UConn was set to play at Texas, which had the potential to dominate inside with five players on the roster at least 6-foot-4.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma penciled in the biggest lineup possible to try to match that, with redshirt freshman Ice Brady and redshirt senior Aubrey Griffin starting in the post along with Aaliyah Edwards, who is a regular in the frontcourt.

Auriemma would later refer to his decision as “lousy.” Texas won 80-68.

“You might as well do what your strength is and if your strength isn’t your big guys and your strength is your guards, then get as many of them out there as you can for as often as you can,” Auriemma said.

That’s what the coach has done in the two games since, using the four-guard lineup of seniors Paige Bueckers and Nika Muhl and freshmen KK Arnold and Ashlynn Shade along with Edwards.

Bueckers is the former national player of the year while Muhl broke Sue Bird’s single-season record for assists last year. Arnold and Shade have both been named Big East Freshman of the Week. Griffin and freshman Qadence Samuels rotate in from the bench, as does Brady.

No. 17 UConn (6-3) meets No. 18 Louisville (10-1) at noon Saturday at the XL Center in a game which will be nationally televised on Fox. The Huskies begin a three-games-in-five-days jaunt, opening Big East play Monday against Butler before traveling to play at Toronto Metropolitan, a homecoming game for the Canadian Edwards.

With the four guards, things tend to move quickly on offense and it allows UConn to pressure the ball more on defense.

In a 76-64 win over No. 24 North Carolina on Sunday, the Huskies forced the Tar Heels into 19 turnovers and they finished with 20 assists on 30 field goals, with six assists for Muhl and five for Arnold.

The most glaring issue with the lineup is rebounding. North Carolina outrebounded the Huskies 43-33. Edwards led UConn with 11.

“Yeah,” said Bueckers. “There was a huge emphasis in practice this week on five guys rebounding, not just leaving Aaliyah out there to dry. ... You kind of have to rebound as a team and make sure all five guys are boxing out our own guy. And sometimes, if our guy’s not crashing, we’re gonna get in there and help Aaliyah rebounding anyway.

“Huge emphasis on that.”

Auriemma called it a matter of math.

“So they’re probably going to get more rebounds than we are,” Auriemma said. “We have to force more turnovers. We scored 15 more points from the 3-point line than they did and three more from the free throw line. That’s an 18-point differential between how many free throws we made and how many 3s we made.

“So if we can win that battle on a regular basis, I think we can stay with that small lineup. If we can generate more quickness and play more aggressively offensively and defensively because we have more ways to play with that small lineup, then we can stay with it.”

Bueckers, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, leads UConn with 19.8 points per game to go with 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals. Edwards is averaging 15.8 points and 7.7 rebounds.

The guards will be tested by Louisville, which is forcing 21.9 turnovers per game, 31 in a win over North Carolina A&T on Dec. 3.

The Cardinals are led by 6-foot-1 guard Kiki Jefferson with 12.1 points per game, 6-3 forward Olivia Cochran with 11.6 points and 6.2 rebounds and 5-9 guard Sydney Taylor with 10.5 points.

Louisville won the last meeting against UConn 69-64 on Dec. 19, 2021, at Mohegan Sun. The teams are beginning a four-year contract, with UConn traveling to Louisville next season.

UConn announced Friday, as expected, that sophomore forward Ayanna Patterson will miss the season after undergoing surgery on her left knee Thursday at UConn Health. Auriemma said in a statement that Patterson has been dealing with patellar tendinitis since high school.

Edwards, meanwhile, said Sunday that she doesn’t mind the four-guard lineup, citing the energy it brings, particularly in Sunday’s fourth quarter, when UConn created a mismatch with its tenacity at guard, outscoring the Tar Heels 29-13.

“It helps us to be more aggressive, which was the game plan, and to play more into the passing lanes,” Edwards said. “And to get more steals, which helped us win. Yeah, I’m a fan of it.”

v.fulkerson@theday.com