WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY

VIRGINIA at No. 4 UCONN When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.

Where: XL Center, Hartford

Records: Virginia, 2-2; UConn, 3-0

TV: CBS Sports Network

Radio: UConn/IMG Sports Network, 97.9 FM-ESPN Hartford, WAVZ-New Haven (1300 AM), WICC-Bridgeport (600 AM), WINE-Danbury (940 AM), WGCH-Greenwich (1490 AM)

KEEP AN EYE ON

The same, but different: Don’t expect Geno Auriemma to feel any nostalgia when Virginia visits Tuesday. So much has changed in the 35 seasons since he left his assistant job at Virginia and began coaching at UConn.

“This is not the same Virginia that I left, not even close,” Auriemma said following Sunday’s win at Temple. “When I was at UVA, it was a much different place. The people, the circumstances, Virginia has been through a lot. The team we’re playing Tuesday night isn’t the same Virginia team, the same Virginia basketball program, and that’s not to say it’s better or worse or anything. It’s just a different program.”

Auriemma was an assistant at Virginia under Debbie Ryan from 1981-85. Ryan took Virginia to three Final Fours and seven Elite Eights, but the Cavaliers have made only one tournament appearance (2018) since she stepped down in 2011. Hall of Famer Tina Thompson is currently in her second season at the helm.

“It doesn’t have the same feeling as it would when we played them in the NCAA tournament (in 1995) when Debbie was there,” Auriemma said. “They had the same athletic director and the same people coming up to me.”

UConn has won four of the six meetings with Virginia, most recently a 75-45 victory in 2007 in Hartford. The Huskies will also visit the Cavaliers next season for Megan Walker’s homecoming.

Instant energy: Freshman Aubrey Griffin was a spark plug off the bench against Temple, recording nine points and eight rebounds in 17 minutes.

“She’s extremely athletic,” center Olivia Nelson-Ododa said. “She’s quick, and that’s a really big thing. She has a lot of energy coming into the game, and she’s able to get a stop when you need it, drive it to the basket whenever you need it, and just make the extra plays.”

The Huskies have been particularly impressed with Griffin’s ability to guard multiple positions. The 6-foot-1 guard leads the team with eight steals.

“We make sure she’s picking up the person who’s bringing up the ball, so she can harass them, really,” point guard

Crystal Dangerfield said. “She can guard a lot of positions. She can go down low and get a steal, get a rebound for us, and she does that.”

Got your back: Anna Makurat has missed 12 of her first 13 shots, including all 10 3-point attempts, but the Huskies remain confident in the freshman.

“She knows we want her to keep shooting it,” Dangerfield said. “Coach is telling her to keep shooting it, knock one in. We have her back.”