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Geno: More than 2 great teams in Final Four
While Geno Auriemma is aware that fans would love to see the first showdown of undefeated teams in the history of the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, he also knows first hand that his UConn team and Notre Dame are not the only teams headed to Nashville with the ability of winning it all.
He said that two of the games where he learned the most about his team where games against fellow Final Four teams Stanford and Maryland.
"For us internally we're getting ready to play Stanford, and it's no different than us last year getting ready to play Notre Dame regardless of what their record was, regardless of what our record was,” Auriemma said on a conference call on Wednesday. “We've entered the tournament undefeated a number of times, and I know what the hype is surrounding that, and I know how everyone throughout this season has wanted to make it about this inevitable march towards two undefeated teams playing for the national championship.
“I've kind of not bought into any of that, so I don't really feel that. I kind of don't like when you have a sense of like you're disrespecting people. I wouldn't want either Maryland or Stanford to feel like we're just there as filler for the Notre Dame/Connecticut big thing, because I've been there, I've seen it, and I don't like it. We're just preparing as if we would anything else. I know it's a great story, and I know everybody loves story lines. In today's day and age God forbid if you don't have a story line, we'll just create one. So fortunately there is a story line.”
UConn, Tennessee, Baylor and Texas have all capped undefeated seasons with a pair of wins at the Final Four but if Notre Dame tops Maryland and UConn defeats Stanford, it would mark the first showdown between a pair of undefeated teams in the history of the tournament.
“The story line, God bless them, is two teams that are undefeated,” Auriemma said. “Great. This is a team sport, and I'm glad that there are two teams that are undefeated. But I caution everybody, there's two other teams out there that are good enough to win a national championship, so let's not write that story just yet.”
He said that two of the games where he learned the most about his team where games against fellow Final Four teams Stanford and Maryland.
"For us internally we're getting ready to play Stanford, and it's no different than us last year getting ready to play Notre Dame regardless of what their record was, regardless of what our record was,” Auriemma said on a conference call on Wednesday. “We've entered the tournament undefeated a number of times, and I know what the hype is surrounding that, and I know how everyone throughout this season has wanted to make it about this inevitable march towards two undefeated teams playing for the national championship.
“I've kind of not bought into any of that, so I don't really feel that. I kind of don't like when you have a sense of like you're disrespecting people. I wouldn't want either Maryland or Stanford to feel like we're just there as filler for the Notre Dame/Connecticut big thing, because I've been there, I've seen it, and I don't like it. We're just preparing as if we would anything else. I know it's a great story, and I know everybody loves story lines. In today's day and age God forbid if you don't have a story line, we'll just create one. So fortunately there is a story line.”
UConn, Tennessee, Baylor and Texas have all capped undefeated seasons with a pair of wins at the Final Four but if Notre Dame tops Maryland and UConn defeats Stanford, it would mark the first showdown between a pair of undefeated teams in the history of the tournament.
“The story line, God bless them, is two teams that are undefeated,” Auriemma said. “Great. This is a team sport, and I'm glad that there are two teams that are undefeated. But I caution everybody, there's two other teams out there that are good enough to win a national championship, so let's not write that story just yet.”
posted by Jim Fuller at
6:09 PM
1 Comments:
Geno understands all too well how a perceived "diss" can motivate a team to play well "over their heads" just to prove people wrong. The Stanford game should be a battle royale. it will be a much more challenging contest than the Final (if UConn can win). Expect Stanford to come out smoking hot on fire. If UConn can come out of the first half with a close score, I'll be pleased.
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