Before the weekend, UConn and Vanderbilt were the last two undefeated squads in NCAA women's basketball. The Commodores were looking like promising title contenders, beating other top-tier squads like LSU and Michigan. They weren't so lucky against South Carolina as they suffered a 103-74 loss to the Gamecocks on Sunday — further adding to the chaos in the SEC.
Some would argue that the SEC is the most stacked conference in NCAAW play right now. The conference has four squads in the AP Top 10, but it is also stacked with mayhem. Tennessee is the only SEC team left undefeated in conference play, but has yet to play top SEC teams like Vanderbilt, LSU, Texas, or South Carolina. When it comes to the SEC teams at the top of the AP poll, the chaos in their own conference is their biggest weakness.
For example, South Carolina has recently beaten teams like Texas and Vanderbilt, but also lost to No. 16 Oklahoma. Texas beat South Carolina earlier in the season, but lost back-to-back in-conference games to the Gamecocks and LSU Tigers last week. And finally, while LSU was able to pull out a win against Texas, they also lost to No. 11 Kentucky a few weeks ago. All that to say, these teams in the SEC can seemingly beat anyone, but are the trends showing they could lose against anyone, too?
With UConn being the only undefeated team left and sitting as a clear favorite to win the title again this year, they could have conflicting feelings about this SEC havoc. If we're being honest, the Big East is not the most competitive conference. UConn is 11-0 in conference play, with Villanova being the closest competition at 8-3, but it's worth mentioning that UConn beat Villanova 99-50 in their recent matchup. It's pretty reasonable to assume that the Huskies will be going into the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed and Big East champions.
So, they should be feeling pretty good about their current positioning, but the dangerous teams in the SEC are probably looming in the back of their minds. There are two ways UConn could feel about it.
The case for UConn feeling confident
UConn could be thinking of these SEC teams as more flawed. Texas, South Carolina, and LSU have all lost to teams outside of the AP Top 10. Meanwhile, the Huskies are sitting pretty as the only team that has yet to suffer a loss. UConn has also beaten some solid teams outside of the SEC, like Ohio State, Michigan, and Iowa. When it comes time for the NCAA tournament, and UConn inevitably has to face some of these SEC squads, they can be reminded of this chaos and play into some of those underlying flaws.
The case for UConn getting worried
On the other hand, while Texas, South Carolina, and LSU have all had tough losses in matches that I'm sure they want back, they have also all had big wins over Top 5 opponents. Texas and South Carolina have both beaten No. 3 UCLA this season. That out-of-conference win, in addition to playing the other top contenders in the SEC up to three times before the tournament, could leave UConn feeling a bit unsettled. Are all these tough and chaotic games only making them more experienced, legit contenders?
UConn has only one SEC opponent on their schedule this season as they will take on Tennessee in early February. This will give them a little taste of that SEC chaos this season, but to be honest, if I were them, I'd wish I had seen a South Carolina or Texas in the regular season when a loss would matter a lot less.
In my opinion, both ways of looking at this are valid and have their perks. Either way, with a coach like Geno Auriemma, who has been put in every possible situation throughout his 40 years of coaching at UConn, you know this squad will most likely be well prepared for whatever gets thrown at them.