The Arizona Wildcats have a tall task ahead of themselves come Friday night.
UConn is not just one of the preeminent teams in women’s college basketball, they are a program matched rarely in the annals of sports.
Put it this way: Head coach Geno Auriemma was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame 15 years ago. And since then, he’s led the Huskies to 13 more Final Four appearances (in a row, by the way), with six national titles.
Arizona’s appearance in the Final Four on Friday will be its first.
But while this may feel like a Herculean task, we’ve got some solutions.
Here are 20 ways the Wildcats can tackle the Huskies:
20. Tie Paige Bueckers’ shoelaces together. If the national player of the year can’t run, how can she play! Time to go all “Home Alone” on her.
19. Solve UConn’s perimeter defense. The Huskies shoot the ball well from outside, having connected on nearly 200 of their 553 outside attempts. But what UConn does particularly well is patrol the perimeter. Opposing teams are shooting just 27% from deep against the Huskies.
18. Get Sam Thomas to the free-throw line. Arizona’s senior forward has been a workhorse for the Wildcats, averaging 31.8 minutes per game, second to Aari McDonald. Thomas has been impressive from deep, shooting 39% from 3, but she’s been deadly at the free-throw line, hitting 86.4% of her attempts.
17. Turn down the Aaliyah. Yet another fabulous frosh, Aaliyah Edwards, has been huge for the Huskies since joining the starting lineup in the absence of Nika Muhl. With 17 points in Round 1 against High Point, 19 in Round 2 against Syracuse and 18 against Iowa in the Sweet 16, Arizona knows the kind of threat Edwards poses.
16. Convince Morgan Valley to switch allegiances. Former UConn guard Morgan Valley won three titles with the Huskies, with one undefeated season, but she also coached at Arizona from 2017-19 before taking over as Hartford’s head coach. Her loyalty lies with Auriemma, but she is a close friend of Adia Barnes’. Now’s the time to sweet-talk for some inside info.
15. Reset Paige Bueckers’ wake-up alarm. If she’s asleep, how can she play?! Time to go all “Seinfeld” on her.
14. Hang strong on the boards. Arizona’s rebounding is not its strong suit, as opponents managed a slight 37.0-36.8 advantage on the glass. Problem is, the Huskies have out-rebounded opponents 41.8-30.1. Yikes. It’s time to toughen up down low.
13. Get Reese rolling. Cate Reese has been quiet at times during the stretch, but the Wildcats need her to show up in a big way. Can she bounce back from five points against Indiana? That’ll be the big test.
12. Control the outside. The Wildcats were fantastic on the perimeter against the Hoosiers, holding Indiana to 0-for-9 3-point shooting while hitting 9-of-21 for 43%.
11. Remember the championship spirit. Look, it’s not an NCAA title game, but the Wildcats did win the 2019 Women’s NIT championship. That’s no small feat, and it proves they know how to navigate the ups-and-downs of a tournament. It’s time to tap into that title run.
10. Put itching powder in Paige Bueckers’ warm-ups. If she can’t stop scratching, how can she play? Time to go all Marx Brothers on her.
9. Put a body on Olivia Nelson-Ododa. UConn’s best rebounder has topped 10 boards nine times this year, including 11 in the Huskies’ Sweet 16 win over Iowa. She must be accounted for.
8. Find points from random places. The Wildcats simply don’t have the tertiary scorer behind McDonald and Reese — no other Arizona player scores in double-figures — so it’ll be on Barnes to put role players in position to succeed.
7. Keep the ball away from Evina Westbrook. Bueckers may have the stickiest mitts on the team with 65 steals, but Westbrook isn’t too far behind with 52. She’s also got 125 assists on the season. So on both sides, deny, deny, deny.
6. Convince Paige Bueckers that she’s in an alternate reality. If she thinks we’re in the Matrix, how can she play? Time to go all Morpehus on her.
5. Ignite Aari McDonald’s defense. Arizona hasn’t seen a defender this feisty since T.J. McConnell. And McDonald is quicker. This could be a backcourt battle for the ages between Bueckers and the Arizona legend.
4. Cool off Christyn Williams. There’s nothing quite like a dangerous second scorer, and Auriemma has that in Williams. She was tremendous against Iowa, scoring 27 points in 40 minutes. And she wasn’t half-bad against Baylor, dropping 21.
3. Get the Huskies in foul trouble. UConn may have the best collection of talent since “The Producers” hit Broadway, but the Huskies’ bench is surprisingly shallow. If Arizona can force some foul trouble, it’ll be a game.
2. Give it to Aari. Simple. Give the ball to Aari McDonald, and let her do what Aari McDonald does.
1. Stop Paige Bueckers. It can be done. On Jan. 21, the Tennessee Volunteers held UConn’s freshman sensation to just nine points on 3-of-14 shooting, including 1 for 6 from deep, without having to tie her shoelaces together. That was Bueckers’ lone dud of the season, her only game in single-digit scoring.
