Tonight the NCAA Women's National Championship takes place between the Connecticut Huskies and the Louisville Cardinals. The game is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. Currently the odds for the game have Connecticut favored big a wide margin.
Connecticut took a huge step forward when they beat Notre Dame in the Final Four on Sunday night. The Lady Irish had won three times against the Huskies this season, but Connecticut did everything right and now will be playing for a national championship.
Geno Auriemma has won all seven national championships that Connecticut has played in during his coaching career. Tonight they're taking on a Louisville team that has been the darlings of the tournament so far, knocking off Baylor, Tennessee and Cal to get to this point. Yet, in tonight's game they'll face a UConn team that drilled them back in January.
A win by UConn in this game tonight would match them with Tennessee for the most titles ever in women's basketball. Yet, as much as everyone talks about how Connecticut is the best program in the country, it's important to note that the Lady Huskies haven't won a national title since the 2009 season. They'll look to end that little mini streak without titles tonight.
UConn's Breanna Stewart seems to be the next big thing for Auriemma. She poured in 29 points in the team's win over Notre Dame on Sunday and even though she's a freshman playing through an injury, she is a solid player that is going to make Louisville work tonight. She's averaging better than 20 points per game in the tournament so far.
Louisville has a chance tonight to have both the men's and women's programs to hold national titles. The last school to do that, ironically, was Connecticut in 2004.
Louisville coach Jeff Walz will have his group ready to go tonight. They're a fifth seed but they've been exceeding expectations the entire tournament. Walz and his team have the mantra of "Why not us?" and to this point, it's worked. Yet in tonight's game they will have to battle more than just UConn, they also have to battle against some history with Auriemma never losing in the final game. Louisville can become the lowest seed to win a NCAA championship on the women's side.
The Cardinals' Shoni Schimmel is going to have to keep her team in this game. UConn can play inside-out and doesn't have a problem being physical or connecting on shots from the perimeter. Louisville is going to have to score points and if they can learn from Notre Dame's offensive lulls against UConn on Sunday, they can get some things done.
Yet, in the end, it's hard not to like UConn in this one. They have the better players and the better overall team. Look for Auriemma to cut down the nets tonight in New Orleans.
Free Pick: Connecticut 72, Louisville 60