To say UConn is a favorite for the National Championship is underwhelming. It feels like their names are already carved on the trophy. Of course, in basketball anything can happen. But anybody beating this team at any point will be a huge upset. UConn closed out its final game before the postseason with an 85-49 win over St. John’s, their 11th undefeated regular season in program history. There is an argument brewing among fans and analysts that this team is a step up from the team led by Paige Bueckers last year. However, coach Geno Auriemma doesn’t agree. 

“Do you know the outside narrative for many about this team is that they’re even better than last year’s team?” asked a reporter. “And you don’t like that narrative?”

“No, I don’t like that narrative,” answered Auriemma. “I don’t know that you take away one of the top five players in the WNBA off your team and say you’re better.” There are a few reasons for that external narrative. For one, last year the team did not go undefeated, with 3 losses coming against Notre Dame, USC and Tennessee.

They have scored 88.6 points per game this year as opposed to 81.7 points last year. Defensively, they have conceded 50.8 points this year, compared to 52.2 points last year. Yet, from a coaching perspective from inside the squad, Geno sees things differently without Paige Bueckers. 

“I don’t know how I can justify saying that, except because there are a lot of times when I watch us play and I say, ‘That wouldn’t have happened if we had Paige. That wouldn’t have happened if we had Paige,” Auriemma said. “So there are things that happen that maybe are not obvious or ascertained by other people, but we on the coaching staff, we know.”

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Bueckers was as essential to this team as oxygen is to the human body. She contributed 19.9 points and 4.6 assists per game. She was also the leader on the court on the big stage and we haven’t seen this team in the NCAA tournament yet. But the real difference is beyond the numbers and on the court. Auriemma maintains they play differently but aren’t better in any way. 

“Now, that doesn’t mean they’re not capable of playing at a real high level that matches what that team did last year. Maybe that’s in the cards for them,” Auriemma said. “I don’t know. But no, we’re a much different team than we were last year. Correct. But right now, to say that we’re a better team than we were last year, I don’t buy that.”

There is a noticeable difference in playstyle. The 2025-26 team is missing Bueckers’ midrange shots, as only 14.8% of their total shots are from that area as compared to 18.1% last year. And Bueckers did not have a healthy Azzi Fudd (for the entire season), a second-year Sarah Strong, Wisconsin transfer Serah Williams, or freshmen Jana El Alfy and Blanca Quinonez. They have more depth than last year. With these pieces they replaced the impact Bueckers brought, according to Auriemma. 

“And that’s why I said I think we’re different. We have a different way of playing,” he said. “We have different options. But you know, none of those guys that I bring off the bench are Paige.”

Comparisons between the two are futile. Both are two of the best teams of the past decade. And maybe that’s the point. For Geno Auriemma, this has never been about replacing stars and depending on them. It’s about evolving frameworks. The names change. New classes arrive, and one departs. The style adjusts depending on the players. But the standard doesn’t come down. That’s the through line from Paige Bueckers to the next wave of UConn talent, and it’s the same formula that has long prepared his players for the WNBA.

Geno Auriemma Reveals Secret In Coaching WNBA-Ready Players

The step up from college basketball to the WNBA requires adaptation. The physicality, the increased intensity, the spotlight—the players require some time to get into their groove. The players who adapt faster often leap ahead of their rookie competitors. In 28 years of the WNBA, 7 UConn graduates have won the Rookie of The Year, which is the most among all colleges, with the next best being South Carolina and Tennessee at 3 each. 

They also have had 4 distinct MVP winners in Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi and Breanna Stewart, which is the most among all colleges. Auriemma listed out the things he values while coaching his players. 

“I think what they value is what we teach every day. I think they value players that compete really hard, players that know how to win, know how to play together with other good players, and know how to work in practice. Can be coached by any coach,” Auriemma said. “Coach hard and hopefully most of them leave UConn with skills that are exactly what the coaches and general managers are looking for in that league. People that can dribble the ball, pass the ball, catch it, and shoot it fit into any kind of system that you may have.”

The fundamentals are important to Geno Auriemma and that is clear from how his teams play. He focuses on individual development while simultaneously getting success as a team too. And that’s why Auriemma is one of the best coaches in basketball history. It also helps him recruit the best players because they know that they will become WNBA-ready playing for Auriemma. And that causes a domino effect, creating multiple dynasties.