"Playing bad on purpose": College hoops fans troll UConn star Paige Bueckers for struggles during Geno Auriemma's special night
Paige Bueckers endured a difficult evening by her standards against the FDU Knights last night. Although she stuffed the stat sheet yet again, the AP Preseason All-American found the going tough at Storrs in what was a historic game for head coach Geno Auriemma.
The Huskies scored a convincing 85-41 over the Knights, which made Auriemma the winningest coach of all time in men's and women's college basketball as he moved to 1,217 Division I wins. While Auriemma enjoyed a perfect Ruby Anniversary, Bueckers' struggles did not go unnoticed, drawing attention from fans on social media.
Bueckers made just six of her 13 field goal attempts and went one-for-five from 3-point range. She took almost eight minutes to score her first points in the game and finished with just seven points in the first half. Some fans took to trolling her performance against the Knights, using memes to express their opinions.
One fan shared a clip from Caitlin Clark's haywire tee-off shot at the recently concluded Annika LPGA Pro-Am tournament to sum up Bueckers' struggles on the night.
Others used different memes, focusing on Bueckers' struggles from 3-point range throughout the game.
Some fans went one step further, joking that she did not want to end up with the Dallas Wings after they won the 2025 WNBA draft lottery, giving them the top pick for next year's draft.
"Why Paige Bueckers out there tanking and sh*t. They still gonna select you baby girl," said one fan.
"Paige Bueckers found out she was going to Dallas and now she shooting like this. baby gworl, it'll be okay," said another fan.
Another fan added, "Paige Bueckers is actually playing bad on purpose… girl really doesn’t wanna go to Dallas."
Paige Bueckers and teammates wear wigs in honor of assistant coach
While Bueckers didn't have the best performance against FDU, her spirits were still high, even after the game. During the postgame press conference, she and teammates Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd wore blonde wigs that Fudd revealed was Paige's idea to honor UConn assistant coach Chris Dailey.
Despite her struggles, Bueckers posted impressive numbers, scoring 16 points and recording nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. Top recruit Sarah Strong stole the show in Auriemma's historic game, finishing with 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals in an incredible all-round display.
Princeton transfer Kaitlyn Chen and 2024 Big East Freshman of the Year Ashlynn Shade were the only other players to score in double-digits, as each player on the Huskies scored to cap off an incredible night to celebrate Auriemma's achievement at the Harry A. Gampel Pavillion.