Geno Auriemma is building on a run that looks unstoppable at this point. As the other teams are somewhat lumbering, Auriemma’s Huskies are galloping towards yet another NCAA championship title run that is reminiscent of their recent 2010, 2014, and 2016 runs. The Huskies’ latest victory over Xavier has taken them to 22-0 so far, and is hinting at yet another UConn final, but that also “dips” the interest in viewership, according to basketball analyst Sabreena Merchant.

“It’s when you mention those ridiculously dominant UConn teams like the 2015/16 teams, the 2014-15 team, part of that four-year run of national titles, that the interest dips a little bit. One of the lowest-rated title games of the last 25 years was UConn Syracuse in 2016, which you would imagine would be hugely popular,” Sabreena Merchant said, while speaking on the No Offseason podcast, highlighting a past game that didn’t bring in the crowd.

Merchant referenced the past, where, despite the Huskies being as dominant as ever, it did little for them. For context, the game between Geno Auriemma’s Huskies and Syracuse had 2.972 million viewers, which was a stark contrast to their games against Notre Dame in 2015 (3.081 million) and 2014 (4.27 million).

“Dominance really works in women’s college basketball if there is a rival, to like people don’t want to watch UConn beat up on a random team. They want to see something historical at play, like a UConn-Notre Dame and UConn-Tennessee, or like South Carolina, those big names,” Sabreena Merchant said.

Merchant’s point is clear. Without a compelling rival, dominance can become a dud.

South Carolina and Notre Dame have had no problems in securing viewership, courtesy of the rivalry these two colleges share with UConn, and neither did Louisville 3.206,m but Syracuse struggled. Their overall record against the Huskies (39-4) couldn’t convince anyone that the Orange had any fighting chance, and they opted to skip the game altogether. Syracuse couldn’t establish itself as a rival, only a stepping stone for UConn to trample on.

Merchant’s point about rivalries is best exemplified by UConn’s historic feud with Tennessee.

UConn’s Historic Rivalry With the Lady Vols

What’s sport without some rivalry? UConn’s rivalry with the Lady Vols needs special mention. The two teams are set to collide in a couple of days, and the Vols have their work cut out for them if they hope to cause an upset against the last undefeated team in the country at 22-0.

The rivalry exploded in the late 1990s and early 2000s, so much so that it became a catalyst for the growth of women’s basketball. The two teams sold out arenas and drew the eyes of the nation whenever legendary Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma went head-to-head. UConn still holds the bragging rights, but Tennessee did manage to get a victory back last season after nearly 18 years.

Top Stories

Travis Kelce Confirms Sporting Decision Away From Chiefs After TE’s Major Career News

Josh Allen Officially at Risk of Losing 21 Players as Bills Coach Quits Hours After Joe Brady Announcement

Blue Jays Told to Thwart Dodgers’ Plan After Scott Boras Pushes 24-Year-Old Star to Reject Reds’ Historic Deal

PGA Tour Champ Disqualified for Using Banned Item at Farmers Insurance Open

Jason Kelce to End Partnership With ESPN Days After Announcing New Broadcasting Move – Report

Concerns Mount Over Severe Josh Allen Injury as Joe Brady Bids Goodbye to Sean McDermott-Era

Summitt and Auriemma started the rivalry back in the ’90s, when Tennessee was the champion and UConn the underdogs who were ready to stake their claim for contention. The undefeated teams first met on Jan. 16, 1995, and UConn upset Tennessee 77-66 in Storrs. The Huskies proved that it wasn’t a fluke when they beat the Lady Vols again in the national championship game to go 35-0.

From then on, the two teams would keep crossing each other’s paths. Pat Summitt’s Tennessee would beat Geno Auriemma’s team in the Elite Eight en route to their second title in the 1996-97 season. This was followed by yet another back-and-forth between the two sides, and by 2004, both teams won the three-peat.

By 2004, both these teams had played each other four times in the national championship, and as luck would have it, neither one of those went in favor of the Lady Vols.

More recently, former coach Kellie Harper struggled against Auriemma’s Huskies. Finally, under Kim Caldwell, Tennessee managed to resuscitate the team and gave them their first win against UConn last year (80-76). This season, on the other hand, Tennessee recently suffered its first SEC loss in the game against Mississippi State, and Caldwell took all the blame for the loss.

More than just a game, the upcoming clash with Tennessee is a test case for Merchant’s theory. A competitive, high-stakes battle could prove that rivalries, not just dominance, are the key to capturing the nation’s attention, while another UConn blowout might only reinforce the idea that their greatness comes at a cost to the sport’s broader appeal.