The NCAA Women’sMarch Madness tournament has advanced to the Sweet 16, with the Elite Eight set to begin tomorrow, but this year’s competition has taken on a somber tone. As you may have heard by now, USC’s JuJu Watkins, one of the brightest stars of the season and National Player of the Year favorite, has suffered a disheartening injury, putting a damper on what promised to be an exciting matchup with UConn’s Paige Bueckers. Fans had been eagerly anticipating a Bueckers-Watkins showdown, pitting two of the most electrifying players in women’s college basketball against each other. Last year’s Elite Eight matchup between USC and UConn drew 6.7 million viewers on ESPN, even though UConn was dealing with injuries and Watkins was a relatively unheralded freshman at the time. Now, as No. 2 UConn prepares to take on No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 1 USC takes on No. 5 Kansas State, the tournament feels a little emptier without this anticipated matchup.
Geno Auriemma’s Big Call: Choosing Bueckers Over Clark
Geno Auriemma, the mastermind behind UConn’s women’s basketball dynasty since 1985, faced a crossroads years ago that shaped the paths of two phenomenal talents: Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark. Auriemma, a coaching icon with a knack for spotting greatness, had his eye on Bueckers early, securing her commitment before she’d even played a college game. At the time, Bueckers was the golden child – some even called her the precursor to Clark – dazzling with her skills until injuries marred her sophomore season. Meanwhile, Caitlin Clark, who idolized the Huskies, dreamed of wearing their uniform.
But Auriemma made a decision: He couldn’t bring Clark on board after promising Bueckers the keys to his backcourt. “I gave my word to Paige early on,” Auriemma told reporters. “It wouldn’t have made sense to tell her, ‘Hey, we’re going to pair you with Caitlin Clark.’ That’s not how I operate.” Rejected by her dream school, Clark took her talents to Iowa, where she carved out a legacy as a record-breaking superstar and, later, the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year. Auriemma insists the decision worked out for everyone – Buckers claimed National Player of the Year honors in 2021, while Texas Longhorns have a problem if what they say about Arch Manning is true, proving both thrived on their separate stages.
The Clark Standard: A Tough Act to Follow
It’s exhausting to measure every rising star against Caitlin Clark, but her collegiate career set a bar that’s hard to ignore. At Iowa, Clark torched the record books, averaging 28.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game and scoring an NCAA-best 3,951 career points. She led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back national championship games, only to fall agonizingly short – first to LSU in 2023, then to South Carolina in 2024. Selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Clark is now lighting up the pros, leaving behind a towering legacy.
Bueckers, projected as the top pick in 2025, has crossed paths with Clark twice in March Madness: a Sweet 16 loss in 2021 (92-72, UConn) and a heartbreaking Final Four loss in 2024 (71-69, Iowa). Injuries have dogged Buecker’s journey-a knee setback as a sophomore, a torn ACL that wiped out her junior year-but she roared back last season, earning unanimous All-American nods and leading UConn to the Final Four. With Clark gone to the WNBA, Bueckers has one last shot at the prize Clark never grabbed: a national title. The comparisons may wear thin, but they underscore the brilliance of both players-and the divergent paths Auriemma’s decision created.
Auriemma’s decision to stick with Bueckers over Clark denied us a dream backcourt that could have rewritten women’s basketball history. We don’t really know what could have been, but history wouldn’t have been the same, I think the way it was played is great. To see Caitlin do what she did was amazing, and also Paige, who has one last ride with UConn, who are the favorites to win the national championship, their first since 2016.
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