Connecticut–Rutgers women's basketball rivalry

Last updated
Connecticut–Rutgers women's basketball rivalry
Connecticut Huskies wordmark.svg
Connecticut Huskies
Rutgers Scarlet Knights logo.svg
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Sport Women's basketball
First meeting January 24, 1996
Connecticut 96, Rutgers 68
Latest meeting March 23, 2015
Connecticut 91, Rutgers 55
Next meeting TBD
Statistics
Meetings total 40
All-time series Connecticut leads 34–6
Largest victory Connecticut, 73–36 (2010)
Connecticut, 72–35 (2014)
Longest win streak Connecticut, 14 (2008–present)
Current win streak Connecticut, 14 (2008–present)

The Connecticut–Rutgers women's basketball rivalry is a rivalry between the Connecticut Huskies and Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball programs.

Pairs of schools, colleges and universities, especially when they are close to each other either geographically or in their areas of specialization, often establish a college rivalry with each other over the years. This rivalry can extend to both academics and athletics, the latter being typically better known to the general public. These schools place an added emphasis on emerging victorious in any event that includes their rival. This may include the creation of a special trophy or other commemoration of the event. While many of these rivalries have arisen spontaneously, some have been created by college officials in efforts to sell more tickets and support their programs.

The Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team is the college basketball program representing the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut, in NCAA Division I women's basketball competition. They currently play in the American Athletic Conference, the successor of the Big East Conference, as the last remaining original member of the conference.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights womens basketball womens basketball team of Rutgers University

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's basketball team is the intercollegiate women's basketball program representing Rutgers University–New Brunswick. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Scarlet Knights play home basketball games at the Louis Brown Athletic Center on the university campus in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Contents

History

As of March 2015, UConn leads the series 34–6, including 17 of the first 18 meetings between the two teams. When Rutgers joined the Big East Conference in 1995, the two teams met only once a year. The Connecticut Post describes Rutgers' first-ever win over UConn, a 74-70 win on February 10, 1998 at the Louis Brown Athletic Center, as the "catalyst in what has become a fierce rivalry." [1] After the unranked Scarlet Knights nearly upset the then-undefeated Huskies on January 8, 2003, the two teams were scheduled to play twice during the 2003–04 regular season, and have done so every season since. While the Huskies would handily win the next three meetings, Rutgers finally broke through on February 18, 2005, as they defeated the Huskies for the first time in seven years, 76–62.

Big East Conference (1979–2013) U.S. college athletic conference, 1979–2013

The Big East Conference was a collegiate athletics conference that consisted of as many as 16 universities in the eastern half of the United States from 1979 to 2013. The conference's members participated in 24 NCAA sports. The conference had a history of success at the national level in basketball throughout its history, while its shorter football program, created by inviting one college and four other "associate members" into the conference, resulted in two national championships.

<i>Connecticut Post</i> newspaper in Bridgeport, Connecticut

The Connecticut Post is a daily newspaper located in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It serves Fairfield County and the Lower Naugatuck Valley. Municipalities in the Post's circulation area include Ansonia, Bridgeport, Darien, Derby, Easton, Fairfield, Milford, Monroe, New Canaan, Orange, Oxford, Redding, Ridgefield, Seymour, Shelton, Stratford, Trumbull, Weston, Westport and Wilton. The newspaper is owned and operated by the Hearst Corporation, a multinational corporate media conglomerate with $4 billion in revenues. The Connecticut Post also gains revenue by offering classified advertising for job hunters with minimal regulations and separate listings for products and services.

Louis Brown Athletic Center

The Louis Brown Athletic Center, more commonly known as the RAC, is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Piscataway, New Jersey on Rutgers University's Livingston Campus. The building is shaped like a truncated tent with trapezoidal sides on the north and south ends. It is home to the men's and women's Rutgers Scarlet Knights basketball teams as well as the wrestling team. Previously, the University used the 3,200-seat College Avenue Gym from 1931 to 1977.

The rivalry had been partially fueled by an altercation that occurred between UConn head coach Geno Auriemma and former Rutgers player Cappie Pondexter after the 2005 Big East Tournament championship game. Auriemma reportedly made inappropriate remarks towards Pondexter, who retaliated by pointing her finger towards Auriemma. [2] Big East Commissioner Michael Tranghese released a statement days later clearing Auriemma of any wrongdoing. [3]

Geno Auriemma Italian-born American womens basketball coach

Luigi "Geno" Auriemma is an Italian-born American college basketball coach and the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team. He has led UConn to eleven NCAA Division I national championships, the most in women's college basketball history, and has won eight national Naismith College Coach of the Year awards. Auriemma was the head coach of the United States women's national basketball team from 2009 through 2016, during which time his teams won the 2010 and 2014 World Championships, and gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics, going undefeated in all four tournaments.

Cappie Pondexter basketball player

Cappie Marie Pondexter is an American professional basketball player who is currently a member of the Indiana Fever in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was born in Oceanside, California and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Pondexter is known for her scrappy play, quick crossovers and midrange jumpshot. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history.

