For UConn, a Rougher Path Than Usual Still Leads to the Final Four

By many measures, that the Huskies made it to Bridgeport at all, much less its regional final, was a testament to their depth and talent. To Auriemma, UConn’s coach since 1985, it was a fundamental notion.

“We’re in this game a lot because we have really good players that come to UConn and they understand that if you come to Connecticut, the expectations are incredibly high, the bar is set very, very high,” Auriemma said on Sunday. He added: “I’d like to say you have a choice, but I don’t think you have a choice if you come and play there. You’d better get yourself into this game.”

Easier said than done.

UConn’s starting lineup was cyclical this season, a consequence of two-thirds of the roster missing at least two games with injuries or illnesses. The Huskies have employed 11 different setups this season, and their longest streak with a consistent lineup was six games.

Bueckers, a sophomore guard who earned National Player of the Year honors last season, was absent for nearly three months and required surgery to repair a December knee injury. Fudd, a freshman who has been a star for UConn behind the 3-point arc, missed 11 games because of a foot injury. Aubrey Griffin, a junior who was a reliable reservist in her first two seasons but eventually had back surgery, did not play at all. And so on.

The season’s first loss came in November, a pummeling in the Bahamas by South Carolina, the national tournament’s top overall seed. A trip to Atlanta a few weeks later went awry when the Huskies lost by 13 points to an unranked Georgia Tech, which went on to lose in the first round of the N.C.A.A. tournament. A game against Louisville, one of the sport’s best teams and a No. 1 seed, turned into a loss. Coronavirus issues at UConn led to the cancellations of Big East matchups against Georgetown and Villanova. A road trip to Oregon, also unranked, yielded another 13-point defeat, and in February, a loss to Villanova ended UConn’s 169-game winning streak against conference opponents in the regular season and league tournaments.

The Huskies’ fortunes started to turn after that loss. A sharper defense began to keep opponents at bay, and offensive production against the Huskies plunged. Villanova, for instance, managed just 40 points against UConn in the conference tournament championship game on March 7, less than a month after scoring 72 against the Huskies.