New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
March Madness
UConn women No. 1 seed, to play High Point in tournament.
The road to a 12th national title is set.
The UConn women’s basketball team, seeded No. 1 in the River Walk Region, will play No. 16 High Point on Sunday at 8 p.m. at the Alamodome to tip off the NCAA Tournament.
This will be the 13th time in the last 14 tournaments that UConn is a No. 1 seed. Last year’s tournament was canceled due to the pandemic.
“We’re excited to play,” junior guard Christyn Williams said. “I’m really happy for the freshmen and the sophomores that they can kind of experience a tournament. It’s been almost (two) years since I’ve experienced a tournament. Everything’s kind of new for everybody.”
Head coach Geno Auriemma’s arrival in San Antonio will be delayed after he tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday — just four days after receiving his second dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Auriemma, who is asymptomatic, will remain isolated for 10 days and can rejoin the team March 24. He’ll miss the first two rounds of the tournament.
Associate head coach Chris Dailey will take the reins in Auriemma’s absence. Dailey is 10-0 as the interim head coach, including a victory over Oklahoma last season when Auriemma was out following surgery to alleviate diverticulitis.
“I just need them to win two games so I can get down there and try to help out on any games after that,” said Auriemma, 66.
High Point (22-6), the Big South Tournament champion, is making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers have never played UConn.
Either No. 8 Syracuse or No. 9 South Dakota State would await UConn in the second round. Baylor, Tennessee and Kentucky were seeded second through fourth in the Huskies’ bracket.
Stanford (Alamo) was the
No. 1 overall seed, joining South Carolina (Hemisfair), NC State (Mercado) and UConn on the top line.
“It’s hard,” Auriemma said of UConn’s bracket. “You look at every bracket and it’s hard. …
“I wouldn’t want to play Syracuse or South Dakota if we were undefeated, No. 1 in the country, and we were playing at our place in front of 20,000 people and they only got to bring in five players. Those teams are hard to play against. That’s going to be an incredible matchup.”
First-round games will be held in three Texas cities, beginning Sunday: San Antonio, Austin and San Marcos. All subsequent games will be in San Antonio, culminating with the Final Four at the Alamodome on April 2 and 4. The four corners of the bracket — Alamo, River Walk, Hemisfair, Mercado — are named after famous sites in San Antonio instead of geographic regions.
The Huskies (24-1), riding a 14-game win streak that includes a Big East Tournament title, are rounding into form at the right time. They blitzed past St. John’s, Villanova and Marquette at Mohegan Sun, outscoring them by a combined 234-119.
“How we performed in the Big East Tournament,” said freshman guard Paige Bueckers, “I think it was really huge for momentum heading into the NCAA Tournament. We’ve been getting better in practice and pushing each other there. I think we’re in the right mindset and head space going into the tournament.”
This is UConn’s 32nd straight NCAA Tournament dating to 1989. The Huskies have advanced to 12 consecutive Final Fours.
UConn was one of two Big East schools in the field of 64, joining Marquette, a No. 10 seed in the River Walk Region. DePaul was one of the first four teams out.
“I do think that we have four or five teams that are good enough to be in the NCAA Tournament,” Auriemma said. “You can make a case not just for Connecticut and Marquette, but DePaul and Villanova and Seton Hall and Creighton. You can make a case for all of them. … But unfortunately, there’s some things you have to do during the course of the season and then in the tournament that can keep it out of the guessing.”