When it comes to elite teams in women's college basketball, the discussion begins and ends with the No. 1−ranked Connecticut Huskies, owners of a 62−game winning streak — the second longest in NCAA history — and last year's national championship. So far, Geno Auriemma's squad has seemed literally unbeatable, running its record up to 23−0 and winning by an average of 39.3 points per game.
No one has even touched the Huskies this season, as Connecticut figures to roll to its second national title in as many years and continue its dynasty into the new decade. But maybe, just maybe, there is a storm brewing out in the Midwest — one that, come March, could unseat Connecticut's place as the queen of the game.
Nebraska, the only other undefeated team in the country, currently sits in the No. 3 slot in the latest AP Top 25 poll and has rolled powerfully through its 21 games thus far. And in a game traditionally dominated by the East — only one school west of the Mississippi River has won a national title since 1994 — the Cornhuskers are poised to make some noise with one of the nation's best players at the helm of a potent offense.
Like its counterpart in Connecticut, Nebraska has rolled through a fairly tough schedule with relative ease, topping Big 12 and non−conference opponents alike by an average of 23.6 points per game, second nationally to UConn. The newfound success is astounding considering that this team did not even make the NCAA Tournament last season.
Last year, Nebraska averaged just 62.2 points per game, including 59.7 in Big 12 play. This season? Try a blistering 79.1 points per game, which would rank as the third best scoring average in school history. In five meetings with Big 12 South foes, the Cornhuskers have won by an average of 19 points per contest, putting up 80.8 points per game against some of the country's best competition.
At the individual level, senior Kelsey Griffin just might steal the national Player of the Year Award away from Connecticut studs Tina Charles and Maya Moore, simply because she is the first, second and third option on this undefeated squad. Averaging 19.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, Griffin is shooting 61.6 percent from the field as a 6−foot−2 forward constantly being double− or triple−teamed by opposing defenses.
But should some squad find a way to stop Griffin — which has not seemed doable this year — head coach Connie Yori can rest easy knowing that senior guard Yvonne Turner is on the perimeter. Turner, who leads the Big 12 with 2.9 made three−pointers per game, is shooting 42.9 percent from downtown, good enough for 28th in the nation.
Most importantly, though, Turner has stepped up in big games. In back−to−back wins over conference foes Baylor and Kansas State, she canned six threes in each game. Turner also hit four from beyond the arc in Nebraska's romp over then−No. 10 Oklahoma State (OSU) in the first ever meeting between a pair of top−10 teams ever to be held in Nebraska.
And that is the Cornhuskers' power: They have been able to dispatch any top−ranked opponent in a schedule ranked among the country's best. When Nebraska's non−conference season closed, its strength of schedule was ranked No. 25 by CollegeRPI.com and it currently sits at No. 22.
Versus top−25 opponents, the Cornhuskers' offense has been even better. In its eight games against AP Top 25−ranked foes, Nebraska is averaging 77.4 points per game, including topping the 90−point mark three times. Compare that to last season, when the squad managed 80 points on only two occasions. This year? Try 10.
For insight into this remarkable year, look no further than the Feb. 3 romp over OSU, an 88−67 game that was never close. Five Cornhuskers finished in double figures as the Cowgirls coughed the ball up 16 times. Four days later, determined not to let the high ranking go to its head, Nebraska blasted No. 12 Texas A&M 71−60 behind Griffin's 11th double−double of the year.
In the 2008−09 season, the Cornhuskers started out strong in non−conference play, winning their first seven contests, but faded when it counted, ultimately finishing the year 6−10 in Big 12 play and losing by 11 to New Mexico in the Women's NIT.
This season, though, there has been no such collapse. With eight regular season games left on its schedule, Nebraska has a legitimate shot at running the table and entering the NCAA Tournament with an unblemished record.
But for a program that has never made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament and has only made the Big Dance seven times in the bracket's 27−year history, the Cornhuskers have nowhere to go but up.
