Rivalry Is More Than It Seems

Does Geno like Pat? Does Pat like Geno? Geno has better players, Pat has more players. Pat has made the women’s game what it is, Geno is making the women’s game what it’s going to be.

There may be no more contentious rivalry in sports than Connecticut versus Tennessee in women’s college basketball. There may be no more intriguing dynamic than that between Connecticut Coach Geno Auriemma and Tennessee Coach Pat Summitt.

When Auriemma is asked about his relationship with Summitt, Connecticut guard Sue Bird starts choking on her soda while Auriemma makes a face.

Summitt is asked about her relationship with Auriemma and she says that it used to be great and then it changed. “And I didn’t change,” Summitt says, the implication being clear. That Geno has gotten too big for his britches.

There’s a reason Auriemma and Summitt barely exchange a word or gesture other than a postgame handshake and lukewarm “hellos” in the hall. They are the same person. They live for basketball. They work their players harder than anyone else and they desperately want to win.

And the outcome of this weekend’s games at the women’s Final Four in the Alamodome could well signal a change in the dynamic of this annual get-together.

First it was Immaculata and Delta State and Old Dominion. Then Texas and USC and Louisiana Tech. Women’s college basketball has been marked by mini-dynasties. The sport’s evolution can be mapped by a series of dominating programs.

And from the late 1980s until now, Tennessee and Summitt have been the be-all and end-all of the sport. Little girls all over the country wanted to be recruited by Summitt, wanted to be good enough to be a Lady Vol because, if you were, you would surely go to a Final Four and probably win a national championship.

But change is happening again.

If Connecticut, beats Tennessee tonight in the semifinals, then beats either Oklahoma or Duke in Sunday’s final, it will be official. Connecticut and Auriemma will be the power.

Summitt and the Lady Vols and their 24,000 orange-wearing, “Rocky Top”-singing faithful will have to admit it.

This is something like the 1975 men’s NCAA final, when John Wooden’s last UCLA team played Kentucky. UCLA won, but Kentucky was poised to start a new era.

As Tennessee coach, Summitt has won six NCAA titles and 20 Southeastern Conference titles. Without Tennessee, there would be no Connecticut. Auriemma has been chasing Summitt for 17 years.

This chase has been great for the game. When Connecticut and Tennessee play, it is the one time basketball fans--not just women’s basketball fans, but basketball fans--pay attention. The stage can’t be big enough for Auriemma and Summitt. There is no exchanging of hugs and compliments, no weekly phone calls, no golf games after the season.

There is respect. That’s all, and that’s plenty.

In 1998, when the Lady Vols went 39-0 and won their third consecutive NCAA title, and won it over Louisiana Tech by 18 points, at the time the largest margin of victory in a title game, it seemed Tennessee would never lose. A stretch of titles was expected for Summitt, who was supposed to have on hand the greatest recruiting class.

Yet here we are, four years later, and Connecticut is 37-0, aiming for its third national title and possessing what is considered to be the best recruiting class in the nation on its way. Since 1998, Tennessee has missed the Final Four twice (1999 and 2001) and was beaten, 71-52, in the 2000 final by Connecticut, the worst-ever defeat suffered in a national championship game. It would surprise nobody if Connecticut wins by more than that tonight.

It is good for the game that a university without a big-time football program and all the financial and institutional advantages that brings can grab the spotlight. It is great for the game that a school in the media-heavy Northeast is having a record-breaking season. It is great for the game that Tennessee’s dynasty might be toppled.

“This rivalry,” Auriemma says, “has taken on a bigger-than-life significance, more so than it probably should. That’s probably because there’s not enough games like this. But they always seem to be where we want to go and we always seem to be where they want to go.”

To which Summitt said, “We don’t care who we beat. We just want the title.”

This is the difference between Auriemma and Summitt, between Connecticut and Tennessee. Auriemma’s Huskies have had to acknowledge Tennessee’s dominance and lust after Tennessee’s crown. Summitt’s Lady Vols have to act as if everyone is equal. Except them. Except Tennessee.

So far.

Diane Pucin can be reached at diane.pucin@latimes.com.

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Clash of the Titans

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