Throughout the month of March, basketball fans from all over the country fill out brackets, hoping to achieve the nearly impossible task of picking "The Perfect Bracket." Despite everyone's best efforts, as the field of 64 teams narrows, most people end up with a busted bracket. This year's showdown came on Monday April 4, 2016 with the number one North Carolina Tarheels taking on the number two Villanova Wildcats.
The National Championship was a thriller right up until the end, with exciting plays consistently coming from both sides. As the game came to a climax with North Carolina sinking an incredible three-point shot to tie the score at 74, Villanova would not surrender and was able to pull out the win with a buzzer beating three-pointer.
Incredible, right? But what about the other game?
You don't know what I'm talking about? What if I told you a team just won their fourth straight championship. Interested now?
Don't get me wrong, I watched most of the Men's National Championship and marveled at the skill and perseverance shown from both sides. It was an unbelievable ending to the season, but why aren't we talking about the Women's National Championship? Yes, there's a women's tournament for those of you who didn't actually know.
For those of you who were so focused on the buzzer beater miracle, you missed a moment in history. The overall number one University of Connecticut and fourth ranked Syracuse University met in the Women's National Championship on Tuesday April 5, 2016. Although this game can't be classified as a thriller like the Villanova-North Carolina game, no one can deny the historical significance it held. Not only did Connecticut win the 2016 National Championship, this was their fourth championship win in a row. Let that sink in for a minute. The only other school with this achievement is the UCLA Bruins men's team, who won seven consecutive titles under the legendary John Wooden from 1967-1973.
The 2016 team went undefeated this season, but they didn't just win: they dominated and destroyed. They consistently soared above their opponents, winning every game this season by an average of 39.7 points. That's double digits in every single game. 38 wins later, UConn is now 151-5 for the past 4 seasons. It's hard to challenge the numbers and say that women's basketball can't be dominant.
As I mentioned before, John Wooden holds 10 national championship wins on the men's side. However, Tuesday night also saw Geno Auriema, UConn's head coach, surpass John Wooden himself for most NCAA National Championships. Auriema can now record 11 national titles to his name after UConn's dominating 82-51 win over Syracuse. Now why isn't this in headlines everywhere?
Breanna Stewart, UConn's star forward, has been the top player for UConn her entire college career. Not only did she post 24 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists to fuel her team to a crushing victory, but she continues the legacy of Connecticut Women's Basketball greats like Maya Moore, Diana Taurasi, Tina Charles, and Sue Bird, while creating her own legacy to be remembered as one of the greatest to play the college game.
The Villanova-North Carolina game was a marvel and will likely go down as one of the craziest finishes in NCAA history. I'm not saying the men's side of basketball doesn't matter, but let's give some credit to the strong, skilled, and successful players on the women's side as well. They've been dominating far longer than anyone has been paying attention to them, and the women's game is evolving every season. So next year as you fill out those brackets, maybe you'll chose to tune in to both NCAA National Championship games. You won't be disappointed.
