The UConn Huskies, led by the legendary Geno Auriemma, are making a strong case as one of the top contenders for the NCAA championship like they always do. Sitting at 22-3 overall and an unbeaten 13-0 Big East record, they’re looking to close out the regular season on a high note with just five games left. With superstar Paige Bueckers already confirming that this will be her final college season, UConn fans are hoping she can cap off her injury-riddled college career which saw many highs and lows with a championship that hasn’t been in Storrs since 2016. But when you take a closer look at UConn’s losses this season, the dream of a championship starts to feel a little less certain.

The Huskies have suffered three losses this season and there’s a worrying trend, every single one came against ranked opponents. They fell to No. 2 Notre Dame, were overpowered by No. 6 USC, and most recently got stunned by No. 15 Tennessee. Elle Duncan pointed out the growing concerns for UConn in her show The Elle Duncan Show and shed some light on it.

Duncan had the chance to ask Geno Auriemma about UConn’s three losses to ranked teams and shared his response in her podcast, saying “The issue for us is in those three games where we were really tested USC, Notre Dame Tennessee we haven’t had each one of them ( Sarah Strong, Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd) playing their best at the same time and he was like we were always a big three that really needed to have all of his parts playing at their ceiling in order for us to reach it (NCAA championship game) “

The big 3 of the Huskies have been really great this season. Paige being Paige has averaged 18.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game. While her partner in backcourt Azzi Fudd is averaging 11.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game this season. However, the one making real waves this season is the freshman forward from North Carolina, Sarah Strong. Standing at 6′ 2″, Strong is averaging 16.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game and is a prime contender to win the Freshman of the Year award.

While these three have had phenomenal seasons of their own, they haven’t been able to play well together in the games they have lost this season. Against Notre Dame, which they lost 68-79, both Strong and Bueckers had a horrible night shooting from the three-point line as they went 2-7 and 0-4 from beyond the arc respectively. A close-fought 70-72 loss against the USC Trojans saw Paige have a disastrous shooting game where she went 9-22. Against Tennessee too Paige didn’t have the best of games in terms of shooting as she went 5-16 from the field.

Fudd has been battling her own set of injury issues and hasn’t played most of the games this season. That said, the quality is there for the Huskies to go and win this season but it depends on their big 3 to turn up during the crunch moments of the game. Aliyah Edwards’ absence is certainly felt, but with a fully fit Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd alongside Sarah Strong, Auriemma will be hoping they can lead UConn back to glory and lift the team to championship heights once again.

The Huskies are facing another challenge this season, and it’s coming from an unexpected source, their head coach. Let’s take a closer look at the issue surrounding Geno Auriemma’s approach.

Geno Auriemma refuses to give minutes to the youngsters

After the tough defeat to Tennessee, the Huskies made a resounding comeback by winning against Providence 77-40. But it was the minutes he gave to some of the bench players like Allie Ziebell and Qadence Samuel that raised a few eyebrows among fans and analysts.

On the ‘Locked On UConn’ podcast, Mark Zanetto and Bella Tomaino raised concerns about Geno Auriemma’s rotation, pointing out that in a game like the one against Providence, a match the Huskies were expected to win easily, players like Allie Ziebell (11 minutes) and Qadence Samuels (6 minutes) should’ve seen more playing time.

Well, Auriemma still has a chance to rectify that if he wishes to against their next opponent St. John’s. With ESPN giving a 99% chance of winning, it could present another opportunity for Auriemma to give more minutes to his bench and test out their quality. To be fair to Auriemma, players like KK Arnold have definitely seen a rise in playing time. It remains to be seen if the coach wishes to do the same with Aiebell and Samuel next game.

With a Big 3 capable of greatness, UConn’s path to the championship is still within reach. But, only if Paige, Fudd, and Strong can all play well together when it counts. As the season reaches the business end, a lot will depend on Geno’s ability to use his bench in crunch situations. Only time will tell. Will the big 3 perform in tough situations? Or will the bench players play their role to perfection?