeopardy.
Conclusion
I wish Paige a speedy recovery from her injuries, but UConn needs her to be fully healthy when she returns. Hopefully, Geno does not push her back too soon. It may depend on how UConn performs in their next few tests without her.
I am looking forward to Thursday’s game to see what the team looks like and who steps up to replace her leadership and scoring abilities. UConn’s play on the court will determine the extensive impact of Paige Bueckers’s injury.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
