Front Row – 12 Lindsey Duvall, 23 Jazmine Jones, 10 Sydney Zambrotta, 2 Myisha Hines-Allen, head coach Jeff Walz, 25 Asia
Durr, 11 Arica Carter, 24 Jessica Laemmle, 1 Dana Evans
Back Row – Video Cordinator LaMont Russell, Executive Director of Player Relations Adrienne Johnson, associate coach
Sam Purcell, assistant coach Sam Williams, 3 Sam Fuehring, 32 Loretta Kakala, 21 Kylee Shook, 33 Bionca Dunham,
associate head coach Stephanie Norman, Director of Operations Kate Tucker, Assistant Strength & Condition Coach/Special
Advisor to the Head Coach Beth Burns, Asst. Athletic Trainer Keressa Ackles, Sports Performance Coach Kaitlynn Jones
UConn is, and has been, the gold standard in women’s college basketball.
Over the past 10 seasons, they have made it to the Final Four each and
every year, winning six national championships, including four straight
championships from 2012-16. They have won 11 total national championships
since 1995. From Nov. 23, 2014, to March 31, 2017, UConn put together a
111-game winning streak where 108 of those were won by double digits and
61 of those were victories of at least 40 points.
This season, UConn is undefeated and still holding that No. 1 spot that
they were voted to during the preseason. UConn and Louisville have one
common opponent that is worth noting if you are trying to find some way to
compare these teams. Both have played Notre Dame. UConn won by 9 and
Louisville won by 33. While I don’t put a ton of stock into that comparison,
it’s all we have until they clash in February.
If both teams win out until they meet, as expected, it should be No. 1
(24-0) vs No. 2 (25-1).
As epic as this confrontation sounds, the outcome will not make or break
either team’s season. The winner of this game, barring any late season bad
losses, should set themselves up to be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA
tournament. The loser should be in line to receive one of the three remaining
No. 1 seeds.
While UConn has plenty of NCAA tournament success, Louisville has
done pretty well themselves. Under Walz, Louisville has made 10 straight
NCAA tournament appearances. During that span, Louisville has finished
as the NCAA runner-up to UConn twice (2009 and 2013).
In both of those runner-up years, Louisville had one of the best players in
the country leading their team. In 2009, Angel McCoughtry led the Cards,
and in 2013, Shoni Schimmel was their leader. This season, Louisville has,
in my humble opinion, the best player in the country in Asia Durr. But the
difference between this team and the two runner-up teams is that Louisville
has Myisha Hines-Allen, who would be the best player on about 98 percemt
of every other team in the country. Yes, Louisville has an amazing 1-2 punch,
as well as a very good supporting cast that seems to keep getting better as
they gain experience. Also, the development of junior Sam Fuehring and
sophomores Jazmine Jones and Kylee Shook really makes them a deep
team. That depth makes Louisville a team that just wears you down over
the course of a game.
Could the star power balanced with the great supporting players be the
perfect formula that takes the Cards all the way to the National Championship?
I’m not sure, but I definitely wouldn’t bet against it.
Regardless of whether they win it all or not, the Cards have marched their way
straight to the top and given themselves the opportunity to see if they have what
it takes. It should be very fun and interesting to witness. Stay tuned.
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