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[QUOTE="champs99and04, post: 4957706, member: 488"]
Yeah, and it came at a brutal point on the schedule, just three days after a top five showdown with Marquette that got a ton of hype.  Plus, the Storrs to Omaha trip is a tough one mid-week when you have classes in session.

Not trying to take anything away from Creighton or make it sound like UConn is unbeatable, but conference road losses happen and can't necessarily be replicated in a tournament setting.

I tend extend the same benefit of the doubt to Purdue, who got clocked by Nebraska in a similar situation a few days after beating top ten Illinois (not to mention, it seemed like they were just biding their time for most of the last month of the season - they didn't have as many new pieces to integrate as UConn, which makes boredom a more acceptable excuse in my mind).

Both are heavyweights any way you look at it.  The vibe does feel a little bit like Duke-UConn in '99 or Baylor-Gonzaga in '21 in that you have one juggernaut matched up with a normal great team.  Purdue might only win 3 or 4 out of 10, but most of the teams UConn's played recently could probably only beat them 1 or 2 times out of 10.  It's a step up for both parties.
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