In recent years, the teams have met for games that included championship implications. On March 7, 2007, the Scarlet Knights won their first-ever Big East Tournament championship by beating the Huskies 55–47. However, on March 3, 2008, UConn would defeat Rutgers for the regular-season championship 66–46 and the Knights haven't beaten the Huskies since.

After Tennessee stopped scheduling Rutgers, the Connecticut Post said in 2008 that Connecticut had become Rutgers' biggest rival. [4] Auriemma said about Rutgers, ""A lot of times, they talked like they were better than they were and that kind of caused a lot more of an intensity level than maybe there would have been with anyone else." [5]

Game results

Connecticut victoriesRutgers victories
No. Date Location Winner Score Series Notes
UC RU
1 January 24, 1996 Storrs, CT Connecticut96 68 Connecticut 1–0
2 February 18, 1996 Piscataway, NJ Connecticut73 61 Connecticut 2–0
3 March 3, 1996 Storrs, CT Connecticut93 64 Connecticut 3–0 Big East Tournament
4 January 15, 1997 Storrs, CT Connecticut78 45 Connecticut 4–0
5 December 31, 1997 Storrs, CT Connecticut82 69 Connecticut 5–0
6 February 10, 1998 Piscataway, NJ Rutgers 70 74 Connecticut 5–1
7 March 3, 1998 Piscataway, NJ Connecticut67 58 Connecticut 6–1 Big East Tournament
8 January 27, 1999 Piscataway, NJ Connecticut56 55 Connecticut 7–1
9 January 17, 2000 Hartford, CT Connecticut65 50 Connecticut 8–1
10 February 12, 2000 Piscataway, NJ Connecticut49 45 Connecticut 9–1
11 March 7, 2000 Storrs, CT Connecticut79 59 Connecticut 10–1 Big East Tournament
12 February 14, 2001 Storrs, CT Connecticut70 45 Connecticut 11–1
13 March 5, 2001 Storrs, CT Connecticut94 66 Connecticut 12–1 Big East Tournament
14 February 23, 2002 Piscataway, NJ Connecticut80 42 Connecticut 13–1
15 January 8, 2003 Hartford, CT Connecticut67 62 Connecticut 14–1
16 January 19, 2004 Hartford, CT Connecticut72 47 Connecticut 15–1
17 February 14, 2004 Piscataway, NJ Connecticut66 43 Connecticut 16–1
18 February 3, 2005 Hartford, CT Connecticut57 44 Connecticut 17–1
19 February 13, 2005 Piscataway, NJ Rutgers62 76 Connecticut 17–2
20 March 8, 2005 Hartford, CT Connecticut67 51 Connecticut 18–2 Big East Tournament
21 February 7, 2006 Storrs, CT Rutgers 56 60 Connecticut 18–3
22 February 27, 2006 Piscataway, NJ Rutgers4248 Connecticut 18–4
23 February 6, 2007 Storrs, CT Connecticut60 50 Connecticut 19–4
24 February 26, 2007 Piscataway, NJ Connecticut70 44 Connecticut 20–4
25 March 6, 2007 Hartford, CT Rutgers 47 55 Connecticut 20–5 Big East Tournament
26 February 5, 2008 Piscataway, NJ Rutgers 71 73 Connecticut 20–6
27 March 3, 2008 Hartford, CT Connecticut66 46 Connecticut 21–6
28 April 1, 2008 Greensboro, NC Connecticut66 56 Connecticut 22–6 NCAA Sweet Sixteen
29 February 3, 2009 Hartford, CT Connecticut75 56 Connecticut 23–6
30 March 2, 2009 Piscataway, NJConnecticut69 59 Connecticut 24–6
31 January 26, 2010 Hartford, CT Connecticut73 36 Connecticut 25–6
32 January 26, 2011 Piscataway, NJ Connecticut63 44 Connecticut 26–6
33 March 7, 2011 Hartford, CT Connecticut75 51 Connecticut 27–6 Big East Tournament
34 February 4, 2012 Storrs, CT Connecticut66 34 Connecticut 28–6
35 March 4, 2012 Hartford, CT Connecticut49 34 Connecticut 29–6 Big East Tournament
36 February 16, 2013 Piscataway, NJ Connecticut65 45 Connecticut 30–6
37 January 19, 2014 Piscataway, NJ Connecticut94 64 Connecticut 31–6
38 March 1, 2014 Storrs, CT Connecticut72 35 Connecticut 32–6
39 March 9, 2014 Uncasville, CT Connecticut83 57 Connecticut 33–6 AAC Tournament
40 March 23, 2015 Storrs, CT Connecticut91 55 Connecticut 34–6 NCAA Second Round

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References

  1. ↑ Elliott, Rich (March 1, 2008). "Stringer has turned Rutgers into a powerhouse" . Retrieved December 26, 2016. Originally published in the Connecticut Post as "Rutgers has joined UConn, nation's elite."
  2. ↑ "Postgame fireworks in Hartford" . Retrieved 2008-03-06.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ "Tranghese: A 'misunderstanding'" . Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  4. ↑ Elliott, Rich (February 3, 2008). "UConn women's notebook". Connecticut Post. Archived from the original on February 5, 2008. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  5. ↑ Elliott, Rich (February 5, 2008). "Rutgers takes over as UConn's top rival". Danbury News-Times. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
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