Geno Auriemma in 2002: St. Francis will never, ever beat us

... did the UMBC win over Va. change this?

The story of March Madness has always been the same. A 16th seed can never beat a number 1. It had never happened ... until March 16, 2018.

Last night in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, it finally happened. The 16th-seeded men's basketball team from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) knocked off the Virginia Cavaliers, the first time that had happened since the 64 team field was set in 1985. The 16s had been a woeful 0-135 since then.

To say that this stunned the basketball world would be blatantly obvious.

So, with the St. Francis University women poised to also play the role of giant slayer in their 12th trip to the NCAA Tournament, could they duplicate the feat pulled off by UMBC?

The Red Flash women face the greatest basketball program in history: The University of Connecticut Huskies, who have won 11 national titles under legendary Coach Geno Auriemma.

UConn is now 32-0, is the unanimous top seed in the tournament, and is the favorite to win number 12 for Auriemma, who is in his 33rd season there.

The teams have met twice before, and in a 2002 conference call with reporters prior to the game, Auriemma said, "St. Francis will never beat us."

I then asked him if he was risking overconfidence and possibly going into a game taking a 16th seed too lightly, but he explained what he believed then, and I am sure still believes today.

Since I do not have the exact quote and am going from memory, I will place what he said in brackets and not quotation marks. [No, a 16 has never beaten a 1, and that will never happen. It has not happened with the men either, but there is a major difference between men and women's basketball. The 16th seeds in the men's game are closer talent wise to the 1's than with the women. The 16th seeded women just do not have enough talent to ever beat a 1."]

I did not see any quotes from Auriemma about this leading up to today's game, but I would wager that if he was asked about the chances of the Red Flash women pulling off a UMBC, his answer would be the same.

UConn defeated St. Francis Coach Myndi Hill's young team, 86-37. In 1999, his team defeated a SFU team, 97-46.

I would love to see Coach Joe Haigh's team pull off the upset today, a la UMBC. After all that is what makes March Madness so magical.


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