2008-09-10T07:14:48-04:00
Deitsch: Looking toward Rutgers-UConn
2008-03-30T16:09:17-04:00
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2008-09-10T06:40:04-04:00
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<p><strong>Writer: Richard Deitsch<br />Game: Connecticut-Old Dominion<br />Post time: 3:57 p.m., Sunday</strong></p><p>GREENSBORO -- The end of the Rutgers-George Washington game can't come soon enough because today has been interminable. Greensboro Coliseum is half-empty and the upper tier is covered by black curtains. Black is an appropriate color. It's rainy outside and the atmosphere reminds me of a Knicks game. Rutgers leads George Washington 42-32 with 9:22 left in the second half and UConn beat Old Dominion 78-63 in the first game. </p><p>So here comes the first heavyweight fight of the NCAA women's tournament. You'll hear a lot of chatter over the next 48 hours about how the Rutgers-UConn rivalry (the teams split two games this year) has become the nation's best, but you won't hear that from the UConn staff. </p><p>"At this point, playing Rutgers is not about a rivalry," says Connecticut assistant coach <strong>Jamelle Elliott</strong>. "It's about winning a game that we haven't won in a few years." </p><p>No kidding. The Huskies last played in a Final Four in 2004, which for fickle UConn fans may as well be 1904. UConn coach <strong>Geno Auriemma</strong> has long described the regional final as the toughest game to win in the NCAA tournament. He is 8-6 lifetime in Elite Eight games. </p><p>"I call it the Hilary step at Everest," Auriemma said. "More people die at the spot than anywhere else."</p>
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