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Azzi Fudd’s elite NCAA Tournament game vs. Syracuse may have just changed everything
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- Azzi Fudd’s elite NCAA Tournament game vs. Syracuse may have just changed everything
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Azzi Fudd's elite NCAA Tournament game vs. Syracuse may have just changed everything appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
For the 32nd consecutive season, sans the 2020 COVID-19 year, UConn is headed back to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA women's basketball Tournament with a dominant 98-45 win over Syracuse. The game meant everything to Azzi Fudd , who might have just cemented herself as the No. 1 prospect of the 2026 WNBA Draft with a 34-point outburst in her final game at Gampel Pavilion.
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Fudd tied her career-high in the win while setting a new personal best with eight three-pointers. She said her final home game was "about the team" and was clearly living in the moment after another dominant performance.
"Tonight was really special," Fudd said on the ESPN broadcast. "It wasn't about me; it was about this team. We played really good team basketball tonight. The crowd was incredible, as it is every night. To have one last night here to soak this in, embrace it, was amazing."
Fudd has been a favorite to become the No. 1 pick of the 2026 WNBA Draft all season, though she has had intense competition. TCU point guard Olivia Miles, UCLA center Lauren Betts and Spanish prospect Awa Fam have all been in the conversation, but Fudd might have sealed the deal against Syracuse.
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As a knockdown shooter who hit 45.4 percent of her three-pointers in her final season at UConn, the biggest criticism of Fudd has always been her playmaking. She responded by averaging a career-high 3.0 assists in 2025-2026 and dropped five dimes in her final game in Storrs, tying her second-most in a single game this season.
Any team drafting Fudd will not ask her to be its primary ball-handler, but her improved off-the-dribble game is a big reason why she is projected to go No. 1 overall in April. The Dallas Wings own the 2026 No. 1 pick for the second consecutive season, potentially reuniting Fudd with former teammate and girlfriend Paige Bueckers .
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