The UConn women’s basketball team earned a No. 1 seed in the River Walk Region for the 2021 NCAA Tournament and will play No. 16 High Point in the first round on Sunday at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
The Huskies are set to travel to San Antonio on Tuesday morning despite head coach Geno Auriemma testing positive for COVID-19 on Sunday. The team has undergone daily testing since March 9 with no other positive COVID-19 results. Contract tracing determined that Auriemma did not have close contact with the team since Friday. Auriemma must isolate for 10 days and can rejoin the team on March 24.
Stanford is the No. 1 seed in the Alamo Region. NC State earned the No. 1 seed in the Mercado Region, while Texas A&M fell to No. 2. South Carolina is the No. 1 seed in the Hemisfair Region.
Should the Huskies advance, UConn could face Iowa and freshman sensation Caitlin Clark or Rhyne Howard and Kentucky in the Sweet 16. Tennessee or Baylor could stand between UConn and a 13th consecutive Final Four berth in the Elite 8.
UConn, which earned a No. 1 seed for the 20th time in program history, has a 24-1 record and is Big East regular-season and tournament champions entering the Big Dance. They are seeking to win the program’s 12th national title and first since 2016.
Outlook
First-round opponent: High Point
ADVERTISING
When: Sunday, 8 p.m. ET
Scouting report: High Point, champions of the Big South, went 22-6 this season and won each of its conference tournament games by 16 points or more.
High Point, the top offense in the Big South, likes to shoot the 3-ball, plain and simple. The Panthers took the second-most 3-pointers all season (796) and made the second-most (294) in the country. Their percentage (36.9%) is 16th best in the country, so they aren’t just chucking up shots inefficiently. The Huskies have the fifth-best 3-point defense in the country, though.
[Related] Social media reacts to Geno Auriemma testing positive for COVID-19 before NCAA Tournament »
Where UConn has a clear advantage on High Point is in size. The Panthers’ tallest player is 6-2 forward Danielle Deoul, though she has not played since Dec. 20. Their tallest regular player is 6-1 freshman guard Claire Wyatt.
High Point was fifth in defensive rebounding in the Big South and seventh in offense. With Olivia Nelson-Ododa (6-5) and Aaliyah Edwards (6-3), the Huskies should have supremacy in the paint. The Huskies have never played High Point under Auriemma, something he said is a challenge because there’s no history between the two.
Key players for High Point: Skyler Curran (6-0, G, 17.9 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game); Jenson Edwards (5-8, G, 14.7 points, 5.8 rebounds); Jordan Edward (5-7, G, 7.6 points, 5.0 assists).
Key wins for High Point: Campbell, Gardner-Webb.
Around the region: On the opposite end of the River Walk Region is second-seeded Baylor. The Bears (25-2) finished fifth in the final AP Top 25 poll of the regular season and is among the blue blood programs in women’s college basketball, having won three national titles under Kim Mulkey. If the Huskies were to advance to the Elite 8, they could potentially face Baylor or No. 3 Tennessee, who they beat earlier this season, 67-61.
[Related] Rizzotti out as George Washington women’s basketball coach »
Also in the region is No. 5 Iowa, led by star freshman guard Caitlin Clark, who leads the country with 26.2 points per game. Kentucky is led by Rhyne Howard, SEC player of the year and a top WNBA prospect.
UConn could face either No. 8 Syracuse or No. 9 South Dakota State in the round of 32. Auriemma said Monday that neither are easy outs.
“I wouldn’t want to play Syracuse or South Dakota State if we were undefeated, No. 1 in the country, and we were playing at our place in front of 20,000 people and they only got to bring in five players,” Auriemma said. “Those teams are hard to play against. That’s going to be an incredible matchup.”
Key questions for UConn
The COVID factor: The Huskies were thrown a curveball this week when they learned that Auriemma, their leader, tested positive for COVID-19 and won’t be able to join the team in Texas until March 24, meaning he won’t be able to coach the team until the Sweet 16 at earliest. The rest of coaches and players have tested negative for the virus in their daily testing since March 9 and will continue to undergo daily testing during their time in the NCAA Tournament “bubble.”
Associate head coach Chris Dailey will serve as interim head coach during Auriemma’s absence, and there’s no doubt the Huskies will be in great hands with her. Assuming everyone continues to test negative and is able to play without a hitch, this team will be asked to do its best in staying focused on the basketball at hand and not letting these COVID-19 issues be too disruptive.
[Related] UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma tests positive for COVID-19 »
“I don’t think it really changes,” junior Nelson-Ododa said. “Something that coach was talking about earlier is we don’t really rely on one person. I think that’s what makes our program special. Even if coach is out, or say if the roles were reversed and CD was out, we wouldn’t have to rely on one person.”
Youth movement: This UConn team is short on NCAA Tournament experience. Between the 12 players, they’ve played a collective 13 NCAA Tournament games. Can UConn’s freshmen play like sophomores (or older), and can the Huskies’ upperclassmen come through as the experienced vets that they aren’t quite yet?
Help beyond Paige Bueckers: The freshman has been sensational this season, but she can’t be expected to do it all alone. Who else will step up and help Bueckers on the offensive end? Christyn Williams is most primed for this and had an excellent Big East Tournament, but don’t discount the growth and consistency of Nelson-Ododa, Edwards, Evina Westbrook and Nika Muhl.
Elsewhere around the bracket
Big East foe DePaul missed the tournament for the first time since 2002. The Blue Demons finished 14-8 and lost to Villanova in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. ... The only other Big East team in the tournament is Marquette, a 10-seed in the River Walk Region. Marquette lost to UConn in the Big East Tournament. ... If UConn were to advance to the Final Four, it could face top NC State, the ACC Tournament champs. ... Arkansas, the only team to beat UConn this season, is a No. 4 seed in the Alamo Region.
