Is This Geno Auriemma's Finest Hour?

[Carnac]

I enjoyed your post but you did say one thing I don't quite agree with. You said that every team knows that if they want to win the national championship, they've got to go through UConn and that's not quite accurate. A few years back, everyone was thinking that anyone who wanted to win the national championship would have to go through Baylor with Britney Griner and that included UConn but the Huskies didn't have to beat Baylor because Louisville upset them and there's no saying that same thing could POSSIBLY happen regarding UConn though I'm inclined to think it won't. Stranger things have happened and weren't there a number of teams that were expected to be in the Final Four last year (no. 1 seeds Notre Dame and South Carolina) and that failed to materialize. I'm still liking the possibility that the Huskies will be hoisting another trophy next April! Go Huskies!

Buzzyboy, my thinking when I was formulating that comment was........over the last 8 years, UConn has for the most part dominated WCBB at the D-1 level. As you said, there have been 2 instances (years) were they did not (2011-2012). Since 2009, UConn has won won 6 NC's ( 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016). I'd call that dominance. UConn is trending right now, and they don't show any signs of letting up. The last 4 years, during the reign of the BIG 3, the coaches and players of the other top ranked programs (top 6 teams that had a legitimate chance of winning the NC) knew who the elephant in the room was. They knew who they would have to beat to win it all. It was UConn!!. UConn was that "bad penny" that would always show up at tournament time.

That is the thought I was trying to convey. Fast forward to today. Most people connected (fans, players, coaches & analysts) thought this would be a down year for the Huskies, for reasons that have already been talked about ad nauseam. So far, that does not appear to be the case. The Huskies didn't get that memo. This team has met every challenge against every team they've played thus far and come out on top. These are top ranked teams, not cupcakes or Twinkies. Most are top 15 ranked teams. I'm not looking too far down the road just yet. But I will predict 2 things here:

1. UConn will be in the tournament - I'm guessing as one of the 4 #1 seeds.
2. Geno (as usual) will have his team "tournament ready".

Neither one of those predictions is a reach. They only have to win 3 mini-tournament weekends. The first weekend, they will host 2 lower seeded teams at a sold out Gampel Pavilion that they should have no trouble with.

The second weekend, they play in the regional finals against two teams that are top 15 teams, in an (home away from home) arena that will be sold out to UConn fans/boosters. UConn will have to play their best games here, but should prevail, and move on to Dallas and the final 4. Who knows who they'll have to play. Last year proved nothing is guaranteed once you get to the tournament.

The four teams that make it to Dallas will be at the apex of their game, preparation and conditioning wise. UConn will be there. They're 9-0 record so far has shown WCBB their commitment, talent and resolve to this point. It has not gone unnoticed. Most of the teams that have a real legitimate chance of winning the NC have already lost a game. You mentioned "a few years back", the Griner years at Baylor in reference to your point. Baylor was a very dominant team then. I was thinking more of today 2016-2017.

It's still early in the season, but UConn has begun to separate itself from the rest of the pack. Similar to the unexpected success of Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys, no one expected the Huskies to begin the season in the fashion they have. They still have several tests to clear before we (UConn fans) can really begin to feel comfortable about their chances of winning another championship THIS year. We'll know exactly how good this team is when conference play begins. Like most other Husky fans, I'm very excited about this teams success thus far. I see no reason at this point why it can't continue. Of course we want them to win every game they can, but we're most interested in them winning their last 6...............in March and April.