Making their own 30 for 30

Uconn’s feat of consecutive Sweet 16 appearances is something to applaud

PORTLAND, Ore. — For much of NCAA Tournament history, the month of March has belonged to Uconn women’s basketball. The Huskies aren’t the No. 1 overall seed or a Final Four favorite in 2024 as they’ve been so often before, but 30 consecutive Sweet 16 appearances remains a remarkable streak.

“There’s something to be said for consistency. There’s been the same coaches with very little change over all that time,” coach Geno Auriemma said after Uconn advanced with a win over Syracuse in the Round of 32. “This is who we are. This is our culture. This is what we do … The culture of your program and what it stands for can get you to the regionals just about every year if you’re at that level … Once you get there, that doesn’t mean diddly. Now, you better have that guy that gets you from there to the next thing.”

Uconn, the 3-seed in the Portland 3 bracket, faces 7-seed Duke at the Moda Center on Saturday (8 p.m., ESPN) looking to return to form after last season ended in heartbreak. The Huskies were upset in the 2023 Sweet 16 by 3-seed Ohio State, ending 14 consecutive seasons of Final Four appearances.

With star guard Paige Bueckers playing like the best version of herself, Auriemma believes Uconn’s potential goes as far as the senior can carry them. She averaged 30 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists shooting nearly 57% from the field across the first two games of the tournament, also recording the first postseason double-doubles of her career. After spending all of last season sidelined by an ACL tear, Bueckers is relishing every second of her March Madness experience.

“These high-stakes games, these games that mean everything, I missed it so much. I just told myself before the Big East Tournament and before (the NCAA) tournament to embrace it and have fun,” Bueckers said. “I prayed so hard a year ago today to be in my shoes where I’m at right now, so just (trying)

Hurley explained his opinion on the dais inside Boston’s TD Garden, where the Huskies will play in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, beginning with a rematch of last year’s title game against San Diego State in the Sweet 16.

“I’m 100% focused on this year, but I’m doing San Diego State a disservice if I don’t have an eye on the future too, so I have to multi-task. I have to be able to do a lot of things,” said San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher. “The one-time transfer I’m good with, but once we got rid if you had to sit if you transferred twice, I think that’s not a good thing because the mission has to be to graduate from college… To have all this free agency in basketball, we lose sight of the most important mission we have, which is to graduate student-athletes.”

Hurley, with a rather ironic analogy, echoed the same sentiment.

“You can’t open up that window until the season is over. I don’t think you should play in five schools in four years or four schools in four years. I don’t think that’s healthy for the individual for the long-term 50, 60-year life after their playing career is over because there’s no connection with our university, a coaching staff, a network of alumni that can help create opportunities once basketball is over. I just think whether it’s a one-time – I don’t know. I don’t like the window being open right now,” he said.

“I just don’t think it’s healthy for somebody to be able to change schools like underwear.”

Spencer is the only Uconn transfer over the last two seasons who came in after already changing schools once. His situation was a bit different. A zerostar recruit in high school who only had one offer, Spencer started his career at Loyola Maryland, a Patriot League program that’s made two NCAA Tournament appearances in its existence. He earned the chance to play at Rutgers and entered the portal again as a graduate student looking to prove himself as a potential professional.

Hurley admits the program was “lucky” to get Spencer, considering the fact that it waited to recruit out of the portal until after the confetti fell at the Final Four. Now Spencer and Newton, both graduates who played a ton of basketball before getting to Storrs, have formed what Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright considers “the best backcourt in the country.”

“This team fits. I just think the pieces fit so well,” Hurley said. “I think a lot of it’s been trial and error. Those couple of years when we weren’t successful in the tournament, just the personalities, the skill set. Obviously adapting to the analytics and the modern game from an offensive standpoint, the growth there as a coach and in terms of roster construction… We finally have kind of figured out the formula.”