This is a Pitt blog and we will certainly get back in the swing of things around here next week when Pitt Spring Football begins, but in the mean time, let me take a few moments to expand the parameters of this to include one of my other beats - women's basketball.The Pitt women's team will, for the first time since 2006, not be in the NCAA Tournament and it isn't because they aren't talented enough to be there. They are and they should be there but they aren't going to be there because they lack a very critical intangible that every championship level team has - call it toughness, call it leadership, call it heart, grit, desire - whatever you want to call it, the Panthers - unlike their counterparts on the men's side - wilted every time things got tough this year.That's a shame because the last two seasons, the Panthers have been one of the toughest teams on the block and I used to love watching them play because I admire teams who don't take no for an answer and teams who aren't afraid to be great and know how to impose their will on their opponents. The Panthers used to be that team and they need to look in the mirror and find that again because their performance in the Big East women's tournament (I've been stuck in America's version of Siberia, Hartford, for the past six days) - they lost to Louisville 79-71 in the first round - was just another example of a team that didn't care enough to win a game it should have won. All you need to know is this -- Louisville was destroyed by injuries this year, had only six scholarship players available, relied heavily on walk-ons, volleyball players and anyone else they could fit into a uniform - just to finish the season, yet they somehow beat Pitt and mostly because they were tougher, they played with more passion and they cared more.It has been a disappointing season because Agnus Berenato has built a great program and has built it on doing things the right way, like playing great defense, like being tougher than their opponents, like being unselfish and caring enough to go the extra mile - those are the principles that helped the program become a legitimate top 20 program. But for whatever reason, this group has not done its part to keep that tradition going and they now have a long offseason (after the WNIT games) to look in the mirror, think about it and make the necessary changes......All of that being said -- here is the flip side of that from this weekend - the Connecticut Huskies, which, after seeing them up close and personal four times in the last month, I would argue is the best team I have ever covered live.Yeah, I know, I hear it all the time -- their winning streak isn't as impressive as UCLA's and blah blah blah -- look, if you really believe that then you have no idea about big-time athletics, no idea about how hard it is to win at a high level for a long period of time and more importantly, you just aren't very bright.This isn' t the 1970's and 1980's, when only a handful of teams cared enough to fund women's basketball programs the right way and those programs dominated everyone else because they had huge advantages in terms of budgeting and other things - a lot of programs, both in the Big East and around the nation, take women's basketball very seriously and a quick glance at some of the budgets of these programs would suggest as much.So this isn't like Connecticut is running through a bunch of watered down programs -- women's basketball right now is deeper and better than it has ever been in terms of the number of legitimately good programs out there and yet, the Huskies have made a mockery of their opponents. During this 72-game streak they have won 14 games against top 10 teams by an average margin of victory of somewhere in the neighborhood of 28 points a game and they haven't had an opponent come closer than ten points.And here is a statistic that I think Pitt men's basketball fans (i.e. fans who appreciate teams committed to playing good defense) should appreciate more than any other -- they have now gone 611 games in a row and have not had an opponent shoot better than 50 percent from the floor. The last time a team shot 50 percent against them was 1993 - that is just impressive to me. I don't care WHAT the level of competition is, if you can do that with that kind of consistency, you are doing something right.But this is where I tie this all together -- the difference between Connecticut and everyone else is not just talent (I think if you look at the rosters of a couple of teams you'd say they have the equivalent talent on paper) -- it is that they are interested in one thing and one thing only -- winning every possession of every game.They don't care about streaks, records, individual awards -- they care about playing perfect basketball every time they take the court. And they are not only the most talented team, they are the best coached team, the toughest team, the hardest working team, the smartest team, the best defensive team and the most unselfish team. They have great kids, good student-athletes and frankly, they are a joy to watch.I don't know if the Huskies will play at the Petersen Center for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, indications are that they will, but if they do, and you appreciate excellence and you appreciate a team that plays the game the right way with a bunch of student-athletes who are genuinely that -- you might want to check them out because it is something to see, particularly live.Yeah, I know, they will beat the 8 or 9 seed by 30 points -- but guess what, if you appreciate excellence and dominance, you should appreciate this team because what they are doing is unprecedented in sports history.As for the rest of the Big East, here is a cliff notes version of the likely NCAA Tournament teams:West Virginia - Speaking of teams who are tough, gritty and win even though they are offensively challenged, the Mountaineers are going to be a very difficult out in the NCAA Tournament. Sarah Miles, the defensive player of the year in the Big East, is one of the best point guards around and she'll lock down the other team's top player night in and night out. They should be a three seed and that means a trip to the Elite 8 (a year ahead of schedule) is not out of the question.Rutgers - This team is one of my favorite teams because, much like Connecticut, they are a no-frills kind of team that just wins games with tenacity, intensity and great defense. Vivian Stringer is a legend in the women's game but what I like about her is this - she doesn't put up with any nonsense from her players and doesn't care how many All-American teams and AAU teams they played for. If you play there, you better come to work every day and understand that being good isn't good enough. She talks often about what it means to put on the Scarlet Knights uniform and her team probably played their way into the NCAA tournament this weekend with their performance in the Big East tournament.Notre Dame -  The Irish have been the only team who have played the Huskies even remotely tough over the past two seasons and it is because they are extremely well coached and do an excellent job of controlling the tempo. This team is a pleasure to watch because they run a lot of good stuff on offense, they rebound and play great defense and really can score from all five positions. I won't be shocked if they end up in the Final Four (assuming they aren't in UConn's bracket).DePaul - There is not a more underrated coach in any sport than Doug Bruno and the evidence is he never gets nearly enough credit and recogintion despite the way his team plays year in and year out. This team does a lot of things well and if you are a student of the game, or just a fan of really well coached offensive basketball, this team is really fun to watch. And just like every year at this time, they are peaking and almost assuredly will find their way into the NCAA Tournament. Bruno is well known within the women's basketball community and very well respected, but I'm telling you this - as someone who has spent about 15 years covering the sport, there aren't ten better women's basketball coaches in America than him.St. Johns - The Red Storm are a sleeping giant and arrived a year ahead of schedule. But they have some great young talent and more on the way in terms of recruiting and the only reason they lost to Notre Dame in the quarterfinals is they haven't been in this situation before. I would say this team is going to be scary next year and this year in the NCAA Tournament, if they can overcome some of their youthful jitters, are a legitimate threat to get to the Elite Eight at least.Georgetown - Another team that arrived a little ahead of schedule, the Hoyas look a lot like the old Hoyas of John Thompson fame - they are physical, tough, play great defense, will physically dictate the tempo and flow of every game and will get after you for 40 minutes. I'm not sure if, offensively, they are quite good enough to make a deep run, but this is a team that will be very good next year again and this is a team that, if you see them listed as your opponent in the NCAA Tournament, it should ruin your day.OK, I know this was a little bit different than normal, but there are some fans out there of women's basketball and more importantly if you are sports fan, the Connecticut women is a team you should love because they are everything that is right about sports, particularly college athletics.I'll be back in Pittsburgh by Thursday and will get started working on updating this blog daily during spring football by Monday