The Villanova game had UConn fans holding their breath when Paige Bueckers went down clutching her left knee—the same knee that sidelined her for over a year after ACL surgery in 2022. But the basketball gods cut everyone some slack this time. It was just a minor knee sprain, and now she’s back on the floor. However, what was supposed to be “Paige Buckets” comeback show against St. John’s turned into something entirely different.

Her return was exciting, for sure. But the real buzz was all about her free throws. We know for a fact that one of the critiques floating around since always is her low free-throw rate—attempting fewer than four per game in nearly 70% of matchups this season till just last month. 

But against St. John’s, things changed. She took not one, not two but four free throws, just in the first quarter. And not to forget, she managed to sink every single one of those. It’s worth noting that her free throw percentage has been stellar (hovering around 81%), but getting those attempts has been rare. 

The fifth-year senior has only managed to hit four or more free throws in just five games this season- six now. She went 3-of-4 against Notre Dame, 3-of-4 against Louisville, 5-of-6 against Ole Miss, 2-of-4 against USC, and 6-of-6 against Providence. So, when she does get to the line, she’s usually perfect.

So, you can imagine the reaction when it happened in this game, especially with the game just getting started. Social media was buzzing with reactions.

Paige Bueckers’ free throw frenzy, Internet reacts

One of the fans wrote, “PAIGE BUECKERS FTS?!? YALL AHHHH.” So excited because they know it’s gonna work magically in their favour and they are more like freebies. After all, her impressive free throw percentage guarantees that. 

A second said, “rare footage: paige bueckers at the FT line.” With 2.8 attempts per game this season, this indeed was rare footage and enough to hype up all to see her make the most of it. Another chimed in saying, “paige got 2 foul calls IN THE FIRST QUARTER life is so beautiful rn???”

We have often seen Bueckers scuffling with referees over foul calls. Arms raised, expressions of disbelief, and all those antics. Even Coach Geno has often talked about the guard’s discontent with getting foul calls. As he said, “Paige is the biggest whiner in America because she feels she doesn’t get the calls that she deserves.”

Another added to the string, “PAIGE AT THE FREE THROW LINE AGAIN !??!??” In a single game, 4 times back-to-back was a rare sight for fans and they almost couldn’t believe it. And we can totally understand why! 

Previous, the Huskies head coach has mentioned that these days officials have been hesitant to blow the whistle, almost waiting to see if the shot drops before calling a foul. Hence, Bueckers and even UConn as a whole haven’t been getting to the stripe much. As one fan put it, “I have never said this before but… Paige Bueckers is going to the foul line!!!”  It’s not literal ‘never,’ though but moments like these kinda feel like they take forever to come around for her fans. 

We know, as the potential first pick in the draft, Paige is already under constant scrutiny, and anything and everything about her is bound to thrill social media. But we’re sure this must have been a memorable one for the baller herself, especially in her first game back.