Sports

UConn isn't invincible after all

women's top 25

Christian Schmidt

The Connecticut womenis team hadnit lost a game in nearly two years, so there should have been little for the Lady Huskies to fear, even facing a strong No. 18 Villanova team in the finals of the Big East Conference tournament.

But nobody told the Villanova Lady Wildcats they werenit supposed to win, and that is just what they did, hanging on for a 52-48 victory and snapping Connecticutis NCAA record 70-game winning streak. Earlier in the day, Villanova head coach Harry Perretta admitted he didnit think his team could win the game. Apparently, his players had a different idea.

Villanova used a slow-down, ball-control offense to run huge chunks of time off the clock and limit the Huskiesi fast-break opportunities in the game. Connecticut uncharacteristically could not rebound well and get second chances to score.

Securing a bid

Itis championship week and teams are trying to secure their spot for the NCAA tournament. The entire field of 64 will be named Sunday evening, but a few teams have already punched their tickets to the "Big Dance" by securing their conference championships.

Fourteen schools have already secured that conference championship: Austin Peay (Ohio Valley), Chattanooga (Southern), Duke (Atlantic Coast), George Washington (Atlantic 10), Harvard (Ivy League), Liberty (Big South), Louisiana State (Southeastern Conference), Manhattan (Metro Atlantic), Pepperdine (West Coast), Purdue (Big Ten), Stanford (Pac 10), Texas Christian (Conference USA), Villanova (Big East) and Wisconsin-Green Bay (Horizon).

Sixteen more conferences will decide their champions this week and then the selection committee will be left to choose 34 at-large teams Sunday.

Boilermakers for everyone

Purdue came in under the radar at the Big Ten tournament, escaping the notice of some experts. With Penn State in the field, Purdue was a distant second, or so it was thought. That all changed with a convincing 67-65 victory over Ohio State to win the conference title.

The Lady Boilermakers will have trouble escaping anyoneis notice now with a No. 10 national ranking and a likely No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament next week.

The week was anything but a bad one for Ohio State, though. Previous to their championship game loss, the Lady Buckeyes had knocked off Penn State, dropping the Lady Nittany Lions down to No. 14 in this weekis poll.

The surprising showing by Ohio State moved it back into the poll at No. 22. The Lady Buckeyes have been in and out of the poll three times this season, but have likely secured a high seed for themselves with the victory.

Tennessee falls

Tennessee was just about everyoneis favorite to win the SEC title, and for good reason. The Lady Volunteers were No. 3 in the poll and had dominated play in the conference for most of the regular season.

The LSU Lady Tigers had a different idea. Ranked No. 2 for most of the middle of the season before suffering a string of conference defeats, LSU had plenty of confidence and something to play for ? namely, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

So, it came as no surprise to the Lady Tigers when they beat Tennessee in the SEC title game, winning 78-62 in a game that wasnit close for most of the second half.

No. 3 LSU should get that No. 1 seed, and No. 4 Tennessee will have to sweat it out to see if it too will receive that coveted top seed. With No. 5 Texas and No. 6 Louisiana Tech hot on the Lady Volsi trail, it may be tough.

Stanford strong

No. 9 Stanford has had little trouble this season in the PAC 10. But then, that was even more true a year ago when Stanford was a perfect 18-0 in the conference season. And last year, Stanford was upset in the conference championship game by Arizona State in the first ever conference tournament.

They werenit about to make the same mistake twice. Stanford, led by 19 points from forward and tournament MVP Nicole Powell, the Lady Cardinal took the championship game over earlier, using some sharp outside shooting to beat Arizona 59-49 and secure a bid to the NCAA tournament.

Pink slips

Womenis college basketball might not be as high-profile as football or menis basketball, but that doesnit mean head coaches have any less pressure to win or face less scrutiny than their counterparts on the menis teams.

Just ask the nine coaches who have already lost their jobs this season, a season that isnit even over yet. Three of the coaches fired were at schools in major conferences where the pressure can be particularly intense.

And make no mistake, there will be more changes before itis all said and done.

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