Just shut up and let UConn women's basketball be great
This past Saturday, UConn women's basketball team beat Mississippi State by a whopping 60 points in a Sweet 16 game, which was the largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament game, ever. The blowout left a bad taste in Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy's mouth. After the game, Shaughnessy tweeted this:
Similar criticisms have been popping up as UConn rolls toward its fourth consecutive title and an NCAA-record 11th, and with reason. It's a pretty easy argument to make. UConn is 36-0 at the moment. The closest they've come to losing this season was beating Maryland by 10 points back in December. They outscored Texas by 21 in the Elite Eight. That's "Galactic Bowling With The Bumpers Up" prolificacy. Something, something "parity."
The rub here is that there's parity elsewhere; Syracuse and Washington are both headed to the Final Four, and those two teams are a 4-seed and a 7-seed respectively. Mississippi State went 28-8 and reached the tournament as a 5-seed, then the Huskies beat them beyond recognition while sitting their starters in the fourth quarter.
It's very simple: UConn is just better than everyone else. What exactly are the Huskies supposed to do about it? Like, logistically? Furthermore, why is it a problem? How are they breaking the game of basketball, and why is "fixing" it their responsibility?
Heaven forgive me for presenting the NBA and women's college basketball as analogues, but if you'll recall, sundry armchair pundits have been crying about Steph Curry and the Warriors all season. They couldn't approach 72 wins without abusing moving screens. Curry wouldn't be able to make those if playing real defense was still allowed. 2-on-1 fast breaks lead to open THREES now? They're ruining the game!
Let's not mince "breaking basketball" with "forcing it to change." 3-pointers are canon now. Small-ball is the way of the future. Sure, Geno Auriemma often wins the lottery with players like Breanna Stewart and Moriah Jefferson most years, but it's hard work and good coaching that develops and assembles them into an indomitable juggernaut. The only way any of this gets "better" is if everyone else steps their weight up.
Until then, if you don't want to watch the carnage, fine. But we're always trying to put people in timeout for being awesome. Just shut up and let the Huskies be great.
Watch them take on the Oregon State Beavers this Sunday at 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
