Azzi Fudd starts for UConn vs. Providence: How to watch

STORRS — The entire UConn women’s basketball team was ready for the holiday break after ending the first semester with a heartbreaking two-point loss to No. 4 USC, but no one benefited more from the extra break than star guard Azzi Fudd .

Fudd played against USC for the first time since suffering a mild right knee sprain in UConn’s win over Louisville on Dec. 7, although she played just eight minutes in the No. 7 Huskies’ 72-70 loss. Aside from a record-breaking 20 3-pointers made against Iowa State on Dec. 17, UConn’s shooting performance suffered with the redshirt junior’s absence: In their ranked games with USC and No. 3 Notre Dame, the Huskies shot a combined 23.1% from 3 -4 points. The scoring range was under 60% and they also had problems at the free throw line.

After their brief appearance against USC, coach Geno Auriemma has more than a week to recover and get used to full training again. He expects Fudd to rejoin the starting lineup when the Huskies host Providence at the XL Center on Sunday (1:30 p.m., SNY). .

“I think with the absence and the extra four or five days and the extra days when we came back here, she’s a little bit more at peace mentally knowing there was enough time to be 100%. “Auriemma said on Saturday. “There’s no point in letting them come off the bench. If she wants to warm up, let’s get started and let’s go outside.”

Fudd initially made her 2024-25 debut on November 20 against Fairleigh Dickinson after recovering from a torn ACL and torn medial meniscus in November 2023, and it took a few games for the star guard to return to his full potential on the floor potential unfolded. She went just 2-for-11 in her first two appearances before scoring a breakthrough 18 points in UConn’s 73-60 win over No. 25 Ole Miss in the Baha Mar women’s championship. Against Louisville, she scored another 18 points in just 18 minutes of play and averaged 56.3% shooting from the field, 50% from 3-point range and 100% at the free throw line in her two starts before the knee sprain.

UConn hasn’t necessarily suffered from a lack of offensive depth without Fudd: Freshman Sarah Strong and sophomore Ashlynn Shade both proved more than capable of game-changing performances after combining for 56 points in the Iowa State win. Strong was arguably the best freshman player in the country, averaging 17.7 points plus 8.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists, and she is one of only two freshmen nationally to shoot better than 53% from the field.

But teams have shown early in the season that they are willing to let other players beat them at the expense of limiting Huskies superstar Paige Bueckers. Therefore, Auriemma hopes that adding another elite talent like Fudd to the scouting report will give Bueckers more opportunities to play like the best version of herself. Bueckers’ numbers are still at an elite level, averaging 20.8 points and has a Shooting at 56.3% from the field and 41.7% from three, but Auriemma wants the redshirt senior to feel more comfortable playing more freely and taking risks enters.

“During the break we talked a lot about their ability to defend themselves, so the physicality on and off the ball,” Auriemma said. “I think sometimes she takes it to heart when I say we’re not getting to the free throw line and suddenly forgoes simple pull-ups to try to make contact in the lane. At this point it’s your own worst enemy… The more production, the more consistency we get from everyone else, the more people they have to guard, the more freedom Paige will have… I think having Azzi in the lineup obviously helps, but Yes, it’s a constant juggling act.”

The Huskies begin Big East play in earnest this weekend against Providence, but the league won’t offer the same quality of competition that UConn struggled with during its non-conference schedule. UConn beat Georgetown 79-44 in its Big East opener on Dec. 15, while the Friars, picked to finish third in the conference preseason, are 7-7 heading into Sunday’s game after falling to Georgetown in the opener suffered an ugly 51-40 defeat at Seton Hall. There hasn’t been a Big East squad in the AP Top 25 poll since Creighton’s preseason ranking, but Auriemma said the Huskies will still face the challenge of adapting to the unique styles of play without mental disappointment to adapt to the conference.

“Very few teams in the country play like Villanova or St. John’s or like Providence would play,” Auriemma said. “It’s as much mental challenges as it is physical challenges. You have to take the view that… you could play a team that’s ranked 150th nationally and say, “Well, we won because we have better players, so that didn’t really make us better.” Or we went out and won because we would have beaten anyone tonight. That’s the challenge of putting on such performances.”

Here’s how to watch

Website: XL Center, Hartford

Time/Date: 1:30 p.m., Sunday

Series record: UConn leads 48-21

Last meeting: 86-53 UConn, March 9, 2024 in Uncasville, Connecticut.

TV: SNY

Streaming: SNY.tv, FOXsports.com

Radio: UConn Sports Network on Fox Sports 97.9