Thirty-six years. That’s how long it’s been since Villanova women’s basketball last won the Big East conference regular-season title in 1987.
A lot has changed since then. The first Top Gun movie was a year old and a young coach named Geno Auriemma was in the midst of his second season at UConn. The Huskies had a losing record his first year — nothing unusual at the time for UConn. The history since then, however, is well-known. Geno and UConn have won 11 national titles, haven’t missed the Final Four since 2007 and last failed to win a conference regular season crown in 2013.
But now Villanova gets its chance. Ending that title drought and NCAA tournament seeding implications are two of the big things riding on Saturday’s No. 6 UConn vs. No. 14 Villanova game, which tips off at 2:30 p.m. ET at Villanova.
UConn (23-4, 15-1 Big East) currently holds the top spot in the conference. Villanova (23-4, 14-2 Big East) trails by a game. If UConn wins, it would put the Huskies on the inside track to their 11th straight conference title with games left against St. John’s (16-11, 6-10), DePaul (14-13, 7-9) and Xavier (7-18, 0-11). If Villanova wins, they would be tied for first. The Wildcats close with DePaul, Providence (13-14, 4-12) and Seton Hall (16-11, 9-8).
The game…
