Sports

4 reasons to watch historic NCAA women’s final

Now for the NCAA championship game you’ve all been waiting for.

OK, maybe not. But you should be!

UConn meets Notre Dame on Tuesday night (8:30 p.m., ESPN) in a women’s basketball title showdown for the ages. There will be plenty of history on the line and big personalities on display in Nashville.

“The almost-women’s basketball fan will have an interest in the game; those that have not had any interest may tune in to see what’s going on,” Huskies coach Geno Auriemma offered Monday.

Here are four good reasons to join them:

1. It’s the first time — men or women — unbeaten teams have played in the NCAA Tournament.

UConn is 39-0. Notre Dame is 37-0. Even Bird and Magic couldn’t pull that off.

2. The coaches really do not like each other.

Auriemma has a list of enemies almost as long as his resume (paging Pat Summitt). Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw (not a misprint) isn’t shying away from the discord.

“We don’t have a relationship,” McGraw said. “I think that [the civility] got lost. When we were in the same conference, I think there was a modicum of it, but I think after beating them and not feeling any respect from that, we lost something.”

The post-game handshake — or snub — could be worth the price of admission.

3. Goliath might lose.

UConn won the men’s title Monday night, and that’s not even the school’s most successful hoops program. The Huskies have won eight crowns without dropping a championship game under Auriemma, dominating the women’s game with a lineage of stars that runs from Rebecca Lobo to Sue Bird to Diana Taurasi to Maya Moore.

But Notre Dame has controlled the rivalry of late, winning seven of the last nine games between the teams. UConn is a 6.5-point favorite.

4. What do you want in a star player?

UConn forward Breanna Stewart, who won national player of the year honors as a sophomore by averaging nearly 20 points per game, is stoic and supremely awkward, a 6-foot-3 tangle of limbs capable of scoring inside, outside or in transition.

Notre Dame senior guard Kayla McBride is a dogged scorer (she poured in 28 in the semis) and emotive team leader. Even Auriemma conceded, “She’s a killer.” McBride is very active on Twitter. UConn players are forbidden from tweeting during the season.