NCAA TOURNAMENT
Unbeaten, top-seeded UConn opens at home
Maryland, Oklahoma Duke are other No. 1s
Connecticut’s quest for the fifth perfect season in NCAA history will begin at home.
The undefeated Huskies earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament Monday night and will open against Vermont at Storrs, Conn., on Sunday.
Nine teams have entered the NCAA Tournament unbeaten; only four have emerged unscathed. UConn and coach Geno Auriemma were the last in 2002. Auriemma said he’s not worried about the bull’s-eye on his team’s back.
“We’ve been dealing with that all year long,” he said during the broadcast. “You worry about things you obviously have no control over. I’m not sitting here thinking about who we’re playing in St. Louis. Trust me.”
Oklahoma, Maryland, and Duke earned the other three No. 1 seeds. The Sooners are in the Oklahoma City regional, the Terrapins are headed to Raleigh, N. C., and the Blue Devils will make the cross-country trek to Berkeley. Calif.
Tennessee also extended its run as the only team to make every NCAA Tournament but earned a No. 5 — its lowest seed ever, guaranteeing a tough road to a third consecutive title.
The Final Four is scheduled for the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on April 5 and 7.
Duke potentially must beat No. 2 Stanford in the regional finals to get back to the Final Four for the first time since 2006. The Blue Devils play Austin Peay in the first round at Michigan State— coach Joanne P. McCallie’s former school. She could meet up with Michigan State in the second round if the Spartans can beat Middle Tennessee State.
“I don’t know if that’s some drama by the committee,” McCallie said. “For us, it’s about us and what we want to accomplish and do. We finally have an opponent, and that’s our one concern, the one opponent we have.”
If all goes right, Duke could face former coach Gail Goestenkors and Texas in the regional finals.
The Huskies (33-0), who have run through their opponents this season winning by an average of 31 points, will be looking for their sixth national championship. A potentially second-round opponent for UConn is former assistant coach Tonya Cardoza and Temple. The Owls must beat Florida to meet the Huskies.
Tennessee coach Pat Summitt spent Monday trying to keep herself from thinking too much about the Lady Volunteers’ fate in the NCAA tournament bracket after a roller-coaster 10-loss season.
A practice, a workout, a nap and an afternoon in the kitchen later, Summitt and the Lady Vols found out they were a No. 5 seed — the program’s worst seeding ever.
“It doesn’t really bother me,” Summitt said. “A four seed? Yeah, that would have been good, but as I look at the bracket, I don’t see where it’s a big deal.”
Tennessee (22-10) drew the Berkeley, Calif., regional and a first-round matchup against Ball State in Bowling Green, Ky., on Sunday. That region features five teams the Lady Vols faced this season.
The Lady Vols are the defending national champions in name only after graduating five seniors and replacing them with seven freshmen.
Monday was the first time the freshmen participated in Summitt’s selection day cookout. The team crowded into her pool house to watch the announcements, cheering at clips of themselves and falling silent at a clip of Summitt speaking of her frustration from the season.
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