Huskies ready to redeem Sweet 16 upset
PORTLAND — Uconn women’s basketball senior Nika Muhl remembers last season’s 73-61 loss to Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 as the worst loss of her career.
The junior point guard played all 40 minutes against the Buckeyes but logged just three points, two rebounds and five assists while giving up seven turnovers and going 0-for-2 from 3-point range. When the final buzzer sounded, snapping Uconn’s streak of 14 consecutive Final Four appearances, Muhl blamed herself for the stunning upset.
“I remember feeling an extreme level of guilt, because I felt like I was the one that was supposed to run that team and have things under control and be able to calm my team down in those hectic moments,” Muhl said. “I failed at doing so because I was so much in my own head myself. It was really tough for me after the game … because I felt like I didn’t give my all.”
It was a long and difficult process to convert that agonizing defeat into motivation on the court after the season’s abrupt ending. Muhl leaned heavily on her support system in Storrs, especially coach Geno Auriemma and assistant Morgan Valley.
“I watched a lot of film with them. We had a lot of conversations about the mental aspect of it and how to get back form something like that,” she said. “It was a lot for me, and they stepped up to really help me out of that hole and show me how to fix this … I didn’t need anybody to praise me or tell me how good I am. I needed to hear just ‘We need you in the next game,’ or ‘We need your tomorrow in practice.’ That’s it … That’s been the biggest wakeup call for me.”
In 2023-24, the Huskies are even bigger underdogs to reach the Final Four than they were last season, but Auriemma feels significantly better about his squad’s chances than he did entering the Sweet 16 a year ago. Having superstar Paige Bueckers back on the court is perhaps the biggest difference for this year’s team, but it