Geno Auriemma identifies what makes this UConn team different entering Final Four

Head coach Geno Auriemma has become a legend for his postseason success with the UConn Huskies. That includes going to the Final Four 24 times and winning 11 national championships. Still, this year’s team feels different to him.

For Auriemma, this team has been through more adversity than other teams he’s had during his time at UConn. That’s often come in the form of injuries. It’s that adversity that makes this team so much more prepared for the Final Four.

“If you look at our roster,” Geno Auriemma said. “Paige [Bueckers] has missed an entire season and missed an opportunity to go to the Final Four, Azzi’s [Fudd] missed an entire season and then some and missed an opportunity to go, Caroline Ducharme, who is on our team has missed opportunities, Aubrey [Griffin] with her injuries has missed opportunities. I really believe that, as Paige said, having gone through all those things, and our team having to overcome all those issues, as individuals they had to overcome them, and then as a team, how do we get there with only five or six players, how do we get there when everybody’s got to play 40 minutes, how do we get there in spite of everything. It has toughened us up a little bit and it has made us a little stronger individually and collectively, believe in each other a little bit more, maybe.”

The injury to Paige Bueckers is the best known that anyone on UConn has dealt with. She missed an entire season with a torn ACL, and today is seen as the most important player on the team. In this NCAA Tournament run alone, Bueckers has averaged 29 points per game. She’s not alone, though, Azzi Fudd has also dealt with knee injuries, Caroline Ducharme has missed time with a head injury, and Aubrey Griffin lost the end of her 2023-24 season due to injury.

Through the team’s experience, and that ability to overcome adversity, Auriemma has seen the Huskies build their confidence. That’s made them a threat this March and will continue to do so in the Final Four.

“I think the confidence that we have in Paige and Sarah [Strong] specifically makes everybody on our team feel really, really, really assured that I just have to — I just have to do my part and it will be good enough. But every journey’s different,” Auriemma said. “Every team that goes to the Final Four at UConn is different, every kid’s opportunity is different. They get to write their own unique story. At some point, I’m just along for the ride because it’s really, really on their shoulders that all this happens.”

UConn’s NCAA Tournament run began by beating Arkansas State in the opening round. Since then, UConn added wins over South Dakota State, Oklahoma, and USC to make it to the Final Four. There, the Huskies will take on UCLA with a chance to play for a national championship on the line.