Geno Auriemma on Paige Bueckers: 'We have the best player in America'

Paige Bueckers put UConn on her back in a second round NCAA Tournament game against Syracuse on Monday. The Huskies star was unstoppable in the 72-64 victory, tying her season high with 32 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists to send them to their 30th straight Sweet Sixteen appearance.

After the game, UConn coach Geno Auriemma made a bold claim by calling Buckers “the best player in America.” Of course, she is one of women’s college basketball’s biggest stars. However, in a season in which Iowa’s Caitlin Clark set the NCAA scoring record and given what Angel Reese has done at LSU the past two year, those two fan bases are bound to disagree.

“We have the best player in America,” Auriemma said. “I’m just saying that because the numbers, in this world of analytics, say that she is. The whole stat sheet said that she is. Everybody that watched knows it.”

"We have the best player in America. Just saying that because the numbers, in this world of analytics, say that she is. And the stat sheet says that she is. And everybody that watched knows it"

– Geno Auriemma on Paige Bueckers pic.twitter.com/xEoiXuEBQk

— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) March 26, 2024

Bueckers recorded her fifth straight game of 25 or more points and was hot from the start. She scored 20 of her 32 in the first half as UConn entered halftime leading 39-28.

Bueckers’ impact wasn’t just felt with her scoring, however. When Syracuse made it a one-possession game with 29 seconds to go, it was her who assisted KK Arnold on the 3-point basket to make it 70-64 and put the game on ice. Bueckers scored or assisted on 47 of the Huskies 72 points.

Paige Bueckers is in her fourth year at UConn but missed the entire 2022-23 season after suffering an ACL injury. She returned this year to put up a career-high 21.5 points per game while shooting 53.9% from the floor and 42.1% from 3-point range.

Those numbers are not nearly as staggering as what Clark has done, however, as she leads the country in both points (31.8) and assists (8.9) per game. Couple that with the records that she has broken this season, and there’s really no comparison for the impact she has had on the game.

Similarly, Reese is coming off of a national championship with LSU and has the Tigers back in the Sweet Sixteen. She recently recorded her eight straight double-double in an NCAA Tournament game dating back to last season, a streak that ranks third all-time.

Regardless of where she lands among the top women’s college basketball players though, Bueckers has proven herself a star with the ability to lead the Huskies on a deep run through the tournament. They’ll next face No. 7 seed Duke on Saturday.