The UConn women’s basketball team routed #6 Notre Dame at the Joyce Center tonight, 76-51, earning their 69th straight victory — all of them by double-digit margins, even though the Huskies routinely play Top 10 teams — and finishing their second straight undefeated regular season.
UConn will tie its own record for longest winning streak in women’s NCAA history (70) in the Big East quarterfinals, most likely against Providence or South Florida, and will break the record in the semifinals, probably against Notre Dame (again) or St. John’s. They’ll then defeat West Virginia or Georgetown for the Big East title and their 72nd straight win, and by the end of the NCAA Tournament, when they cut down the nets in San Antonio, they’ll be sitting on 78 consecutive wins, ten shy of the UCLA men’s mark.
Er, if they win all those games, that is. But really, is there any doubt? At this point, I’m thinking that, barring injuries, UConn losing to anyone — anyone, even a fellow #1 seed in the Big Dance — would be quite possibly the biggest upset in women’s basketball history.
P.S. Thinking about that last point: have the vagaries of tournament bracketing ever mattered more? Say you’re a #2 or #3 or #4 seed in the women’s tourney. If you don’t get placed in UConn’s region, you’ve got a chance at making it to the Final Four. But if you happen to get placed in UConn’s region… fuggetaboutit. Heck, it’s better to be, say, a #6 seed in a non-UConn region than to be the #2 seed in UConn’s region, no?
P.P.S. Oh, also in tonight’s game, superstar Tina Charles broke Nykesha Sales’ controversial UConn scoring record.