Defending champs are up next for unbeaten Huskies

Albany, N.Y. — UConn coach Geno Auriemma was asked his initial thoughts about a rematch Monday against defending national champion South Carolina, this time for a bid in what would be UConn's 11th straight Final Four.

UConn (35-0) is the top seed in the Albany Regional. South Carolina (296) is No. 2. The winner of Monday's game (7 p.m., ESPN) at the Times Union Center advances to the Final Four next weekend in Columbus, Ohio.

UConn won at South Carolina 8358 on Feb. 1, backed by 23 points from Kia Nurse, including five 3-point field goals, and 20 from Katie Lou Samuelson.

“I don't know yet. We'll know more on Monday,” Auriemma said. “I can say, 'here's what I think is going to happen Monday night,' but it could be completely different.”

Auriemma said, as with every NCAA tournament game he coaches, he will have a Plan A, Plan B and Plan C against the Gamecocks, coached by U.S. Olympic coach Dawn Staley and led by national player of the year candidate A'ja Wilson (22.5 ppg, 12.0 rpg), a 6-foot-5 senior forward.

“I mean, the last time we played them, we kind of got out to a really early run,” UConn senior Gabby Williams said of South Carolina. “I don't think any of us are expecting it to be that easy. We know they're going to put up a fight. They don't, A'ja doesn't want her career to be over on Monday.”

“I think every team is different in the postseason than they are in the regular season,” Nurse said. “So I think it will be a great test. It is a battle every single time we play and their size and athleticism is a bit of a problem for people, so hopefully we can combat that.”

11th hour

Two No. 11 seeds remained in the tournament headed into Saturday's games: Buffalo, which lost to No. 2 South Carolina in the Albany Region, and Central Michigan, which lost to No. 2 Oregon in the Spokane Region.

UConn was fresh off a 71-46 victory over Quinnipiac in the second round, also considered a mid-major.

“If you look around the country, the mid-major programs are a lot better than people think,” Auriemma said following the win over Quinnipiac. “Women's basketball mid-majors don't get any respect; on the men's side they do, but not on the women's side. So for this year, to have what's happening in the mid-majors, that's like the best thing that's ever happened.

“I mean, I'm glad it didn't happen more,” he added with a smile, referring to his own situation. “I think it happened just enough times.”

Geno on Jamelle

Auriemma doesn't tweet often, but he took to that platform this week to protest Jamelle Elliott's firing as the head coach at Cincinnati. Elliott, a former UConn player and assistant under Auriemma, was 113-162 in nine seasons, but the Bearcats were 19-13 this season with a WNIT bid, the program's best record since 2002-03.

Auriemma called the move by Cincinnati “positively disgraceful.” He added that Elliott is “one of the finest human beings in our profession.”

“I mean, if you were going to fire her, you should have fired her two years ago … don't wait until they build the program back up and finish fourth (in the American Athletic Conference), the highest they've ever done and the best they've ever done, and then say, 'OK, we're going to bring in somebody new now that they have a pretty good team to coach,'” Auriemma said in a press conference Friday.

Cincinnati's men's and women's basketball teams were both relocated this year while their home venue, Fifth Third Arena, was undergoing renovations. The men, however, played at Northern Kentucky University, while the women's team played their games at a 1,000-seat high school gym at St. Ursula Academy.

Said Auriemma: “There's a lot of deeper issues that are going on there, believe me, that go beyond someone getting let go.”

And more

UConn recruit Christyn Williams of Central Arkansas Christian School in North Little Rock, Ark., was named the Gatorade National Girls' Basketball Player of the Year on Saturday. Williams, a 5-foot-11 senior guard, led the Mustangs to a 36-1 record and the Class 4A state championship this season, averaging 26.8 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game. A member of the USA Basketball U19 national team, Williams is a four-time all-state selection who is ranked as the No. 1 recruit in the country by espnW. v.fulkerson@theday.com