March Madness is known for great basketball, as well as some top-flight commercials. 

Who doesn't love Spike Lee, Charles Barkley and Samuel L. Jackson in the Capital One ads?

This year, the ad people for Marriott Bonvoy drew up a play -- umm, ad -- featuring legendary UConn coach Geno Auriemma enjoying a free hotel breakfast with some of his players, including Azzi Fudd and Kayleigh Heckel.

And it's adorable.

In the 15-second spot, called "Breakfast Breakdown," Auriemma is sitting at the dining table, his plate of eggs and sides in front of him, and he uses his fruit and utensils to design a play. The players closely watch.

Marriott Bonvoy is the official hotel partner of the NCAA. The UConn ad was filmed at the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites South Kingstown Newport Area in Rhode Island.   

The commercial is part of the "Where Gameday Checks In" ad campaign, which includes ads that feature three Texas Longhorns football players getting ready for a game in their hotel room, the Oregon Ducks mascot gearing up for the game at his hotel, and football analyst Kirk Herbstreit and his traveling companion -- his dog, Peter -- in theirs. 

Fudd is one of five finalists for the 2026 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, jointly announced by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

The award honors the top shooting guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. Meyers Drysdale was an All-American in all four of her seasons at UCLA.

Fudd is averaging a career-high 17.7 points per game and is shooting .489 from the floor and .446 from 3-point range.

She also is an AAU Sullivan Award finalist and was named to the Naismith Trophy Late-Season Team and the Wooden Award ballot.

UConn will meet Maryland in the 2026 Women’s Champions Classic on Dec. 5, organizers announced Wednesday.

The game will be played at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

This is the third WCC and also will include Michigan and Iowa State. Those teams will meet at 7 p.m., followed by the Huskies and Terrapins at 9 p.m.

UConn played in the 2025 event, defeating Iowa 90-64 on Dec. 20. The other teams competing that day were Louisville and Tennessee, with the Cardinals an 89-65 winner.

More than 11,000 fans attended.

"It's going to be exciting to have three new teams in the Women's Champions Classic," UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. "We have a history playing against Maryland, so it's great to get that started again. Michigan and Iowa State both play a fun style of basketball. The first two Classics have been a tremendous success, and I think it's going to continue to grow and grow each year. I'm proud to be a part of it."

The Huskies have an 8-1 record against Maryland. Their most recent meeting came Nov. 16, 2023, on UConn’s home court at Gampel Pavilion, with the Huskies winning 80-48.

Tickets for the public go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.

Remember to join our UCONN on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Huskies fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!