As usual the UConn women are the favorites in the 2018 women’s NCAA Tournament. They went out of their way to remind us of that in their first round game.
The UConn women have won every single game they’ve played this year and, as usual, look like the overwhelming favorites to win the NCAA Tournament — 538 currently places their odds at 77 percent. Although, for all their wins, they’ve never won one like the way they beat St. Francis in their opening game of the Tournament.
The final score was, ahem, 140-52. If you don’t have a calculator handy, that’s an 88-point win. And if gambling is your thing, don’t worry, they still beat the spread.
UConn women win opening round game by 88. Spread was 54. pic.twitter.com/6uS3kVjLEu
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 17, 2018
That’s a record-setting performance in a number of ways, let Sports Illustrated count the ways:
"UConn set the NCAA tournament record for points in a game, the NCAA record for points in a quarter, the NCAA tournament record for points in a half and assists in a game, plus the NCAA record for points in a half."
Amazingly, that 88-point margin of victory is not the largest in NCAA history.
As a team, the Huskies shot 64.8 percent from the field and 42.1 percent on 3-pointers. They also finished +39 on the glass and his six different players score at least 15 points. It was the perfect picture of absolute dominance.
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There are a lot of elite teams in women’s college hoops this season but 538’s model doesn’t give anyone else a double-digit percentage chance of winning the title. As a reminder, UConn’s odds are at 77 percent. However, odds are one thing but there are no guarantees. Last year’s UConn team was elite at both ends as well and they still fell to Mississippi State in the Final Four. Even a juggernaut can fall, as unlikely as it seems.