12 teams that might be able upset the UConn women

Baylor is ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in NCAA Women's Basketball RPI. The Lady Bears are 30-2.

In one matchup at UConn this season, on Nov. 17, Baylor lost to the Huskies by a score of 72-61. By most standards, that's not a close game. But UConn regularly beats opponents by 40-plus points, so an 11-point loss offers hope heading into the NCAA Tournament. Baylor has been a mainstay in women's hoops, but being upset by West Virginia in the Big 12 Championship could either defeat them or invigorate them.

Freshman Lauren Cox is an advantage for Baylor off the bench having earned the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Award.

The Mountaineers have just upset No. 2 Baylor in the Big 12 Championship, why couldn't they upset No. 1?

West Virginia finished the regular season ranked No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches Poll with a 23-10 record.

No. 3 Notre Dame finished the regular season a 30-3 record and its fourth-straight ACC Championship. On Dec. 7, Connecticut defeated Notre Dame 72-61. Junior forward Brianna Turner led the Irish with 16 points and 12 rebounds in that game.

Senior guard Lindsay Allen was named MVP of the ACC Tournament.

After losing to Stanford in the Oregon State Pac-12 tournament championship game, the Beavers dropped to No. 8 in the polls. Even so, Oregon State finished the season 29-4. 

The Beavers are led by head coach Scott Rueck, who was a finalist for Naismith Coach of the Year in 2016. Rueck was named this year's Pac-12 Coach of the Year, which is titled the John R. Wooden Coach of the Year award, for the second time in three years.

Florida State has come closer to beating UConn than any other team this season—losing 78-76 on Nov. 14. Florida State then went on to win 12 games in a row. The Seminoles' worst losses this season were to Notre Dame, a double overtime loss to Texas and a first-round exit in the ACC Tournament.

Seminoles senior Leticia Romero and junior Shakayla Thomas were voted to the All-ACC First Team.

No. 5 in the AP and No. 3 in the Coaches Poll, Maryland finished the regular season with a 30-2 record and a third consecutive Big Ten championship.

Terps freshman Destiny Slocum was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough were named to the All-Big Ten first team.

Texas is led by Big 12 Coach of the Year Karen Aston, while junior point guard Brooke McCarty was named Big 12 Player of the Year.

According to this report, Texas played against 12 top 25 teams this season—seven of which were in the top 10. One of those was UConn, who Texas lost to on Dec. 4 by a score of 72-54.

Texas finished the regular season at 23-8 and No. 14 in the AP Poll.

No. 4 South Carolina finished the regular season at 27-4 with a third-straight SEC title. 

The Gamecocks' four losses this season came against UConn (66-55), Tennessee, Missouri and Duke—among those, No. 1 UConn is the only team ranked.

Although Stanford ended up claiming the Pac-12 title, earlier on in the tournament Oregon pulled off an impressive upset over Washington.

This is relevant to a potential matchup with UConn because earlier in the regular season, Oregon lost to Washington, a superior team, by 22 points. 

Oregon finished the regular season at 20-13 and not ranked.

Washington finished the regular season at 27-5 (No. 12 on the AP Poll and No. 11 in the Coaches Poll). The Huskies' highest ranking this season was at No. 7 at the end of January. 

Senior guard Kelsey Plum was named Pac-12 Player of the Year. Teammate and senior forward or center Chantel Osahor joins Plum on the All-Pac-12 team.

No. 7 Mississippi State finished the regular season at 29-4. The Bulldogs lost to No. 5 South Carolina in the SEC Championship game, 59-49.

Before that, Mississippi State only lost by three points to South Carolina on Jan. 23—and before that, Mississippi State started the season with a 20-0 record.

More than anything else, a team trying to beat UConn needs to be able to come back from behind. According to espnW's Michelle Smith, the Cardinal have been down by at least six points in seven wins this season.

And most recently, in the Pac-12 Championship, Stanford came back from a 13-point deficit to beat Oregon State. 

Stanford finished the regular season at 28-5 and did not face UConn.