UConn's Geno Auriemma at top of his game
In most of women's college basketball, Geno Auriemma is Public Enemy No. 1.
As of Tuesday night, however, he's simply No. 1.
With UConn's 79-58 rout of Notre Dame, Auriemma secured the ninth national championship of his extraordinary coaching career, moving one ahead of Tennessee Lady Vols coaching icon Pat Summitt for the most ever in the women's game.
The fact that the historic victory came in Summitt's backyard was not lost on anyone.
Clearly, Auriemma is at home in the spotlight. During the final strains of the national anthem prior to tipoff, he mugged for an ESPN camera that was hovering nearby.
When you've been to the national championship game this many times — nine and counting — you grow comfortable in your surroundings. It also doesn't hurt that he's 9-0 in title games. This is his personal playground.
"There have been a lot of great moments in our NCAA history … but I couldn't be prouder than I am right now," Auriemma said after the game.
All-Americans come and first-round WNBA draft picks go, but Geno is a constant. At age 60 and with a recruiting
We're talking rarified air here. Auriemma now is within one national championship of matching John Wooden, whose UCLA Bruins won 10 in a remarkable 12-year period, including seven titles in a row.
Many disdain comparisons of the men's and women's game. But when it comes to NCAA championships, the landscape during Wooden's coaching era and Auriemma's coaching tenure is not all that different.
During Wooden's extraordinary run in 1964-75, the men's game was dominated by a handful of top-tier programs. There were perhaps 10 teams capable of winning a national championship in a given year during that period.
Sound familiar? These days, the women's title is passed around among a handful of programs. Over the past 20 years, only seven schools have won national championships, headed by UConn with nine and Tennessee with five. It's a top-heavy sport, just as the men's game was during Wooden's heyday.
While there is more depth than ever before in women's college basketball, we're still decades away from a situation where a No. 7 regional seed faces a No. 8 seed for the title, as was the case in the men's final on Monday.
Auriemma acknowledged as much the other day when he said: "The chances of that happening in women's basketball are probably zero. It's just not going to happen."
Tuesday's victory came against UConn's biggest rival. Since Summitt's retirement and Tennessee's fall from the very top tier of women's basketball, Notre Dame has been the Huskies' nemesis.
In 2011-13, the Fighting Irish went 7-5 against UConn. All other Huskies opponents were 4-101 during that three-year period.
That created a rivalry when UConn was dominating Notre Dame prior to the 2011 season. In separate press conferences on the eve of the championship game on Monday, Auriemma and Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw exchanged barbs.
At game's end on Tuesday evening, however, McGraw had nothing but praise for UConn's performance. Asked what she told Auriemma during their handshake after the final horn, McGraw said:
"Something like, 'I thought we were playing the Miami Heat for a while.' They were that good."
Later, she said the final 21-point margin was indicative of the game.
"They were just better," McGraw said. "We were overmatched."
And the beatings go on. In going 40-0 this season, the Huskies had 40 double-digit victories. The final game was no exception. While it took a perfect storm for two undefeated teams to make it to the title game, there was room for only one perfect team at game's end.
"This season we wanted to chase perfection, and we did that," Final Four MVP Breanna Stewart said.
Said senior center Stefanie Dolson: "Everyone said we had a lot of pressure on our backs but we didn't. … We went in there having fun. We were loose and playing great."
Notre Dame cut a 14-point first-half deficit to seven at halftime but UConn was relentless. Seven minutes into the second half, the Huskies had stretched the lead to 20 and Notre Dame was sagging under the strain of UConn's size, athleticism and skill.
"There really isn't much you can say when you have a performance like that," Auriemma said, calling it "just an incredible effort by the entire team."
Look for UConn's dominance to continue. Although the Huskies lose Dolson and Hartley to graduation, they're still loaded. Stewart is only a sophomore. Unlike the men's game, these players usually stick around all four seasons before heading to the WNBA or to pro ball overseas.
In short, Geno Auriemma is going to be No. 1 for a while. Get used to it.
