“Better than Caitlin Clark btw”: Hoops fans react as fired up Paige Bueckers trash talks during 23-point game vs Villanova

UConn star Paige Bueckers led the No. 3 Huskies to a comprehensive 82-54 win over the Villanova Wildcats in the Big East Tournament semifinal on Sunday evening. Bueckers tallied 23 points and six assists to set up a clash against the Creighton Bluejays in the championship game.

Bueckers was fired up during the game and was apparently caught trash-talking to Wildcats players after she drained a jumper in the first half.

"What the f**k are you talking about?" Paige Bueckers said.

During his postgame news conference, UConn coach Geno Auriemma addressed the intensity with which Bueckers approached the clash against the Wildcats.

"It was the first time in quite some while where she actually just took the ball and wanted to play one-on-one with whoever was guarding her," Auriemma said, "and I think that’s what we’ve been striving for."

College basketball fans on Instagram had mixed reactions to the influential Bueckers' trash talk.

"She's better than Caitlin Clark btw," one fan wrote.

"Talk your sh*t, Paige," posted another.

"She different. Talk yo talk (goat emoji)," a comment read.

"But if it was Angel Reese its ghetto," a fan posted.

"Favorite white girl behind Caitlin Clark," another wrote.

Fans' comments on IG

Paige Bueckers' influence hailed by analyst

Paige Bueckers has been renowned since she was a high school player for Hopkins High School. She was the first female basketball player to be featured on the cover of the popular hoops magazine "SLAM" before coach Geno Auriemma recruited her for the UConn Huskies.

She cemented her place as one of the faces of college basketball when she won the prestigious Naismith Player of the Year as a freshman in 2021. The popular Bueckers has courted almost as much attention as former Iowa Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark, who now plays for the Indiana Fever.

During Friday's segment of "The Robin Lundberg Show," analyst Robin Lundberg broke down the impact of Bueckers and the Huskies in driving attention toward women's basketball, even comparing her to Clark.

“Paige has become another star figure in the women's college basketball and women's basketball landscape,” Lundberg said (6:00). “Aside from Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever ... UConn women's basketball, I think is the biggest driver in the sport.

“I mean she's already got an Unrivaled deal,” Lundberg said. “We've seen she draws a crowd, too, as UConn also draws a crowd. Paige Bueckers feels like a uniquely positioned star in that UConn tradition and heritage because of when she happened to come up.”

Paige Bueckers has the opportunity to immortalize her name in both UConn and women's college basketball should she lead the Huskies to the national championship during March Madness ahead of the WNBA draft, where she is projected to be the No. 1 pick.