LINCOLN — Don’t ask Nebraska coach Connie Yori how her Huskers would match up with top-ranked Connecticut, the only other undefeated Division I women’s basketball team.

Yori and the third-ranked Huskers (21-0, 8-0 Big 12) are too busy preparing for tonight’s 7 o’clock game at Kansas.

But some big names on the national scene are talking about the Huskers. And one of them, Texas coach Gail Goestenkors, said she believes the Huskers have the ability to compete with the defending champion Huskies.

“I certainly think Nebraska could give them a run for their money because of their senior leadership and their versatility,” Goestenkors said. “I think they have the pieces that you need to really be competitive with Connecticut.”

One of those key ingredients is depth, Vermont coach Sharon Dawley said. Her Catamounts, who lost by 42 points to Connecticut in December, fell 94-50 to the Huskers last month.

In the NU game, “there were great athletes coming in droves,” Dawley said. “When you’re a mid-major and you play a school like this, you think the subs will come and maybe we’ll get a little wiggle room. But their second string was phenomenal.”

Maybe that would help Nebraska if it were to meet Connecticut in March.

“Say they meet in the final game, is fatigue a factor that could play into it? Sure,” Dawley said. “But UConn doesn’t seem to get fatigued.”

The Huskers, still ranked fourth by the coaches, leapfrogged Notre Dame to move into third in the AP Top 25 this week. One AP voter even ranked Nebraska No. 2, ahead of the once-unanimous pick for No. 2, Stanford.

The Huskers are a No. 1 seed in the latest NCAA tournament projections made by ESPN’s Charlie Creme. Fellow ESPN analyst Carolyn Peck said she thought NU has been a top-three team for some time.

“Everybody in the country knows how tough the Big 12 is,” Peck said. “You go down Nebraska’s schedule and you see they beat LSU, then Iowa State, then Texas, then Baylor. And you’re like, ‘OK, this team is really for real.’”

The Huskers weren’t ranked in either preseason poll. The Big 12 coaches picked them to finish sixth in the conference.

Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said Kelsey Griffin’s season-ending injury last year and the subsequent 15-16 campaign helped everyone forget about NU.

“The reason people don’t know is because the injury bug hit (Coach) Connie (Yori) and Kelsey,” Mulkey said. “And when you have an injury to a critical player, it affects a lot of things.”

Contact the writer:

402-473-9585, jon.nyatawa@owh.com

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