the women

The NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four is set. On Sunday, April 4th, the #1 seed from the Sacramento Region, Stanford (35-1), will take on the #3 seed from the Kansas City Region, Oklahoma (27-10); the #1 seed from the Dayton Region, Connecticut (37-0) meets the #4 seed from the Memphis Region, Baylor (27-9).

UConn is on a 76-game winning streak. They're the overwhelming favorites. In their run through the Kansas City Region, they baked Southern by 56, trounced Temple by 54, spanked Iowa State by 38, and crushed Florida State by 40.

Some folks say UConn's dominance is bad for the game. I disagree. Was UCLA's 88-game win streak bad for men's college basketball?

Stanford's only defeat was to UConn, back in December -- an 80-68 loss at Hartford, Conn. Stanford was the last team to beat UConn, back in the 2008 Final Four. The two teams are each one win away from meeting for this year's championship.

UConn figures to have little trouble with upstart Baylor, which finished 6th in the regular season in the Big 12 with a 9-7 record. But folks will tune in to see how freshman Brittney Griner fares against the Huskies.

Griner is the same player who, a few weeks back, was suspended for two games after punching Texas Tech's Jordan Barncastle in the face. She stands 6'8" and wears a size 17 or 18 shoe.

Griner's numbers in this year's tournament:

vs. Fresno State: 18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks
vs. Georgetown: 7 points, 6 rebounds, 14 blocks
vs. Tennessee: 27 points, 7 rebounds, 10 blocks
vs. Duke: 15 points, 11 rebounds, 9 blocks

Dayum!

Griner holds the NCAA women's single-season record for blocks, and the record for blocks in the NCAA tournament. Phenomenal player.

Almost lost in the commotion is Oklahoma, headed for their second straight trip to the Final Four after dismantling Kentucky, 88-68. The Sooners lost sisters Courtney and Ashley Paris from last year's team. They were picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 (ended up at 11-5, tied for 2nd). Then they lost guard Whitney Hand to a knee injury early in the season. But they've managed to fight their way into the Final Four again.

Stay tuned. Nobody's touched UConn in ages, but who knows? It's tourney time! Anything can happen!