College hoops fans evoke Paige Bueckers-Caitlin Clark comparisons amid UConn star’s historic 40-pt outing

Paige Bueckers delivered a strong performance in the 2025 March Madness, leading UConn to yet another Elite Eight appearance. The Huskies, a No. 2 seed, dominated No. 3 Oklahoma in the third quarter and secured an 82-59 victory at Spokane Arena in Washington on Saturday afternoon.

The win marks UConn's 18th trip to the Elite Eight in the past 19 tournaments and keeps their national championship hopes alive in Bueckers' final season with the program.

Bueckers played a key role, especially in the second half, where she scored 29 of her career-high 40 points. The star guard not only guided her team to victory but also climbed to fourth on UConn’s all-time scoring list, surpassing former Huskies Tina Charles.

Fans react to Paige Bueckers-Clark comparisons, after a college sports content creator, goes by the name "iam_johnw," shared a video clip of Bueckers' dominant display, captioning it:

"Folks forget Paige Bueckers was Caitlin Clark before Caitlin Clark before injuries."

The post quickly sparked a debate among college basketball fans, who took to the comment section to share their opinions:

"If Paige was Caitlin before Caitlin, then you wouldn't have used Caitlin's name for clout," a fan remarked.

"No one that just had her 1st ever 40-piece in her 5th college year is comparable with Caitlin, especially with only 1 assist. You’re funny, though lol," another noted.

"Paige is the better player, but I would agree that Caitlin will continue to be the driving force behind the WNBA - if they don't do something stupid like go on strike," a fan wrote.

"Paige is good... real good... but there's a difference," another user mentioned.

"Yeah, it’s too bad her first and last names started with different letters," another quipped.

"This was the first 40-point game of her college career. Caitlin Clark had 13 games with 40 or more points during her college basketball career at the University of Iowa. This is the highest number of 40-point games by any NCAA Division I player, male or female, in the past 25 seasons," another hoops fan added.

"Paige was never Caitlin Clark," one fan said.

For the fourth time in her college career, Paige Bueckers is heading to the Elite Eight, leading the Huskies on a dominant run through the NCAA Tournament.

"Yep. And the only time Caitlin has ever beat Paige was when Paige's team only had 6 playable people for nearly the whole season. And that was on a BS offensive foul call during the Final Four game." another fan pointed out.

"She was never Caitlin Clark, she was and is better!," another countered.

"The only freshman to win NPOY. And people forget Paige and HVL were the starting guards in the gold-medal-winning U-19 class which also included Caitlin," a fan mentioned.

"CC was the #4 player in the same freshman class. CC averaged damn near 27-7-6 as a freshman. Paige one of them ones, but CC has never taken a backseat," another fan argued.

"Yeah, I remember all the people saying so and so was Michael Jordan before Michael Jordan… She was a great player, not on the level of Caitlin Clark though from an impact on the sport. There’s only one CC, and the sport has ostracized her rather than embraced her impact," one fan wrote, using a Michael Jordan reference.

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"Euphoric" Paige Bueckers describes the fourth-quarter game

UConn entered the fourth quarter with a 13-point lead, but Paige Bueckers ensured that there would be no comeback. She went on a 19-5 run, effectively shutting down the Sooners.

Of her 40 points, 29 came in the second half, showcasing her ability to take over in crunch time.

Bueckers spoke with SNY UConn sideline reporter Chelsea Sherrod, who described Bueckers' performance as almost unreal.

"Paige just told me that she 'blacked out' in the 4th quarter when she scored 19 points in a row for UConn lol," Sherrod wrote. "Called it 'euphoric.'"

With UConn now one step closer to the Final Four, while the comparisons with Caitlin Clark continue, Paige Bueckers' latest performance solidifies her place among UConn greats.