No. 3 UConn falls to unranked Georgia Tech without Paige Bueckers: 'We're in a bad way right now'
The Paige Bueckers-less UConn Huskies may be in trouble.
No. 3 UConn fell to Georgia Tech 57-44 on Thursday night in their first game without Bueckers, who suffered a tibial plateau fracture and is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks.
That loss snapped a number of records and streaks for UConn.
Georgia Tech is now the first team to hold UConn to less than 45 points in a single game since 2006, and the Yellow Jackets are the first unranked team to beat the Huskies since 2012 — which snapped a 240-game streak.
UConn actually entered the fourth quarter in Atlanta tied with Georgia Tech on Thursday, but a brutal final period doomed the Huskies. UConn didn’t make a field goal until the 1:18 mark of the final quarter, and played the entire 10-minute span on the wrong side of an 18-5 run.
“The last 10 minutes of the game, the game could’ve been won by either team and the better team won,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said, via SNY. “We’re in a bad way right now as a team, and that’s that.”
"We're in a bad way right now as a team" - Geno Auriemma pic.twitter.com/IZFC2CMUJZ
— UConn Videos (@SNYUConn) December 10, 2021
As a team, UConn shot just 2-of-15 from the 3-point line. Christyn Williams led the Huskies with 13 points while shooting 6-of-19 from the field, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa added 12 points. UConn only had eight available players for the game, as sophomore Piath Gabriel didn’t make the trip due to a “mandatory academic obligation,” and Aubrey Griffin, Azzi Fudd and Nika Muhl were all out due to injuries.
Lotta-Maj Jahtinen led Georgia Tech with 15 points on the night, and Nerea Hermosa finished with 13 points and six rebounds. The win marked Georgia Tech’s second straight over a ranked opponent, following Sunday’s 55-54 win over No. 20 Georgia. The Yellow Jackets are now 7-2 on the season.
With Bueckers out until mid-to-late January at best, the Huskies will have to figure out how to replace the sophomore fast. They play UCLA on Saturday before games against No. 7 Louisville later this month and then Oregon and No. 1 South Carolina next month.
But by the way Auriemma sounded after the loss, they have a long way to go.
“We’re disorganized as a group right now, from the coaching on down,” he said, via The Athletic’s Charlotte Carroll.