The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
UConn begins postseason in Big East Tournament
It’s the first week of March and the women’s basketball postseason has officially begun.
UConn women’s basketball will compete in the Big East Tournament in a must-win weekend.
The Huskies, the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament, need to not only reach the conference tournament championship but they need to win it as a last-chance effort to impress the NCAA Tournament committee.
In the latest NCAA Tournament Top-16 reveal, UConn dropped from a No. 1 seed to a No. 2 seed and needs to show the committee it’s grown from its late-season mistakes and losses (on top of also needing other top seeds to lose in their conference tournaments).
But winning the Big East Tournament won’t be easy.
The Huskies have won the Big East Tournament the past two seasons. However, this year’s tournament may be its most competitive since they rejoined the conference two seasons ago.
Xavier, DePaul, St. John’s, Villanova, Creighton, Georgetown and Marquette all kept within single digits of the Huskies during the regular season. St. John’s and Marquette both beat UConn this year. Plus, Villanova finished just one win below UConn in the conference standings.
So while the Huskies do have the top seed and the successful history in the Big East Tournament, they’re really only guaranteed one game and will need to win two to reach the championship and three to secure the conference tournament title.
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville
Dates: Friday, March 3 through Monday, March 6
Tickets: Fans can purchase tickets in person or online at Ticketmaster.com.
SEEDS
No. 1 UConn (18-2 in Big East play)
No. 2 Villanova (17-3)
No. 3 Creighton (15-5)
No. 4 St. John’s (13-7)
No. 5 Marquette (13-7)
No. 6 Seton Hall (10-10)
No. 7 DePaul (8-12)
No. 8 Butler (6-14)
No. 9 Georgetown (6-14)
No. 10 Providence (4-16)
No. 11 Xavier (0-20)
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE Friday — First Round
Game 1: No. 8 Butler vs No. 9 Georgetown at 11 a.m.
Game 2: No. 7 DePaul vs No. 10 Providence at 1:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 6 Seton Hall vs No. 11 Xavier at 4 p.m.
Saturday — Quarterfinals
Game 4: No. 1 UConn vs winner of Game 1 at noon
Game 5: No. 4 St. John’s vs No. 5 Marquette at 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Villanova vs winner of Game 2 at 7 p.m.
Game 7: No. 3 Creighton vs winner of Game 3 at 9:30 p.m.
Sunday — Semifinals
Game 8: Winner of Game 4 vs winner of Game 5 at 3 p.m.
Game 9: Winner of Game 6 vs winner of Game 7 at 5:30 p.m.
Monday — Championship
Game 10: Winner of Game 8 vs winner of Game 6 at 7 p.m.
UCONN HISTORY IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
The Huskies are 94-13 alltime in conference tournament games (combined through Big East and American Athletic Conference) and have won 27 total and nine straight conference tournament titles (including 20 total in the Big East conference).
UConn has advanced to its conference tournament championship 18 straight years. The last time the Huskies lost a conference tournament championship was in 2013 to Notre Dame in the Big East Tournament in Hartford with the Irish winning 61-59. UConn is 27-5 all-time in conference tournament championship games.
The Huskies won all seven of the AAC tournaments they played from 2014 to 2020.
The last time they didn’t reach the championship game of the Big East Tournament was in 2004 when they were knocked out by Boston College in the semifinals in Hartford, 7370. The only other time UConn has lost in the tournament’s semifinals was in 1993 (falling 87-73 to Providence).
UConn has lost in the Big East Tournament first round five times: 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988. In 1984 (the last season before Geno Auriemma took over the program) the Huskies fell in the quarterfinals to Pitt 6057 after defeating Boston College 52-51 in the first round — that remains the program’s only quarterfinals loss in the Big East Tournament.