Top-seeded UConn seeking perfection

Connecticut's quest for the fifth perfect season in NCAA history will begin at home.

The undefeated Huskies earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA women's basketball tournament Monday night and will open against Vermont at Storrs.

Nine teams have entered the NCAA Tournament unbeaten; only four have emerged unscathed. UConn and coach Geno Auriemma were the last in 2002.

Auriemma said he's not worried about the bull's-eye on his team's back.

"We've been dealing with that all year long," he said during the broadcast. "You worry about things you obviously have no control over. I'm not sitting here thinking about who we're playing in St. Louis. Trust me."

Oklahoma, Maryland, and Duke earned the other three No. 1 seeds. The Sooners are in the Oklahoma City regional, the Terrapins are headed to Raleigh and the Blue Devils will make the cross-country trek to Berkeley.

Tennessee also extended its run as the only team to make every NCAA Tournament but earned a No. 5 - its lowest seed ever, guaranteeing a tough road to a third consecutive title.

The Final Four is scheduled for the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on April 5 and 7.

DePaul (23-9), competing in the Berkley regional will travel to San Diego to meet San Diego State (23-7) at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Notre Dame (22-8), competing in the Trenton regional, is home Sunday to host Minnesota (19-11) at approximately 1:30 p.m.

Duke potentially must beat No. 2 Stanford in the regional finals to get back to the Final Four for the first time since 2006.

The Blue Devils play Austin Peay in the first round at Michigan State - coach Joanne P. McCallie's former school. She could meet up with the Spartans in the second round if they can beat Middle Tennessee State.

"I don't know if that's some drama by the committee," McCallie said. "For us, it's about us and what we want to accomplish and do. We finally have an opponent, and that's our one concern, the one opponent we have."

If all goes right, Duke could face former coach Gail Goestenkors and Texas in the regional finals.

The Huskies (33-0), who have run through their opponents this season winning by an average of 31 points, will be looking for their sixth national championship.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related documents</h2> <ul class="morePdf"> <li><a href="/pdf/ncaawomens.pdf">NCAA woman's tournament brackets </a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>