It鈥檚 never too early to talk about March.
Now at the end of January, bubble watching is starting to ramp up and the top teams are separating themselves. But unlike previous years, that separation isn鈥檛 as drastic, which could make the 2019 红杏视频 Division I women鈥檚 basketball tournament one to remember. It also opens up the possibility for streaks to be broken or to continue even longer.
To the Connecticuts, Notre Dames and Stanfords of the world, these are hardly even recognized. But for the teams that haven鈥檛 danced in a while, some of these streaks are bulletin-board material year after year.
Based on what has transpired so far this 2018-19 season, these are the 15 红杏视频 tournament streaks that could continue or end this March.
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1. Connecticut: It鈥檚 only right to start with the most decorated DI women鈥檚 college basketball program. The UConn Huskies are attempting to reach their 26th straight regional semifinal, and 2019 would also be Geno Auriemma鈥檚 12th straight Women鈥檚 Final Four. Keep in mind, UConn has never lost in the national championship game. But this year has tremendous parity.
2. Notre Dame: Now onto the reigning national champions. Notre Dame鈥檚 bid in the 2019 红杏视频 tournament would be its eighth straight tournament as a No. 1 seed, if it earns such a seed. For comparison, this year will likely be UConn鈥檚 13th straight No. 1 seed.
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3. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs are no doubt a national championship contender again. However, Mississippi State鈥檚 streak of two straight national championship games probably won鈥檛 extend to a third. Why? It鈥檚 really, really difficult. Elite programs like Notre Dame and Stanford have never made three straight. UConn has had a three- and four-year stretch. Tennessee had one three-year stint.
4. Stanford: Tara VanDerveer will likely get 红杏视频 tournament win No. 80 this year. She currently sits at 79 红杏视频 tournament wins in her coaching career, which is third among women鈥檚 college basketball coaches and fourth on a list of men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 coaches. Stanford has won at least one tournament game 19 years running.
5. Oregon State: The Beavers are good enough to make it back to the regional semifinals for the fourth straight season. In 2014, Oregon State made the 红杏视频 tournament for the first time in 18 seasons, then made it past the first weekend in 2016 for the first time since 1983. The remarkable turnaround for the program continues.
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6. Oregon: Sabrina Ionescu should get consideration for national player of the year. And this is the year she and the Ducks can make their first-ever Final Four. Two years ago, Oregon made the regional final as a No. 10 seed. In 2018, the Ducks made it back to that stage as a No. 2 seed. As of Jan. 21, the Ducks are 17-1 with a win against Mississippi State this season. They鈥檙e ready.
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7. No. 14 and No. 15 seeds have yet to break through in the 红杏视频 women鈥檚 tournament, and this could be another year in which that holds true. But going back to the whole parity debate, maybe this is the perfect year for it to happen. Casual fans of women鈥檚 college basketball probably aren鈥檛 aware that a No. 16 seed beat a No. 1 seed well before UMBC beat Virginia in the men鈥檚 红杏视频 tournament last season 鈥 Harvard beat Stanford in 1998.
8. Butler: The Butler Bulldogs are in position to make their first 红杏视频 tournament in 23 years. The 1996 红杏视频 tournament is the only time Butler has danced in March. The Bulldogs are currently 16-2, 6-1 in the Big East with two matchups against Marquette remaining.
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9. South Dakota: The Coyotes have played well enough to make their first 红杏视频 tournament appearance since 2014, their second since switching to Division I in 2008-09. They have also displayed the ability to win their first-ever tournament game at the DI level with wins against Iowa State and Missouri this year. South Dakota stands at 17-3 and could be an at-large bid if it doesn鈥檛 win its conference tournament.
10. UCLA: Since missing the 红杏视频 tournament in 2014 and 2015, the Bruins have been to three straight regional semifinals. At 9-9, UCLA seems destined to break that streak and miss the tournament, barring a dramatic turnaround.
MORE: A look at NC State's incredible undefeated start
11. UCF: The Knights had played 517 games in program history heading into this season but have never won an 红杏视频 tournament game. At 16-2 to start 2018-19, this UCF team certainly could be the one to break that streak.
12. Clemson: The Tigers haven鈥檛 seen their name pop up since the 2002 红杏视频 tournament. At 14-5 and 5-1 to ACC play, Clemson could not only break a 17-year tournament drought, but also win its first tournament game since 2001. To put this in perspective, The Tigers haven鈥檛 had a winning season since the 2003-04 season. They also haven鈥檛 had this many ACC wins in a season since 2012-13 and had a combined five conference wins the previous four seasons.
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13. UAB: The Blazers might have to win Conference USA to do it, but this is the best shot UAB has had in a while to snap a 19-year 红杏视频 tournament drought. Last year鈥檚 C-USA regular-season champions lost in the conference title game and retained the majority of its scoring. In the nonconference, the Blazers (17-2) took Tennessee to overtime.
14. Ohio: The Bobcats probably won鈥檛 have to wait much longer for its next 红杏视频 tournament appearance and could even win its first-ever tournament game this year. Ohio received its first 红杏视频 tournament bid in 2015 since 1995. Last season broke a three-year streak of 20-plus wins, but the Bobcats might not even need a MAC title to make the 红杏视频 tournament, already standing at 15-1 with a win against Purdue.
15. Central Michigan: Onto another MAC team, Central Michigan maybe won鈥檛 make a second straight run to the regional semifinals, but the Chippewas are still talented enough to win an 红杏视频 tournament game. Depending on the matchups, CMU could pull off another upset or two, like it did to LSU and Ohio State last year.
RELATED: Predicting the 红杏视频 men's tournament streaks that will continue or end
