What was supposed to be a celebratory evening for the No. 9 UConn women's basketball team concluded in a whimper Monday, as the Huskies eked out a 60-51 Senior Night win over Xavier in Storrs, Connecticut, that clinched the Big East regular-season title but left coach Geno Auriemma pessimistic.
"It's time we stopped blaming the injuries, stop blaming fatigue, stop blaming tired," Auriemma said after his Huskies edged a Xavier team that finished winless in the Big East. "We are where we are."
When asked if his team could improve enough to extend the program's streak of 14 consecutive Final Four appearances, the Hall of Fame coach responded: "The way we are right now, this team, as it is right now, don't add anybody ... that ain't happening, [though] they could fool me."
After losing 2020-21 national player of the year Paige Bueckers in the preseason to an ACL tear, the Huskies have battled injuries and an over-reliance on starters most of the season. No absence has been felt more than that of former No. 1 overall recruit Azzi Fudd, who has appeared in just two games since injuring her knee Dec. 4 against Notre Dame.
Until recently, UConn had seemingly overcome that adversity, in Auriemma's eyes, behind toughness and maturity, compiling impressive nonconference wins over Texas, NC State, Duke, Iowa, Florida State and Tennessee. They were even within reach of upsetting undefeated, defending national champion South Carolina just three weeks ago, immediately after which Auriemma said he felt better about his team than he did entering the game.
But the Huskies have limped to the regular-season finish line, as their last 10 games have all been decided by 10 or fewer points. Since the matchup against the Gamecocks, they've lost consecutive games (to unranked Marquette and St. John's) for the first time since March 1993.
Auriemma admitted that his current lineup likely wasn't "prepared to play this many minutes under this kind of pressure and have to perform every day" with two transcendent players in Bueckers and Fudd unexpectedly sidelined. Even still, the coach said inconsistency is "probably the biggest disappointment," and in his mind the issue has more to do with players not being accountable.
"We don't think very well. We don't speak on defense, we don't communicate," Auriemma said. "That's got nothing to do with tired or being injured. That has to do with a lot of selfishness and a lot of you don't want to change ... I'm talking about they pick and choose when they want to listen to how they're being coached, and I define that as being selfish, that you only care about what you want to do and not what you're expected to do."
Auriemma also took responsibility, saying: "We look like a poorly coached team, and that's me and my staff."
Most of UConn's recent problems have come on the offensive end. In their last 10 games, the Huskies have cracked 70 points just twice, oftentimes committing senseless turnovers, looking out of sync or just failing to hit makeable shots.
"Somewhere along the line, maybe after the South Carolina game, we lost our way," Auriemma said. "Early on ... everybody was touching the ball. We were moving. We were just flowing off each other. We were paying attention to each other. We were communicating, we were in sync. That takes a lot of work, to stay like that, because it can go away like that. You have to work to get it, and then when you stop working at it to keep it, it's gone. And now you got to work twice as hard to get it back."
The Huskies could receive some reinforcements by their next game.
Graduate student Dorka Juhász, who sat Monday after spraining her ankle Saturday against DePaul, is expected to play in the Big East tournament later this week, according to Auriemma. Fudd has been warming up prior to games, although the team hasn't said when she could return.
"It's not going to be an easy transition if it does happen at all," Auriemma said of Fudd, "but at the same time, if it does happen, it's better than if it doesn't happen."
Auriemma said it's not too late for UConn to get back on track, but it would take a collective buy-in in the locker room. The first step in doing so would be to have a strong performance in the Big East tournament, where the Huskies are the No. 1 overall seed and are set to face the Butler-Georgetown winner in Saturday's quarterfinals.
Playing as many as three games in three days could be a challenging task given how sluggish Auriemma's squad has looked recently.
"If we don't get some things fixed," Auriemma said, "I don't think we'll be playing three games."