OnDemand: Will history channel UConn seniors once again?

Think back nearly a decade ago to 2007. The first iPhone was just being released, LeBron James had only played for one NBA team, and the UConn Huskies women's basketball team had only won five National Championships to date.

That was also the last year UConn was not one of the final four teams standing at the end of March. Since then, the Huskies have appeared in each of the last eight Final Fours, and have taken home the trophy five times.

UConn is in Indianapolis for their ninth straight appearance in the final weekend of the sport, looking for National Championship number 11, including an unprecedented fourth straight.

As the Huskies look around at the other three teams left standing in the 2016 tournament, they probably do not recognize anyone else who joins them on the Big Dance's biggest stage.

"I think Washington finishing fifth in their league and going to the Final Four; that's the kind of stuff that happens in men's basketball," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "Syracuse, they didn't win their league. They don't have people that are being talked about as All-Americans, but what they did is no fluke. They came out and beat really good teams.

"I'm glad that everybody in the country got to see two teams that maybe you don't get to see much at all."

While Washington and Syracuse get set to square off on the other side of the bracket, UConn is preparing for another new face: Oregon State. The Beavers (32-4) will appear in their first Final Four Sunday night, opposite a team who has advanced to the last weekend 17 times.

Oregon State won the Pac-12 tournament for the first time this season, while also winning a program-record 32 games, including 22 of their last 23 contests. The Beavers are led by Pac-12 player of the year Jamie Weisner, and fellow senior Ruth Hamblin.

Hamblin is her team's leading rebounder and shot-blocker, but will certainly have her hands full with the size and length of the Huskies' front line. Breanna Stewart was just named the AP Player of the Year for a record third straight season, and WBCA Wade Trophy Winner yesterday.

Stewart plays alongside Morgan Tuck and Moriah Jefferson, all three of whom were named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-American team.

"I've been saying this pretty much all year, that whenever the games get bigger, and the stakes get higher as season goes along, our three seniors play even better than they normally play," Auriemma said.

While no one has been able to knock off UConn so far this season (36-0), some teams have shown possible ways to complete the tallest task in the game this season. Notre Dame led the Huskies at the half when the two teams met in December, and relied primarily on the 3-point shot.

The Beavers also shoot a lot of threes, as they have three players who attempted at least 130 this season. Sydney Wiese leads the team with 177 three-point attempts, and will certainly be needed to have a great game for Oregon State to be able to hang with UConn into the second half.

The first meeting between these two programs since 1995 will be an interesting clashing of styles, to say the least. The dominant Huskies definitely can be beaten, but it would take a perfect game from their opponent to even come close. UConn could not have had the success it has had over the past four seasons if it even, for a split second, considered overlooking an opponent.

"That is what happens this time of year: people make shots they don't make the rest of the year," Auriemma said. "You have to expect the unexpected."