The UConn women’s basketball team was in full-on dynasty mode.
It was March 31, 2017, as the Huskies took the court in the national semifinals at American Airlines Center in Dallas. UConn was riding a 111-game winning streak and seeking an NCAA title that would be its fifth in a row, seventh in nine years and 12th overall.
But six years later, the Huskies are still “stuck” on 11 national championships — as comical as that sounds.
UConn, a No. 2 seed in the 2023 women’s NCAA tournament, faces third-seeded Ohio State on Saturday (5 p.m. ET, ABC) in a Sweet 16 matchup in the Seattle 3 Regional. The Huskies are trying to get to their 15th consecutive women’s Final Four.
But a ticket to Dallas would also mean a return to the scene of the crime, if you will, the arena where Mississippi State‘s buzzer-beater ended the Huskies’ 2017 title hopes — and started a run of historic upsets, bad luck and two of the most memorable shots in March Madness history. UConn lost in the national semifinals for four straight tournaments before falling in last season’s title game, the first time the program had reached the NCAA final and not won it.
In a season in which the sport’s focus has been on other places — mainly unbeaten No. 1 South Carolina, which won it all in Dallas in…
