Women's NCAA Tournament 2010: Championship Preview

We're finally here.

This is the final game of the women's NCAA tournament that most observers expected—the UConn Huskies (38-0) against the Stanford Cardinal (36-1)—the top two teams in the nation squaring off for the title.

This is the third consecutive year that these two teams will meet in the Final Four.

Stanford, as you may know already, is the last team to beat UConn—two years and 77 games ago in the national semifinals. Since then, the Huskies have beaten the Cardinal in the 2009 semifinals and in a Dec. 23 meeting in Hartford this season.

Stanford is, without a doubt, the second best team in the nation. That was true when the season began, and it is true now. What is different about Stanford though is the rapid emergence of sophomore small forward, Nneka Ogwumike.

Ogwumike put up a ridiculous 38 points against Oklahoma in the semifinals, and is clearly a better player than she was just three months ago. Senior center Jayne Appel is still obviously struggling with an ankle injury, but Ogwumike and Kayla Pedersen have picked up the slack.

The primary responsibility for slowing down Ogwumike will fall on UConn's Wade Trophy winner, Maya Moore.

Moore is coming off her own impressive game—34 points against Baylor—and has been playing brilliantly all tournament long.

This game features two great, and similar, teams chasing a goal they both feel is attainable. Both teams are fast, strong, and experienced. Both are led by great coaches, Geno Auriemma for the Huskies and Tara Vanderveer for the Cardinal. Both teams like to run, but both are deadly in the half-court offense. Both play great defense.

If anyone is going to cancel the coronation of the UConn Huskies' back-to-back perfect seasons, it will be Stanford. That alone is reason to watch.

If Stanford is able to pull off the upset, this will have undoubtedly been one of the great games in the history of the sport.

Why?

No team entering the Final Four undefeated has left without the championship in hand. UConn knows that they are one win away from something no team has ever done, namely, the consecutive perfect seasons.

The Huskies possess a focus, determination, and poise unlike any other sports team I have ever seen. They will not be rattled, and they will not lose sight of what has won those 77 straight games—defense.

Not one team in this tournament has broken the 50-point mark. Not one team has shot better than 40 percent from the floor. Not one team has committed fewer than 15 turnovers.

As beautiful as the UConn offense is to watch, particularly Maya Moore and Tina Charles, it has been the "every possession counts" defense that keys their victories.

The UConn semifinal against Baylor was a great example. On a night when UConn's starting back court goes 1-14 from the field, the Huskies still win by 20 points.

Some think that UConn's "mini-scare" will re-focus them for the game against Stanford. Not necessary. The focus is defense, and that has never wavered.

Remember when I declared that Stanford was, without a doubt, the second best team? UConn is the absolute best. No close calls were needed to reach this point. No gifts from an opponent in the Elite Eight, like Stanford received from Xavier. No nearly blowing an 18-point lead with less than seven minutes to play, like Stanford did against Oklahoma.

Nope, the Huskies have been dominant from the beginning of the season until now. There is no reason to think they choke when they are just 40 minutes from making history.

Smitty's fearless prediction: UConn 77 Stanford 62