5 reasons why Paige Bueckers won't win 2024 Naismith Women's College Player of the Year

UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers has put together a strong 2023–2024 campaign after having her previous season cut short due to injury. She hasn't missed a beat, posting career highs in scoring average, rebounds and blocks.

The competition is fierce for the Naismith Women's College Player of the Year, and Bueckers was announced Monday as one of the four finalists for the award. While being a finalist is an accomplishment in itself, some factors could prevent the UConn star from taking home this award.

Here are five reasons why Paige Bueckers won't win the 2024 Naismith Women's College Player of the Year award.

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Five reasons why Paige Bueckers won't win the 2024 Naismith Women's College Player of the Year

#1, Bueckers doesn't rank top 10 in points, rebounds or assists averages

Paige Bueckers has fantastic all-around skill on the hardwood, but she fails to rank inside the top 10 this season in points, rebounds or assists per game. This is something the other three finalists have over her.

Bueckers ranks 12th in scoring, averaging 21.8 points per game. She fails to finish inside the top 100 in the nation in both rebounding and assist average. Although she ranks third in total points, she sits behind two other finalists: Iowa's Caitlin Clark and USC's JuJu Watkins.

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#2, Competition

The other three finalists each have a compelling case as to why they deserve the Naismith Award over Paige Bueckers: Caitlin Clark, JuJu Watkins and Stanford's Cameron Brink.

Clark has been endlessly breaking records and leads the nation in both scoring and assists. Watkins is playing in her first season yet still ranks second in scoring, averaging 26.9 ppg. Brink is a defensive force, leading the nation in blocks with 3.6 per game, and is third in rebounding, with 11.9 rpg.

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#3, Bueckers and UConn failed to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament

Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament after going 26-5. The other finalists have led their teams to either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the tournament. This could reflect poorly on Bueckers' chances to win the award due to her being the leader of her team.

Clark and Watkins both have their squads as top seeds, with Brink and Stanford as a No. 2 seed.

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#4, Lack of success against teams ranked inside the top 15

The UConn Huskies lost five games in the regular season, with four against teams ranked inside the top 15. Paige Bueckers was outscored by an opposing player in all but one of those losses.

To be the best, you need to beat the best, and Bueckers was unable to do that against most of the top 15 teams she faced. The one time she outscored a top 15 opponent was in the Huskies, 78-67 loss to the UCLA Bruins, when she recorded a game-high 31 points.

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#5, Bueckers' assist numbers are down

Paige Bueckers hasn't had as much success getting her teammates involved this season. She has tied the career low of 3.9 apg set in her shortened season last year.

She averaged 5.7 assists in her freshman season at UConn, but that average has since fallen. Her assists average still ranks 124th in the nation, but she has proven to have a much higher ceiling in that category. This doesn't bode well for Bueckers in her pursuit of the Naismith Award when frontrunner Caitlin Clark leads the nation with 8.8 apg.