- NCAA. Paige Bueckers' emotions run high as UConn zeroes in a March Madness milestone
- NCAA. Paige Bueckers will have to earn the WNBA's respect just as Caitlin Clark did amid schedule reveal
The NCAA Tournament field has been whittled from 68 teams down to 16 -- and developments during the second round of the women's tournament have made it clear that the Connecticut Huskies are an overwhelming favorite to reach another Final Four.
That's not just because Paige Bueckers scored a season-high 34 points as UConn defeated the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Monday; it's also because a devastating injury suffered by USC star JuJu Watkins has altered the landscape of the tournament, with the top-seeded Trojans set to soldier on without their best player while #2 seed UConn only appears to get stronger.
Analyst: Bueckers is playing the best basketball of her career
Former UConn star and current women's basketball analyst Rebecca Lobo said Bueckers' performance during the Huskies' 91-57 win over the Jackrabbits ranks among the best of her brilliant collegiate career -- and it should have the rest of the tournament field trembling.
"At the beginning of the season, Coach (Geno) Auriemma called Paige Bueckers the most unguardable player in America, and she looked like that yesterday," Lobo said Tuesday, on an episode of ESPN's NBA Today. "She came out looking to score. At times she has been criticized for being too unselfish. She wasn't that yesterday."
Bueckers is widely expected to be the top overall pick of the Dallas Wings in next month's WNBA Draft, and the star guard's chances of claiming an NCAA championship increased due to Watkins' season-ending knee injury. A possible UConn-USC showdown in the Elite Eight -- a game UConn won in last year's tournament -- does not look as appealing or as competitive with Watkins sidelined.
But the Huskies may be headed for Tampa and the Final Four anyway. They have won their first two tournament games by a combined 103 points and are favored to defeat the third-seeded Oklahoma Sooners in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.