Well, I wouldn't say I'm "afraid," exactly ("wary" would be more like it), but the simple answer to that question is that Tennessee wouldn't be a normal #8 seed. They'd be a very talented but underachieving team disguised as a #8 seed. A normal #8 seed can be expected to play, more or less, like a #8 seed. Tennessee's level of play has been all over the place all season; when they're bad, they play like a WNIT team, but when they're good and motivated, they've proven multiple times that they play more like a #2 seed. I just don't see how sending a team like that to Storrs does UConn any favors. I seem to remember this one other time when UConn was undefeated and the committee plunked another talented but underachieving Tennessee team down in our region. That ended very badly for us. Not in Storrs, granted, but still.
Look, don't get me wrong, UConn is better than Tennessee. If they match up in the tournament, Tennessee will have a lot more things to worry about than UConn will. UConn should win that game, and I can easily envision a scenario where we run them out of the building, Mississippi State-in-2016 style. But I can also imagine that game developing a certain way (foul trouble, rebounding trouble, Tennessee playing motivated, our shots not falling) where it turns into a major slog. If enough things go wrong for us, I'd even give Tennessee a puncher's chance of—heaven forbid—winning. I would give a typical #8 seed virtually no chance of winning. That's all I'm saying.
I also want to emphasize that I wouldn't belabor this point if we were discussing any later round of the tournament. I don't really expect games in later rounds to be easy (though it's nice when they turn out to be). If we end up playing Tennessee sometime later on, so be it. But when you're a #1 seed, especially on the women's side, it's not unreasonable to hope for the opening two rounds to be a relative cakewalk. If all goes right, you shake off some rust, don't play your starters more minutes than necessary, and move on to the Sweet 16 without needing to expend too much physical or mental energy. I honestly don't see the point of hoping to see a team that has the very real potential to turn one of those games into a slog, as opposed to a team that has virtually no chance of doing that. Sorry, but I'd rather have the cakewalk.
