The Huskies will attempt to win another Big East title on their way, they hope, to another national championship.
The pairings for the Big East women’s basketball tournament are set, with regular-season champion UConn the No. 1 seed.
Undefeated UConn, No. 2 Villanova and No. 3 Seton Hall all advanced directly to the quarterfinals and will await the winners of first-round games.
For starters, here’s the schedule for the tournament, which will be nearly a home event for UConn. It will be played beginning Thursday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and conclude the following Monday with the title game.
All games will be shown on Peacock and NBCSN. Game times listed are Eastern time.
March 6: First round
Game 1: No. 8 Georgetown vs. No. 9 Butler, 11 a.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Providence vs. No. 10 DePaul, 1:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 6 St. John’s vs. No. 11 Xavier, 4 p.m.
March 7: Quarterfinals
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. No. 1 UConn, Noon
Game 5: No. 4 Marquette vs. No. 5 Creighton, 2:30 p.m.
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. No. 2 Villanova, 7 p.m.
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. No. 3 Seton Hall, 9:30 p.m.
March 8: Semifinals
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 2:30 p.m.
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 5 p.m.
March 9: Final
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 7 p.m.
So how did the Huskies fare against Georgetown and Butler this season? They defeated each of their prospective opponents twice:
Against Butler:
94-47, Dec. 28, at Indianapolis
80-48, Feb. 7, at Hartford, Conn.
Against Georgetown:
83-42, Jan. 22, at Washington, D.C.
84-52, Feb. 26, at Hartford, Conn.
UConn domination
Whichever teams earn the right to play UConn in the Big East tournament know what they are up against. UConn, the No. 1 team in the nation, has compiled an impressive set of stats this season:
- A margin of victory of 37.8 points per game
- A field goal percentage of 52.5% per game, against 33.8% for opponents
- A 3-point percentage of 39.4%, 27.9% for opponents
- 24 assists per game, 11.1 for opponents
- 33.9 points off turnovers, 10.3 for opponents
- 15.7 steals per game, 6.1 for opponents
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma takes his defending national champions into the Big East tournament expecting to play hard, even though the Huskies beat every team twice the season. Seeking his 13th NCAA title in his 41st season, he won’t sell any team short, based on what he told TNT Sports after the Huskies' beat St. John's in the season finale on Sunday night.
“Our shootaround today was as if we were playing in the Final Four, and, you know, we try to treat every game with a lot of respect, every team with a lot of respect," he said. "And everybody's gotta be on board.”
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