It’s been decades since UConn and Tennessee have hated each other’s guts. Since the late 90s, this has been one of the most heated rivalries in all of women’s college basketball.
This goes back to long before her time, but Paige Bueckers is well aware of the implications. That’s why she cannot wait to hit the road and take the court on Thursday night.
With the Huskies set to play in a hostile environment to square off against the Lady Volts, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft is actually looking forward to playing villain.
Paige Bueckers wants to play in hateful environment
“Very excited,” Bueckers told the media. “I got to experience it in the bubble years and I got to experience it two years ago, out. So this year, being able to play in that environment where that many people hate you, it will probably be a lot of fun.”
Geno Auriemma calls fans ‘stupid’
Unsurprisingly, coach Geno Auriemma was a little more candid when he was asked his thoughts on the rivalry. He didn’t mince his words about anything, not even his fans:
“It became something that wasn’t normal,” Auriemma said. “It just became stupid and became something I didn’t want to be a part of anymore. I think our fans are stupid. I think their fans are stupid, and how they reacted to the whole thing, it just became something other than a basketball game, and after a while that just got old.”
Even though Auriemma doesn’t want to be a part of it, it is what it is. These two programs don’t like one another, and Thursday night’s game will be must-watch television.