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By Megan Armstrong
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Paige Bueckers is at the Team USA women's national team training camp in Phoenix, Arizona, but her heart is still in Storrs, Connecticut.
The undefeated No. 1 UConn women's basketball team will face the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks in the Final Four of the women's NCAA Tournament on Friday.
The No. 2 UConn men's basketball team upset Duke, the men's NCAA Tournament No. 1 overall seed, in the most unbelievable way imaginable to advance to the Final Four. The Huskies will face No. 3 Illinois on Saturday.
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"It's really fun," Bueckers told reporters after Wednesday's practice. "I mean, it's just, like, they're backing up the statement that we're the basketball capital of the world in Storrs, Connecticut. We didn't get to have a duo year. We were close, but we would love to do that this year."
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When asked specifically about the women's 38-0 season, Bueckers said, "I feel like they've had some close games, and the way that they've responded to the adversity and the closer first halves. For me, it's always like, I'm scared [for] other teams coming out for the third quarterback because I know what Coach [Geno Auriemma] is saying at halftime. So, the response and resilience and the togetherness, I think, has stood out for sure."
Last year, Bueckers led UConn to its first national title since Auriemma's Huskies pulled off a 4-peat from 2013 to 2016.
The Huskies routed South Carolina, 82-59, to deny South Carolina back-to-back championships. Dawn Staley's Gamecocks now have a shot at revenge and can spoil UConn's undefeated season and chance at back-to-back titles in the Final Four.
Head coach Dan Hurley and the UConn men won back-to-back national titles in 2023 and 2024.
This year marks the 15th time the same university's men's and women's basketball teams have reached the Final Four in the same year. UConn did it in 2004, 2009, 2011, 2014, and 2024 (via USA Today). The Huskies became the first school to win the men's and women's national titles in 2004 and did it again in 2014.
Bueckers was selected No. 1 overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft by the Dallas Wings and won Rookie of the Year. She also earned All-WNBA and All-Rookie honors and played in her first WNBA All-Star Game.
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