Spring Break
Big East tourney leaves Auriemma skeptical
Brittany Perotti
Issue date: 3/6/09 Section: Sports
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The team has won 17 conference titles during the regular season. It is a number that had even head coach Geno Auriemma astonished after Saturday's game against Seton Hall.
They will get another chance to show their prowess at the XL Center starting Sunday at 2 p.m., when they begin play in the quarterfinal round of the Big East tournament.
As a top seed, the team gets a double-bye and when play resumes, it will face the survivor among Marquette, Cincinnati or South Florida.
The winner of the championship game on Tuesday night will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Yet, Auriemma feels as though the best team in the conference is the one who wins the regular season.
"Don't get me wrong, I want to win it and I want to win it every year, but I don't think the tournament champion is the best team," he said. "And I don't understand why they get the automatic bid. The automatic bid should go to the team that wins the regular season.
"What more do you need to prove you're the best team than 16 games - against everybody?"
According to Auriemma, the tournament allows teams on the bubble a chance to improve their standing, while it can only hurt UConn because if they lose, concerns might be drawn.
And a lot has changed since the conference tournament's inception 27 years ago with the 1982-83 season. Initially, only the tournament winners received a bid to the NCAA Tournament.
With that changing in recent years, it may have lost some significance for vying for a chance to play during March Madness.
Since that time though, the Huskies have won 14 tournament titles, including 12 of the last 15.
During recent years, the Big East has risen to become a women's basketball perennial power. This year, there may be as many as eight teams Big East in the NCAA tournament.
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