How Paige Bueckers’ surgery and new timetable for return impact UConn women’s basketball

With the news that UConn sophomore guard Paige Bueckers had knee surgery Monday and is expected to have an eight-week recovery, her soonest possible return now projects as the second week of February.

Bueckers had an anterior tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear repaired in her left knee, so this has to be considered an optimistic projection. But if this timetable proves accurate, what will she miss and what will the No. 7 Huskies do in her absence?

Bueckers already was expected to miss two big nonconference games: vs. No. 6 Louisville on Sunday and at Oregon on Jan. 17. Now she also will likely miss the rest of the nonconference slate, at No. 1 South Carolina on Jan. 27 and the Feb. 6 matchup with Tennessee, which comes right at the end of Bueckers’ current estimated recovery.

UConn went 1-1 in its first two games without Bueckers, who was injured Dec. 5 in a victory over Notre Dame. UConn lost 57-44 to Georgia Tech on Dec. 9, snapping a 239-game winning streak against unranked opponents and prompting what felt like a postgame wake from coach Geno Auriemma, who said he didn’t foresee the Huskies being able to fix issues they were having.

Two days later, things seemed more upbeat after the Huskies’ second-half comeback in a 71-61 victory over UCLA. But the upcoming matchup with Louisville is expected to be more like Georgia Tech because of the Cardinals’ strong defense. The Huskies shot just 31 percent from the field against the Yellow Jackets.

That number went up to 41 percent against UCLA, with the Huskies’ three healthy guards — Christyn Williams, Evina Westbrook and Caroline Ducharme — a combined 14-of-41 (34.1%) from the field.

The pressure is on those players with not just Bueckers but also guards Nika Mühl and Azzi Fudd…