For Azzi Fudd, the blueprint for a March Madness run isn’t in a playbook; it’s in the example set by her girlfriend, Paige Bueckers.

Paige Bueckers passed the baton to Azzi Fudd after winning the National Championship last year. After Bueckers, Fudd became the leader in the locker room at UConn. She was uncomfortable at first. “I’m a listener, tell me what to do and I will do it. “But I feel like these last couple of weeks, just a little bit trying to say,” she said back in June last year. With time, Fudd has become comfortable in that role. Yet, with March Madness ahead, she will still take a page out of Bueckers’ playbook.

For any player to lead effectively, their on-court performance must command respect, and Fudd has delivered with an exceptional season. In 34 games, she has averaged a career-high 17.7 points and 3.0 assists and is shooting 44.6% from the three-point line. On the biggest stage of the season, she will still lean on her girlfriend to guide her through. 

“She’s someone that I look up to in many different aspects,” Fudd told the media. “But the way that she went about all of last year, especially the end, how she handled the expectations, the pressure, her mindset, how she was able to perform, be a great leader, a great teammate through it all, and at the end of the day still be herself. She didn’t change at all. That’s so impressive. So I definitely got to learn a lot from her, and I’ll be trying to be like her this month.”

Paige Bueckers was more than inspirational for UConn last year. She performed in clutch moments and kept the locker room together. She lit the fire at the right times. For example, right before the final against South Carolina, Bueckers gave a motivational speech. “Together this whole tournament, but I think we still got another level to tap into,” Bueckers said to her team. “And that’s what we said before. And we don’t need any extra incentive. The game earlier in the season means nothing. Like, it’s 0-0, the record is 0-0, and we’re both trying to go 1-0.”

She was the beacon for UConn in the NCAA tournament. Bueckers scored 105 points across the second round, Sweet 16, and Elite Eight, the most points scored in any three-game stretch by a UConn player.  She registered 17 points and 6 rebounds in the final as well.  

Yes, they have others like Sarah Strong, but Fudd is more experienced, which gives her an advantage on the big stage. Fudd has been through the highs and the lows, much like Bueckers. In addition, their stories are similar too. Bueckers suffered multiple knee injuries until the 2025 season. Fudd’s career has also been interrupted by knee injuries. 

Like Geno Auriemma said, “I would think she (Fudd) sees this as a kind of I deserve this. after what I’ve been through. She may have been in other final fours before last year, but none of them were ones where she played a big part. None of them was where she was able to be 100% healthy all year long.” So this is the pinnacle of her college career, and she would definitely look to go out on a high note.  She also understands how this team is different from the one they had last year.

Azzi Fudd Thinks No. 1 UConn Are “On A Different Level” Than Last Season

It’s hard to say a team has become better by losing one of the best guards the program has ever seen. But numbers don’t lie. They lost 3 games last year. They have scored 88.8 points per game this year as opposed to 81.7 points last year. Defensively, they have conceded 50.4 points this year, compared to 52.2 points last year. However, Geno Auriemma doesn’t agree.

“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’,” 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.” Auriemma thinks they are just different rather than better.

But for Azzi Fudd, they have evolved into a ‘different level.’ “Yeah, I think the pieces that we’ve added this year and the confidence each person has come into this year with and continued and grown,” Azzi Fudd said. “I feel like, as individuals, each person has grown, and as a team, we’re coming in on a different level.”

Strong has improved into a much better player as a sophomore. They have added Wisconsin transfer Serah Williams, and freshmen Jana El Alfy and Blanca Quinonez, who have all helped fill the void left by Paige Bueckers.

But the true test of the comparison is coming at the NCAA tournament. Like last year, they are the No. 1 overall seed yet again.  UConn will face No. 16 UTSA in the Fort Worth 1 Regional in its NCAA tournament opener. The Iowa State-Syracuse winner is in a potential second-round matchup.