MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesotans love talking about Minnesotans. They also don’t like to brag. It’s a tad of a predicament at the moment.

The state’s own Paige Bueckers is back home, but it’s not for spring break. Friends and family who want to see the Connecticut sophomore guard are filling Target Center as she chases an NCAA national championship down the highway from her hometown of Hopkins.

“I dreamt of these moments being able to play in March Madness, playing in the Final Four, the national championship game,” Bueckers told reporters on Saturday before an open practice for fans. “To do it 10 minutes away from where I live, it’s super crazy to me. [It] still hasn’t hit me yet, but that’s why I think this is only a story God can write.”

Bueckers called it a full-circle moment to be back here playing for a trophy when two years ago the Minnesota state title game was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It seemed unlikely UConn would even make it here two months ago. Even 48 hours ago, it was a questionable proposition.

Yet, here the Huskies are as an underdog (yes, seriously) in what feels to some like another home game for the powerhouse program when they face No. 1 overall seed South Carolina in the women’s national championship game (8 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN).

There will be a heavy Husky presence in the crowd, and Bueckers’ homecoming is a part of that. But throughout the downtown streets of Minneapolis are fans in garnet and black who won’t let Target Center become as Husky heavy as Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport was for the Elite Eight. The excitement around Bueckers is here, but as with women’s sports collectively, it’s still growing.

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