Another Inevitable Conclusion for UConn?

When Connecticut ran through the 2008-09 season with a 39-0 record and cruised through the Final Four to a national title, they turned an entire season, thousands of games involving hundreds of teams, into an exercise in inevitability.

At the cusp of a new college season, the biggest question is: Can the Huskies do that again? Or will the search for a new point guard to replace Renee Montgomery will bring UConn back to the pack?

Connecticut is the undisputed No. 1 team in the nation at its start, the unanimous choice in both national polls. But, of course. The Huskies have Maya Moore and Tina Charles, two of the top three or four players in the country, they have outstanding role players such as Kalnna Greene and Kaili McLaren. They have Geno Auriemma, who embraces the role of front-runner in a big, enthusiastic bear hug. The Huskies are an interesting combination of swagger and hunger. The championship run of last March marked the first time in four years that Connecticut had won a title, a virtual eternity in Geno-years. They wanted their trophy back. They are going to want it again.

Auriemma was asked whether he thinks this will be a better team that the last one, that one that won every game by double-digits, by an average margin of 30.5 points a game.

"I don't know. Things change, people change. Certainly circumstances change," Auriemma said. "I think each individual on our team will be better than they were last year. ... Does that translate into having a better team? I don't know. Again, you can't discount what Renee did and how she did it."

Stanford looks to be Connecticut's biggest challenger, returning six players with starting experience, bringing the nation's deepest post game, led by senior center Jayne Appel, and one of the country's top freshman -- forward Joslyn TInkle -- into the mix.

If the Cardinal get consistent, high quality guard play from the experienced trio of JJ Hones, Rosalyn Gold-Onwude and Jeanette Pohlen, they might be in a very good spot to claim the program's first title since 1992.

Most everybody else in the elite ranks looks pretty young. Baylor, North Carolina, Oklahoma -- all are in various states of rebuilding after large exoduses of experience and talent.

Tennessee, meanwhile, is in a form of recovery. Last year, a freshman-laden team drove Pat Summitt crazy and exited the NCAA Tournament in the first round for the first time in the history of the program. That's a lot to atone for. Now a sophomore group led by last year's national freshman of the year Shekinna Stricklen, along with Glory Johnson and Kelley Cain, are taking another shot at living up to the program's high standards.

The Big 12 has a new power in Kansas, led by senior Danielle McCray, but the big story will be at Baylor, where the Bears are highly ranked and those votes of confidence come largely based of the presence of freshman Brittney Griner, the dunk machine making her collegiate debut in the hot glare of the national spotlight.

Ohio State has been a regional powerhouse, the recent ruler of the upper Midwest, but OSU is still waiting to break through on a national level. This could be that year for the Buckeyes with a strong inside-out combination in point guard Samantha Prahalis and junior center Jantel Lavender. The start of the season has been marred, however, by three-game suspensions to two players, including senior defensive standout Shavelle Little.

North Carolina will lead the way in an ACC race in which all of the top teams have undergone significant turnover. Five ACC teams are in the preseason rankings, but most of them are dependent on newcomers after losing stalwarts such as Kristi Tolliver and Marisa Coleman (Maryland), Chante Black and Abby Waner (Duke), Rashanda McCants (UNC) and Tanae Davis-Cain and Mara Freshour (Florida State).

"I think it just so happens to be that a lot of the teams that are ranked high have a lot of underclassmen," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "Hopefully it will make for some interesting games."

But it may not prevent the foregone conclusion at the end of the season.