Winning for UConn Women Might Be Too Much of a Good Thing

Make it 72.

That is how many consecutive wins the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team has won after finishing off West Virginia in the Big East championship game Tuesday.  It was the Lady Huskies fourth straight conference championship.

And Connecticut appears on its way to another national title to go along with the historic winning streak.

However, it is possible this sustained dominance is actually hurting the women’s game?

While the 72-game streak is impressive on its own merit, two 70-game surges just seven seasons apart is quite frankly absurd. 

Not only have the Lady Huskies won every game, but they have done so by destroying their competition. Connecticut’s average margin of victory has been by more than 30 points per game. Against top 10 competitors UConn has won by an average of 26 points per contest.

Not even the cream of the crop in the men’s game have slain opponents in SAW-like fashion as their female counterparts have since the John Wooden-led UCLA Bruins in the 1970s who won an NCAA record 88 straight games. But even that team had a few close calls during their run.

In a sport considered to be a niche only for uncover women’s college basketball observers, the lack of competitiveness could be the worst thing the game faces. Sure, we love winners and we love them to be dominating. But we also love the idea that Goliath has a chance to be beaten by David.

The Lady Huskies kill David. Or for the sake of this discussion, Deborah. Geno Auriemma's bunch catches her stone, chews it up and spits in right back in the face of a shaken Deborah before dismantling her piece by piece on the way to another triumph.

UConn will enter the NCAA Tournament undefeated for the sixth time. Get this: Arch-rival Tennessee and the Lady Huskies have combined to win 11 of the last 15 national titles. 

How can anyone take the sport seriously when you know at the end of the year one of two programs is a cinch to take home the championship?

What makes the men’s field of 65 so compelling is that Cinderella has legitimate shot at make a run to the Final Four. That is why millions of fans print out brackets, make water cooler bets and come up with careful crafted excuses to miss work just to watch the opening round games.

That prospect does not occur very often in the women’s game. No. 1 and No.2 seeds having routinely squared off in the Final Four or the national championship game.

Nothing at all is compelling about a scripted outcome that the women's game provide.

There has to be a competitive balance in the women’s game for interest to increase. Aside from Uconn’s flawless record, the only story related to the sport that has made waves nationally was Baylor’s super freshman Brittney Griner clocking an opponent in a contest against Texas Tech last week that resulted in her two-game suspension. 

Women’s college basketball can’t rely on girls dunking, fighting on the court or insurmountable winning streaks to stay relevant. Balance across the board should be the on the agenda for the powers that be in sport.

Because right now winning for UConn’s women’s basketball is too much of a good thing.