History Shows This Oregon-UConn Matchup Is The Type Huskies Don'

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History Shows This Oregon-UConn Matchup Is The Type Huskies Don't Lose

It's a message Geno Auriemma and his staff impart on players nearly every day.

There is no room for glancing beyond the next opponent, whether it's just another conference game in the winter or an NCAA Tournament game in March. At UConn, players treat each and every game the same.

"Going out and going through the motions and losing to somebody that has no business beating you, that makes you like everybody else, so why did you come here?" Auriemma said. "I must say that every day."

The result? UConn simply doesn't lose to teams it is supposed to beat. As impressive as the 110-game winning streak may be, consider this: UConn has won 309 of the past 310 games against unranked opponents.

That's worth remembering as UConn gears up for a regional final against a team that nearly missed the NCAA Tournament. The Oregon Ducks (23-13) lost the last three regular season games and needed two wins in the Pac-12 Tournament — including an upset victory over 11th-ranked Washington — to secure a spot in the field of 64.

The tournament has been a run of upsets for the No. 10 seed. First, Oregon beat No. 7 seed Temple. Next, a stunning win over No. 2 seed and ninth-ranked Duke.

And on Saturday, Oregon beat No. 3 seed Maryland. The Terrapins, ranked fourth in the most recent Associated Press poll, figured to pose a serious threat to UConn (35-0) in the regional final.

It's a message Geno Auriemma and his staff impart on players nearly every day.

Upsets happen all the time. It just doesn't happen to UConn.

The tournament has been a run of upsets for the No. 10 seed. First, Oregon beat No. 7 seed Temple. Next, a stunning win over No. 2 seed and ninth-ranked Duke.

And on Saturday, Oregon beat No. 3 seed Maryland. The Terrapins, ranked fourth in the most recent Associated Press poll, figured to pose a serious threat to UConn (35-0) in the regional final.

Instead, a Cinderella team steps on Bridgeport's big stage with another upset in mind.

The numbers are daunting for the Ducks. Since the 1993-94 season, Geno Auriemma's team is 586-9 against unranked teams. The Huskies have never lost in the American Athletic Conference, a league stacked with inferior opponents.

The last loss to an unranked team: St. John's on Feb. 18, 2012.

"What we focus on around here is, we don't really worry about the other team as much as we [worry about] ourselves," junior guard Kia Nurse said. "And we worry about how we're going to execute, what our game plan is, what we're supposed to take away. We don't take any team lightly. We go into every game understanding that we're going to get their best shot, whether they know it or not. A bunch of shots are going to fall. We have to play to our best strengths in order to be successful."

It takes a certain type of player to embrace the philosophy. Players who come to UConn know they will play for a demanding coach and they may understand the standards are high.

But the singular focus, game after game, requires a specific temperament.

"You have to get the right kind of kids, generally speaking," Auriemma said. "When you start with the right players that, one, want to be on a great team or they wouldn't come here; two, they want to be really good because they sense that if they come to Connecticut, they have a chance to be something really special if they work at it.

"So once they decide to make that commitment and they're willing to give up a little bit of their ego for it, then you can appeal to them about what it takes to get better and how much you have to improve every minute of every day, and how you have to prove every game that you're as good as you think you are."

The Huskies are in the Elite Eight for the 12th consecutive year. UConn has also reached the Final Four nine consecutive years and are the four-time defending national champion.

Oregon, under third-year coach Kelly Graves, is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005. The young Ducks are talented and playing without fear, especially after beating Duke and Maryland.

Conventional wisdom about UConn has always held that underdogs are intimated by the name. Teams step onto the court, see the uniform and feel as if it's behind.

"If they had that issue, they would have maybe shown that against Duke," Graves said. "That's a pretty big brand. Maryland [is] another big brand, and they haven't shown those kind of in-awe feelings or behaviors."

Maybe not. But UConn won't treat Oregon lightly. That's the message Auriemma and his coaches preach throughout the season.

"If you want to be like everybody else, why did you come here?" Auriemma said. "So we're trying to be different. We're trying to do things that are hard to do, that are not the norm. So if you're just going to go out and half-ass through something, then why did you come here? And then after a while, they get tired of hearing that and they don't want to hear it anymore. But I don't think it's anything other than we appeal to them, and we won't put up with it if they don't."

There have been scares, of course. The Huskies struggled to overcome Tulane in February. Two years ago, Dayton led the Huskies at halftime in the regional final before losing by 21 points.

But those were UConn victories, part of the record-winning streak. So if Oregon slows the pace and take the Huskies out of their game, the UConn players will know how to respond.

And they won't be caught off guard.

"It's not enough just to go out there and put the jersey on," Nurse said. "You have to work at it and it's built every single day in practice. You're building up the winning habits that you want. So when it comes down to it at this point in the season, you can't fix anything. Everything is set in stone so those habits have to be felt early on in the season."