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JESSICAHILL—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE Connecticut players pose with the championship trophy at the end of the American Athletic Conference tournament finals March 7against South Florida in Uncasville, Conn. ByDougFeinberg TheAssociatedPress There'snodoubtthatUConnisthe overwhelming favorite to win an un- precedented fourth straight national championship and 11th title overall. In Las Vegas, gamblers can either lay $900 to win $100 if UConn wins, or get 6-1 odds on the field, accord- ing to odds at the Westgate Las Ve- gas sports book. It's hard to see UConn losing, as the Huskies have won their last 69 games by double digits, including go- ing 32-0 this season. They've trailed just a few times during that streak. Still, as coach Geno Auriemma said, on any given day UConn could not shoot well and his team might have to find another way to win. With no disrespect intended to their early round opponents, start- ing with 16-seed Robert Morris, it would take a monumental effort to have a chance to pull off the historic upset. The Huskies have made it to at least the Final Four in eight straight seasons and odds are that won't end this year. Here are a few teams that could have a chance to dethrone the three- time champions if the ball bounces the right way and they can get through their part of the bracket. The earliest any of these teams would meet UConn would be in the regional final. BAYLOR The Lady Bears wouldn't see the Huskies until the Final Four and they are the only top seed that hasn't fallen to UConn this season. Still if the Huskies' past history plays any role, it's very rare that a team beats them in the NCAAs when they don't play in the regular season. "UConn is the team to beat. UConn is just better," coach Kim Mulkey said. "But I've won a national cham- pionship at Baylor when the bet- NCAA WOMEN'S TOURNAMENT CananyoneknockoffUConn? Afewteamscouldstop 32-0 Huskies if all things go right against them NCAAWOMEN'STOURNAMENT Saturday: UConn vs. Robert Morris, 8a.m. TUNEIN By Eric Olson The Associated Press As the hours tick down to the start of the NCAA Tournament, people across the country are por- ing over statistics and studying matchups and trendlines with the hope of coming up with the per- fect bracket — or at least a win- ning one. Then there's Holly Weather- wax. The realtor from Reston, Virginia, on Tuesday dashed off two brackets she'll enter in a fam- ily pool. On one, she picked the Virginia Cavaliers to win the na- tional championship. That's be- cause her daughter attends the school. On the other, she picked the Duke Blue Devils. That's be- cause she took a shine to Coach K, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill back in the 1990s. "I do this very casually," Weath- erwax said. Others take it very seriously. According to American Gaming Association research, 40 million people filled out about 70 million brackets last year, and the aver- age bet per bracket was $29. The trade group estimated $9.2 bil- lion will be wagered on the tour- nament this year through office pools, Nevada sports books, off- shore sites and illegal bookmak- ers. John Dietrich, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln senior from Omaha, said he'll submit five NCAA TOURNAMENT IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BRACKET FOR MANY College basketball fans across country pore over statistics, study matchups and trends JOHN MINCHILLO — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A Tulsa men's basketball player practices before the start of a First Four game in the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio. COREY PERRINE — NAPLES DAILY NEWS Florida Gulf Coast practices in Dayton, Ohio, on Monday. Florida Gulf Coast returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since they became national sweethearts with an improbable Sweet Sixteen run as a No. 15seed in 2013. By Anne M. Peterson The Associated Press In the preseason when ques- tions swirled about how Ore- gon would replace guard Jo- seph Young, coach Dana Altman was asked how the Ducks could achieve the recognition enjoyed by the school's football team. "We just have to do our part: We have to grow, we have to play an exciting brand of basketball, we have to win. We've got to con- tinue to get better," Altman said at Pac-12 media day. It's certainly looks like the Ducks have done their part this season. The Ducks (28-6) are the No. 1 seed in the West Region for the first time in school history. On Friday they'll make their fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, open- ing with the winner of Wednes- day's First Four game between Holy Cross (14-19) and Southern (22-12). If the Ducks win, they'll face either No. 8 seed Saint Jo- seph's or No. 9 seed Cincinnati. "Let's go make something re- ally special happen here guys," Altman told the team after the seeding was announced, "and have a lot of fun doing it." The historic seeding follows a season of superlatives. Oregon, which rose to No. 8 in the AP Top 25 this season, won both the Pac-12 regular season title and the Pac-12 Tournament championship, downing Utah 88-57 on Saturday. The Ducks' regular-season re- cord was the best in 77 years. The team went undefeated at home for the fifth time in school history and the first time since the 2001-02. Dating back to last season, Oregon's home winning streak has stretched to a school- NCAA TOURNAMENT Oregon rises on national stage to get top seed Staff Report The Corning Cardinals tennis team took a 6-3 match win over the Yreka Miners on Monday. "We played great tennis today, winning 1 of 3 tough matches in the 2, 3 and 4 seeds," said coach Mike Albee. "No. 1, 5 and 6 sin- gles played great to pick up three early victories." No. 1 Michael Messmer won 6-2, 6-2 and No. 3 Fredy Torres took the first set 7-5 before cruis- ing to the win 6-0 in the second. No. 2 Marcos Valencia lost close sets 7-6, 7-6 and No. 4 Izzy Romo fell in a tiebreaker after going 7-5, 3-6. No. 5 Cruz Padilla won 6-2, 6-1; No. 6 Jose Reyna won 6-2, 6-0 and No. 7 and No. 8 Eric Carrillo and Armando Rosales won 8-0 and 8-1, respectively. In doubles play, Messmer and Valencia won 8-5 and Torres and Reyna won 8-4, while Romo and Padilla fell 8-5. The Cardinals (3-1 overall and 2-0 league) were scheduled to face the West Valley Eagles on Tues- day. TENNIS Cardinals take 6-3 win over Yreka By Carl Steward Bay Area News Group SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. More than halfway through spring training, the Oakland A's bargain rotation bet on journeyman Rich Hill still isn't paying dividends at the win- dow. The A's, who signed Hill to a one-year, $6 million contract based on four sparkling starts he made for the Boston Red Sox at the end of last season, has now made three starts in Arizona and Tuesday's effort may have been his most erratic yet. The 36-year-old left-hander gave up three hits, allowed six walks and five earned runs to the Colorado Rockies in the A's 6-2 loss at Salt River Fields. The good news is that he's getting his pitch count up. The bad news is that of the 67 pitches he threw, only 29 were for strikes. Hill's spring ERA is a robust 15.26, and it might have been a lot worse if not for some spectac- ular defense behind him, most no- tably a diving catch by outfielder Sam Fuld that turned what likely would have been a bases-loaded double into a double play. "I feel good health-wise," Hill said. "But obviously, I'm still not getting the results. I'm on a bat- ter, off a batter, so command is an issue. The feel of getting the breaking ball out of my hand consistently has been an issue. It's just something I have to con- SPRING TRAINING A's Hill sees ERA rise to robust 15.26 UCONN PAGE 2 POOLS PAGE 2 OREGON PAGE 2 A'S PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, March 16, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1