“Wtf is number 11 doing?”, “Really dirty play”: College hoops fans furious as Paige Bueckers suffers injury after collision

UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers' outing against the Villanova Wildcats was cut short on Sunday. As she secured a loose ball on the offense, VU's Jasmine Bascoe collided with her.

The collision sent Bueckers to the floor, rolling and screaming in pain. Agitated, the guard took a few moments to herself before questioning the nature of the play, pushing herself up and limping towards the locker room. She returned to the bench a few moments later.

Fans on social media reacted to the clip, questioning Jasmine Bascoe's indulgence:

"Who dives then rolls into the other player? SMH," a fan wrote.

"Only real hoopers know this is a dirty play smh If you don’t hoop, you don’t understand," another fan commented.

"Wtf is number 11 doing?" another fan wrote.

More fans joined in to question the motive of the play:

"That was a really dirty play. There was no chance of 11 getting the ball. Should have been a flagrant one.," a fan commented.

"Need a specific rule/foul. It's obviously reckless similar to a chop block in football. Cheapshot," another fan wrote.

"Stop going at players’ legs to dive on the ball smfh im pissed," another fan commented.

Fans react to Bueckers' injury

Geno Auriemma claims Paige Bueckers' injury is not worse than Azzi Fudd's

Geno Auriemma addressed the questions about Paige Bueckers' injury after UConn won 83-52. The coach referred to Azzi Fudd's injury on Dec. 7, 2024, reflecting on the unpredictability of a game. Like Bueckers, contact from behind triggered Fudd's knee sprain.

Even though Auriemma did not update Bueckers' condition, the coach hinted that the guard had avoided sustaining any major injuries.

"She just had some ice on it right now and it's like when I said about Azzi about these freaky things happen when somebody runs into you," Auriemma said. "So, like it was Azzi, it's not the worst thing that we can imagine. So, that's great news, considering how awkward it was."

Azzi Fudd returned to action after missing two weeks of basketball. She returned on Dec. 21 against the USC Trojans with a minute restriction. She came back to the starting lineup against Providence after the Huskies' Christmas break.

With that, in case Paige Bueckers sustained a knee sprain or something similar, fans can expect the star to stay out for at least 2-3 weeks.