They'd just lost on the road to West Virginia. They'd just slipped out of the top five of the AP and ESPN/USA Today Polls, to No. 7, for the first time in a month. And Tuesday night, the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers played host to the equivalent of women's basketball royalty. A loss at home, albeit against the Connecticut Huskies, would likely place Rutgers off the short list of national title contenders, at least for the time being.
But Rutgers didn't flinch. Not even when they were down 33-24 at halftime to the nation's best defense. Instead, they used the second half to put up 49 points, outscoring the Huskies by 11, and took the game 73-71.
UConn's loss snaps the longest winning streak in Div. I and eliminates the team's chance for an undefeated season. At 21-0, the Huskies were the lone unbeaten team remaining in women's hoops.
Rutgers was bolstered by a tremendous effort by sophomore Epiphanny Prince. In a performance head coach C. Vivian Stringer dubbed "spectacular," the 5-9 guard scored a career-high 33 points, 27 of which came in the second half. And while she cited the team's defense in her postgame interview, the truth of the matter is that it was her offense that propelled the Scarlet Knights to victory. In the second half, Prince scored 14 points during a 16-4 run that allowed them to take their first lead of the game.
Instantly, the March 3 rematch between Rutgers and UConn becomes the most anticipated game of the regular season. More than anybody else, the Scarlet Knights have gotten to the Huskies over the past years, winning five of the teams' last eight meetings. Perhaps most impressively, one of those five includes a conference tournament victory over UConn last season.
Nonetheless, the immediate ramifications are clear. The first is that UConn is not invincible. Unfortunate injuries to key players Mel Thomas, Kalana Greene and Brittany Hunter have hurt the Huskies and will continue to impede them down the stretch.
The second is that there is no clear favorite to hoist the national championship as the season enters its final month. Psychologically, this is a great victory for all of the fringe national title contenders.
As far as the rankings, it's unlikely the Scarlet Knights will overtake the Huskies in the Top 25. But it is a sure bet that they'll be back in the top five. UConn has a reasonable shot of retaining the No. 1 spot, having already defeated formidable foes North Carolina, Stanford, Duke and West Virginia in compiling the most impressive resume of the year.
If they fall, however, the top slot will most likely go to the Tennessee Volunteers. An infamous spat between Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt and the Huskies' Geno Auriemma has prevented the two from meeting this season, but the Volunteers and Huskies are the nation's only one-loss teams.
Baylor, who came into Tuesday at 20-1, was upset by the No. 16 Oklahoma State Cowboys and should fall significantly in the rankings, as strength of schedule is nowhere near as impressive as the rest of the top five.
Amidst arguably the toughest schedule remaining in women's hoops, Rutgers has no time to bask in the glory of defeating UConn. The Knights travel to Knoxville to take on Tennessee on Feb. 11, and have four remaining Big East games against teams in the Top 25.
Unlike Rutgers, the Huskies have some time to regroup from the loss. Of their next five games, only one comes against a ranked opponent - a Feb. 17 showdown with No. 15 Pitt. The Huskies finish the season with LSU, DePaul and the rematch with Rutgers, and it remains to be seen whether their soft early schedule will help them or hurt them against these three top-level squads. Center Tina Charles must continue her All-American-worthy season, and super freshman Maya Moore must continue her maturation because Rutgers just proved that the team to beat can be beaten.
