Georgetown Preview: UConn set for jam-packed senior night

How to watch

Date: Friday, Feb. 16

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Location: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, CT

TV: SNY

Stream: SNY.tv (in market) | FoxSports.com/live (out of market, assuming it decides to work)

Radio: UConn Sports Network (97.9 Fox Sports and affiliates)

Georgetown Hoyas

Record: 16-9 (6-8 Big East)

Location: Washington, DC

Head coach: Darnell Haney (interim, first season)

UConn set for jam-packed senior night

On Friday night, UConn women’s basketball will host senior night in its penultimate regular season game at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies are set to honor four players — Paige Bueckers, Aaliyah Edwards, Aubrey Griffin and Nika Mühl — even though they’re all eligible to return next season. In fact, Geno Auriemma let it slip that Griffin is expected to be back while all signs point to Bueckers using her fifth year as well.

As Dorka Juhász showed, just because a player participates in senior night doesn’t mean they won’t return the next season.

“That’s the world we live in now,” Auriemma said.

Unlike previous years when the festivities happen before tip-off, senior night will be held after the game. With so much to get through, they want to make sure there’s enough time for everything to happen at a comfortable pace.

“We have four seniors, four managers, three national anthems.It gets rushed. It gets crammed into a small time,” Auriemma said. “I just felt like after the game there's more of an opportunity to have more people in the stands that want to stay and don't feel like we have to be rushed. So, I just thought we’d try it and see if we like it.”

As the coach mentioned, UConn will play the Canadian national anthem for Edwards and the Croatian national anthem for Mühl along with the Star Spangled Banner pregame.

One thing the ceremony won’t feature? The team won’t put Bueckers’ name and number in the Huskies of Honor on Friday night. While she’s earned that by being named a WBCA All-American, it’ll happen at a later date.

“Not tomorrow night, maybe Villanova,” Auriemma said. “I think tomorrow night’s about all the seniors.”

Scouting the Hoyas

Georgetown is tied for sixth in the Big East but has lost five of its last seven. The lone wins have been over DePaul and Providence in that span. Her Hoop Stats ranks the Hoyas as the No. 129 team in the nation.

Statistical leaders

Points: 13.8 — Kelsey Ransom
Rebounds: 7.4 — Graceann Bennett
Assists: 4.0 — Kelsey Ransom
Steals: 2.2 — Kelsey Ransom
3-point %: 30.9% — Alex Cowan

Last meeting

UConn won the contest down in DC 83-55 — its first game after Aubrey Griffin’s injury. All five of the Huskies’ starters reached double figures in the victory.

By the numbers

5 — Griffin is the first player to spend five years at UConn since Caroline Doty, who left in 2013.

4 — UConn will honor four student managers: Ashanti Bolling, Ainsley Dupuis, Colleen Koch and Georgia Mikan.

3 — Nika Mühl needs three assists to pass Crystal Dangerfield in fifth and reach 600 career helpers.

1,202 — With a win, Geno Auriemma will tie former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski at 1,202 career victories — second-most all-time among Division I basketball coaches.