Chasing UConn. 'The rest of us are trying to get there,' North Carolina State coach says

BRIDGEPORT, CONN. – Wes Moore doesn't remember the exact year, but as coach of the Tennessee-Chattanooga women's basketball team in the 2000s, he called and asked UConn's Geno Auriemma if he could visit him and observe his program for a weekend during fall break.

Auriemma said yes, and Moore watched practices and picked the legendary coach's brain over meals for several days.

"He's built something special," Moore recalled Sunday, "and the rest of us are trying to get there."

One bit of wisdom Auriemma might have shared with Moore is something he often preaches and did so again now that UConn has arrived in a familiar place: Auriemma believes the Elite Eight is the most challenging game of the NCAA women's basketball tournament, which sounds somewhat absurd coming from a guy who has won 13 consecutive Elite Eight games.

That's 13 Final Four appearances in a row.

No player on Moore's current team, North Carolina State, was even alive the only time their program made it to the Final Four in 1998.

With a trip to Minneapolis for the Final Four at stake Monday, the Wolfpack will have to contend with UConn's unrivaled history, its five-star roster and the fact that this is essentially a home game for the Huskies, given that Total Mortgage Arena is roughly 80 miles from their campus.

N.C. State earned the No. 1 seed in the region after finishing No. 2 nationally in NET rankings (behind only South Carolina), but still drew the unenviable task of having to dethrone the Huskies in their own backyard.

The fairness of their draw can be debated, but Moore noted his team last season won road games against South Carolina and Louisville when both were ranked No. 1 at the time.

"We're capable of beating a great team on their home court," Wolfpack center Elissa Cunane said.

Both teams have something to prove.

For UConn, its simple. A Final Four is expected. It's practically a mandate for those who wear that uniform.

"They understand that if you come to Connecticut, the expectations are incredibly high," Auriemma said. "The bar is set very, very high."

This has been a different kind of season for them though. Injuries and illness forced Auriemma to use 11 different starting lineups. Reigning National Player of the Year Paige Bueckers missed 19 games because of a knee injury. Star freshman Azzi Fudd missed 11 games after suffering a foot injury.

The Huskies lost five games, which is hardly reason to panic, but that represented their most defeats in a decade and tied for second most since Auriemma started collecting national championship trophies.

Nobody is going to weep for UConn, but the Huskies dealt with constant disruption until recently, when Bueckers returned to the lineup.

"In previous years we kind of had this expectation where we come in, roll in and win games," senior forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa said. "This year that was the complete opposite."

N.C. State's circumstance is different. The Wolfpack are a program on the rise, good enough to earn a No. 1 seed in the tournament in back-to-back seasons, but they had lost in the Sweet 16 in three consecutive appearances.

They ended that streak Saturday by overcoming a double-digit deficit against Notre Dame. That was an important benchmark. Eliminating UConn to reach the Final Four would be the ultimate signal that the program has arrived at an elevated status.

If there is pressure wrapped inside that, the Wolfpack did a good job of hiding it on the eve of the game.

"I tried to recruit most of them," Moore said of UConn's roster. "I guess Geno is just cooler than me."

Moore also gave himself a (sarcastic) pat on the back when asked about his three super seniors who used their bonus season of eligibility hoping to script a better ending to their careers.

"The reason they came back is because of me," the veteran coach joked. "They couldn't resist. One more year with me saying, 'Turn your motor up.' Come on, they couldn't pass up that."

The motor output should not be an issue for either team Monday night. Though they share the same objective — get to Minneapolis — they come at it from different perspectives that mean a great deal to their players and programs.