Three things to watch as No. 9 UConn women’s basketball resumes Big East play against Seton Hall

UConn women’s basketball resumes Big East play with a mid-day matchup against Seton Hall on Wednesday before the Christmas break.

With Nika Mühl (concussion) and Dorka Juhász (broken left thumb) back from injury, the No. 9 Huskies got back in the win column with an 85-77 victory over Florida State in the Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase last Sunday. Now they take on the Pirates, who have started the season 9-3, already with conference wins over Xavier and then-No. 24 Marquette — their first victory over an AP Top 25 team since 2019.

“We’re not able to look past anybody. Seton Hall is a really good team,” UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey said after Sunday’s game. “They’ve won I think seven games in a row. They’re a very good team. They’re physical. … It’s going to be similar to what we just played. They put a lot of pressure on you because they want to get to the rim. And we’ve had our hands full with them in the past, so it’s going to be a great matchup.”

Here are three things to watch:

Does Aaliyah Edwards keep her hot streak going?

Entering this season, the word for Aaliyah Edwards was consistency. She’s lived up to that expectation as a stable force in the frontcourt for UConn all year, but lately the junior forward been doing even more.

Edwards has been on a hot streak for the Huskies as of late. She’s scored 51 points on 66.7% shooting from the field over the last two games, setting back-to-back career highs. She had 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to give her team a chance on the road against then-No. 20 Maryland (now No. 15) on Dec. 11 and then followed it up with 26 points, seven rebounds and two assists in the win over Florida State.

“Aaliyah, I mean, she was amazing today, but I feel like she’s been on that level since we started the season,” Mühl said after the win over the Seminoles. “Seeing her bounce back from last season when she wasn’t on the level that she’s supposed to be and that she’s preparing everyday for, I’m super proud of her and we are all so happy to have her on our team. She’s a true leader and she does the little things and the big things for us, a big energy guy. And I feel like she stepped up big time today for us and she’s a big reason that we won today.”

On the year, Edwards is averaging 16.9 points, good for third on the team, along with 9.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. She’s shooting 62.3% from the field, which leads all UConn players who have taken at least 15 attempts.

“She’s making a lot of really good decisions,” Dailey said. “I think she’s drawing a lot of fouls and playing through contact. She’s making outside jump shots. She’s just doing a little bit of everything, and that’s what we need. In each game whatever we’ve needed she’s been able to provide.”

Will Geno Auriemma be back on the sidelines?

Around 10 minutes before last Sunday’s game, UConn announced that head coach Geno Auriemma wouldn’t be on the sidelines against Florida State. He began feeling unwell with flu-like symptoms after shootaround and decided not to coach out of caution.

Associate head coach Chris Dailey took over head coaching duties and led the Huskies to victory. She has stepped up in Auriemma’s absence 14 times throughout the duo’s stint in Storrs together, going undefeated in those games.

“He’s okay,” Dailey said of Auriemma postgame. “I think it’s flu-like symptoms right now and dehydration. But you can’t discount the fact that it’s been a heck of a week, both from a playing standpoint and the number of games we’ve had, and then to go through the emotion of losing his mom. So I’m sure it’s a combination of a lot of things. But he’s feeling better and we’re looking forward to seeing him.”

Now the question becomes whether Auriemma will be back on Wednesday. As of Tuesday morning, a team spokesperson did not have any update on Auriemma’s status.

Can the Huskies clean up turnover issues?

Taking care of the ball has become an issue for the Huskies as of late. They’ve committed 69 turnovers over the last three games.

UConn turned the ball over 27 times against Princeton on Dec. 8, allowing its opponent to score 28 points off those mistakes. The majority of those came once Mühl went down with a head injury early in the third quarter. The following game at Maryland, with Mühl out with a concussion and just seven players available, the Huskies coughed the ball up 22 times and allowed their opponent to score 21 points from those turnovers.

It seemed as though those troubles might be solved with Mühl back at point guard against Florida State, but UConn still committed 20 turnovers and allowed its opponent to score 21 points off those. Can the Huskies clean things up against Seton Hall?

“The turnovers, we had less than we did the other day so I guess that’s a positive, but we can’t just give the ball up,” Dailey said after the win over Florida State. “We’re shooting almost 50% from the floor. And if we give the ball away [20] times, that’s a few more points that we’d be able to put on the board that would give us that gap. So we really need to concentrate on taking care of the basketball. It’s not anything that we haven’t not concentrated on, but it’s an important part. You don’t want to lose a game because you turn the ball over.”

Here’s what else you need to know for the game.

Site: XL Center

Time: 12 p.m.

Series: UConn, 55-10

Last meeting: No. 9 UConn 71, Seton Hall 38 at Gampel on Jan. 21, 2022

TV: SNY; Allen Bestwick (pxp), Meghan Culmo (analyst), Maria Marino (sideline)

Streaming: SNY app

Radio: UConn Sports Network on 97.9 ESPN