Saturday’s healthy slate of games saw four Top 15 teams lose, a 4-overtime game, a triple-double and a donut from Xavier’s Tu Holloway.
But one of the oddest sights? The Connecticut men and women lost.
The last time that happened was Jan. 6, 2007 when the men fell at LSU and the women lost to Tennessee. (That’s also the last time those two rivals have played each other.)
The men had Jim Calhoun back on the sideline – he sat the last three because of an NCAA suspension – but couldn’t hold off Rutgers. It was the Huskies’ first loss to the Scarlet Knights since 2002, a span of 11 games. It could drop UConn (12-3) out of the Top 25 rankings on Monday.
Perhaps more surprising? That the Notre Dame women probably expected to beat Geno Auriemma’s team.
Sure, the No. 3 Irish (15-1) hadn’t beaten the Huskies (12-2) at home since 2004, but they did beat UConn in the Final Four last season. Maybe that helps explain a late rally and a 74-67 overtime victory that ended UConn’s 57-game Big East win streak.
“We were plus two with a minute to play and we don’t finish the game,” Auriemma said. “It just shows that we are not ready to win those kind of games. We have too many guys who have not been in that position before.”
They’ll play again on Feb. 27, but a rare double-UConn loss won’t happen. The men are off that day.
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