Paige Bueckers has been a beast in the postseason: In her last five games, she has scored 27 points or more, with three triple-doubles. Bueckers will look to continue his play against the Duke Blue Devils, who upset Ohio State last week to advance to the Sweet 16. Duke is powered by Reigan Richardson, a 2021 McDonald’s All-American who earned second-team honors All-ACC this season. .
The Key to Sabreena Merchant’s Game
Does Duke have an answer for Paige Bueckers?
The UConn star scored 60 points and added 21 rebounds and 13 assists in the first two games. Over her last five competitions, the 2021 National Player of the Year has not dropped below 27 points. The Blue Devils must find a way to slow down the Bueckers to cause an upset. It starts with freshmen Jadyn Donovan and Delaney Thomas, but will include double liberals Ashlon Jackson and Reigan Richardson. Duke will also need to limit its turnovers to keep Bueckers out of transition. Live ball giveaways against Ohio State were the Blue Devils’ early undoing; they will have a harder time making up this deficit against the Huskies.
From our Sweet 16 preview:
Perhaps UConn’s Sweet 16 matchup against Duke will simply come down to the production of Huskies star Paige Bueckers. Bueckers averaged 30 points, 10.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in the Huskies’ first two NCAA Tournament games in March, leading coach Geno Auriemma to declare she was “the best player of the country’s playoffs. A bigger key, however, could be the performance of the players around Bueckers. In UConn’s 72-64 second-round win over Syracuse, only four players scored (just six played), with senior Nika Mühl fouling out after a scoreless 34-minute performance. Despite its depth issues, UConn is still a top-10 offensive and defensive player, and its talent often overwhelms opponents.
Duke, meanwhile, pulled off its upset of second-seeded Ohio State, thanks in large part to the offensive production of guard Reigan Richardson. She scored 28 points, confirming the 25 points she had obtained in the first round. Richardson could explode again against the Huskies, but she also had only scored 15 points combined in Duke’s previous three games. On defense, the Blue Devils are sixth nationally in blocks per game, and they feature a physical defense ranked among the top 25 in the country. This game will likely be weak, but the question is whether Duke’s offense can match UConn’s.
—Ben Pickman
How to watch UConn vs. Duke
What: Portland Region 3, Sweet 16
Time of denunciation: 8 p.m. ET Saturday
TV: ESPN
Location: Portland, ore.
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No. 3 UConn vs. No. 7 Duke Odds
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Expert selection and projections
Ben’s choice: UConn wins
Austin Mock Screening: Our “numbers guy,” Austin Mock, uses advanced statistical models and simulations to project each team’s chances of advancing to each round of the tournament. Based on 1 million simulations of the 2024 Women’s NCAA Tournament, here is our projected score:
Players to watch
UConn
- Paige Bueckers, junior guard, Big East Player of the Year, first team All-Big East
- Ashlynn Shade, freshman guard, Big East freshman
- Aaliyah Edwards, senior forward, first team All-Big East
- Nika Mühl, senior guard, second team All-Big East
Duke
- Reigan Richardson, junior guard, second team All-ACC
- Oluchi Okananwa, freshman guard, ACC All-Freshman Team
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(Top photo: Mr. Anthony Nesmith / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images; Mr. Anthony Nesmith / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)