Coaches: UConn in a league of its own

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Louisville coach Jeff Walz didn’t hesitate when asked whether he’s seen any team that might be able to knock off the top-ranked Connecticut women.

“I’ve watched UConn’s men’s team play, and they look pretty good,” Walz quipped.

Among women’s teams, though, Walz and many other coaches don’t see any strong contenders to end UConn’s 55-game winning streak, 15 victories shy of the record 70 set by the Huskies in 2001-03.

UConn, which has won five of the last 10 national championships, already has beaten second-ranked Stanford by 12 points. The consensus among Big East coaches is that for an opponent to pull the upset they are going to need some help from the Huskies.

“I don’t think there’s anyone in the country who will disagree with that,” said Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw, whose third-ranked Fighting Irish play at UConn today.

Even UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who tells his players he doesn’t want them falling into the trap of thinking they are unbeatable, doesn’t disagree.

“I just think that kids are kids and there’s going to be some point in time where we’re going to play poorly and if we play poorly on a day when somebody else who’s really good plays the best games of their lives then we’re going to lose,” he said.

Former Texas coach Jody Conradt, who had 900 career victories and won a national championship in 1986, wouldn’t say this year’s UConn squad is the best ever. But she said she believes it might be the most dominant.

“I think there is a wider gap now between UConn and the rest of the field than I can ever remember there being,” Conradt said. “It seems to me there are very few other teams with even the potential to beat them unless UConn has an off night and the other team plays toward perfection.”

The Huskies (16-0, 4-0 Big East) have been at their best against the best, going 9-0 against top 10 teams during the streak and winning those games by a jaw-dropping average of 27.1 points.

The Huskies will get two more chances over the next few days as they play Notre Dame (15-0, 2-0) and No. 7 Duke (14-2) on Monday.

So what’s the key to trying to beat UConn? Jamelle Elliott, a former UConn standout and a 12-year assistant for the Huskies before taking over at Cincinnati this year, believes an opponent needs to hit a high percentage of shots to limit UConn’s transition baskets.

“If a team can come in and shoot an unbelievable number from the field and make UConn have to inbound the ball and come down and run offense, I think that will increase a team’s chances to win,” she said.