The UConn women's basketball team walked into Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday with a chance to tie one of the greatest streaks in all of sports, and succeeded.
A win against Ohio State in the Maggie Dixon Classic gives the Huskies their 88th win in a row, tying the mark set by the great John Wooden UCLA teams of the early 1970s.
It's a prospect that has been on the horizon for UConn since the end of last season, though coach Geno Auriemma has tried to keep talk of the streak to a minimum, something he knows isn't easy.
"If you don't downplay it, you come across looking like a schmuck," Auriemma told the Hartford Courant.
Before the matchup on Sunday, Auriemma admitted players on both sides would be feeling the pressure of the momentous game.
"What happens is this: The kids from Ohio State are trying to convince themselves that it's just another game, and they're out of their minds (if they think that)," Auriemma told the Courant.
"They expect to go to Madison Square Garden and think 'Yeah, we do this all the time. We play on national television, at Madison Square Garden, play a team that's won 87 straight every day. We'll sleep the same the night before as if we were playing Iowa'," Auriemma told the paper about the pressure on Ohio State as well.
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The Huskies next face Florida State on Tuesday at the XL Center in Hartford.
