The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Playing Second Fiddle
UConn not a No. 1 seed for first time since 2006
STORRS — Christyn Williams had intended to take a nap before heading over to the Werth Center around 6:30 p.m. Monday to watch the NCAA Selection Show with her teammates.
Those plans were interrupted, though, by UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey.
“I just got a call saying, ‘Get to the gym before 5,’ ” Williams, a freshman, said. “We were originally supposed to be here at 6:30. That’s a big difference.”
Williams and her teammates got to watch the tournament reveal together, albeit much earlier than expected after ESPN inadvertently displayed the 64-team bracket on screen in the afternoon.
That surprise was topped by another when they learned their seeding. The Huskies were placed in the Albany (N.Y.) Regional not as a No. 1, but as a No. 2. They will begin their quest for a 12th national championship against No. 15 Towson (20-15) Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion.
“One seed, two seed, either way basketball has to be played,” guard Crystal Dangerfield said. “We get a game Friday. If we do well in that one, we get one Sunday.”
UConn (31-2) is No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, but the selection committee placed ACC runner-up Louisville (29-3) as No. 1 in the regional — partly due to the Huskies’ weak American Athletic Conference schedule. It’s the first time since 2006 that UConn is not a No. 1 seed.
“They were our No. 1 two seed,” Committee Chair Rhonda Lundin Bennett explained on ESPN following the broadcast. “So, the things that were deciding factors were strength of schedule, as well as strength of their conference. And our committee watched UConn and … really just thought that playing down the stretch, the teams that made it onto the one line were stronger.”
The other game in Storrs Friday is No. 7 Rutgers vs. No. 10 Buffalo at 4:30 p.m.
“I don’t think it matters one way or the other,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. “We’ve lost national championships as a one seed, and we’ve won national championships being a two or three seed, if I’m not mistaken. I don’t think it matters one way or the other.”
This is the first season since 2012-13 that UConn has lost more than one game. One of those defeats was a 78-69 setback at Louisville in January.
“We did lose two games. I’m surprised we’re a No. 2. I thought we’d be like a (No.) 4 or 5,” Auriemma said sarcastically. “We’re not in one of those conferences that perennially wins women’s basketball national championships, so we can’t be
expected to lose games and, you know, not drop.”
Baylor — which beat UConn 68-57 in January at home — earned the No. 1 overall seed out of the Greensboro (N.C.) Regional. Defending national champion Notre Dame (Chicago) and Mississippi State (Portland, Ore.) also received No. 1 seeds.
When asked whether he thought a weak AAC schedule impacted the Huskies’ seeding, Auriemma didn’t hold back.
“Not if we had gone undefeated, would it,” he said. “So, if we had won those two games we lost, then we’d be a No. 1 seed, right? Then the strength of our conference wouldn’t mean (crap), would it? There goes that theory.”
The only other team from the AAC to make the tournament was UCF, which received a No. 12 seed. The Knights will play No. 5 Arizona State in the Portland Regional.
Elsewhere in the Albany bracket, Louisville will face No. 16 Robert Morris and No. 3 Maryland will open with No 14 Radford. Rounding out the top five seeds are No. 4 Oregon State facing No. 13 Boise State and No. 5 Gonzaga playing No. 12 Little Rock.
Towson is making its first tournament appearance after defeating Drexel 53-49 in the Colonial Athletic Association final. All-American guard Katie Lou Samuelson expects to return for UConn after missing the last four games, including three in the AAC Tournament, with a back injury.
“Based on today’s workout, I would say she’s shooting the ball like at 95 percent, she’s moving around probably at 75 percent, which is not bad,” Auriemma said.
Samuelson, the team’s top 3-point shooter, is averaging 18.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
“I’m ready to go,” Samuelson declared. “I’m excited to get playing again.”