Lesson learned

What do we come away with after UConn really made Oklahoma, the fifth-ranked team in the nation, look like it is light years away?

First, what the participants have to say:

Sooners coach Sherri Coale:
“I thought Connecticut was fabulous. I told Geno (Auriemma) after the game that if you play like that and you shoot like that, you might win the men’s national championship. We didn’t particularly defend well but we didn’t play that poorly either. There were 16 turnovers in the game. It was just a beautiful women’s basketball game. They shot the ball extraordinarily well. We didn’t contest well; we gave them too many open three’s. Maya Moore is an animal.”

In response, UConn's Geno Auriemma quipped of his good friend:
“That’s why she’s such a good recruiter, because she just makes stuff up and says stuff that people want to hear. I just think that we are a good team that played a really good team and we played exceptionally well. Where we go from here is anybody’s guess. The goal is to play another game just like this Wednesday and then after that and after that and after that. We can put together a string of games like this and make this a standard by which we are going to play we’ll be all right. We’ll be as good as anybody, and I mean anybody that we play against, not those other guys. I didn’t expect this tonight, I’ll be honest with you.”

OK, so he didn't expect this blow out, Neither did anyone else. Coale was asked about UConn compared to North Carolina, a program known for its ability to run and that beat Oklahoma a week a by a point. She said UNC isn't even close to UConn, that the Huskies are in another class. Between exams and time, it's not until UConn visits UNC in January that the Huckies should go without a challenge.

What we -- fans, media, etc. -- should feel is that there may not be another team to compete with the Huskies. We saw what Renee Montgomery can do (30 pts, 13 asists, 6 rebounds, 2 turnovers). We also saw Maya Moore play a game where she seemed unstopable. We also saw that at least on this night, Tina Charles is better than Courtney Paris.

I really liked what Auriemma had to say about Montgomery. Saying that maybe with the exception of Kerry Bascom and Diana Taurasi. But he also said this, which speaks volumes of just how much he appreciates the floor general.

“Everybody has Maya Moore on their All-America team,” Auriemma said. “Everybody in America knows Maya Moore is the best player in the country. I think Renee is trying to make sure she’s not the best player on our team.”