UConn's big game woes continue with loss to Tennessee

There are plenty of reasons that UConn lost 80-76 at Tennessee on Thursday night.

For starters, the Huskies didn’t shoot the ball well from inside or out. They were 19-35 on layups and 5-20 on 3-pointers. If they made two more bunnies or hit one more 3-pointer, the game might’ve gone differently.

Paige Bueckers also didn’t have her best night, making just 5-16 from the field en route to 14 points — five short of her average (19.0 points per game) in a four-point loss.

“The bottom line is we have some players on our team that are supposed to be our best players and they gotta play better. That’s all there is to it,” Geno Auriemma said, referencing Bueckers without mentioning her name.

Even with that, UConn tied the score at 74 apiece with 2:07 remaining. All the Huskies needed to do was put together two good minutes and they could’ve walked away with a win. Instead, the Vols out-scored them 6-2 and took the victory for themselves.

Change any number of things and UConn could’ve come out on top.

But…

“Stat sheets lie a lot,” Auriemma said. “There were big plays that had to be made, big stops that we had to get, big buckets that we have to make in crucial points of the game. We didn't make them and when two good teams are playing, that's the difference maker.”

Thursday night’s loss also didn’t happen in a vacuum. Instead, it was part of a worrying trend for the Huskies. They continue to struggle in big games — particularly in the regular season.

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