With championship week nearing its apex, a story that has picked up a head of steam in the mainstream media now is the 72-game win streak of the Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team.

Connecticut broke their own women's record on Monday with another double-digit win over a ranked opponent, beating No. 6 Notre Dame 59-44 in the Big East tournament semifinals.

The streak continued Tuesday, defeating No. 9 West Virginia in the finals, clinching another Big East championship.

Since the final buzzer went off in a loss to Stanford in the Final Four of the 2008 NCAA tournament, 2,880 minutes of game time have passed for Connecticut without a defeat.

By comparison, it would be the equivalent of playing 48 straight hours without losing a game. You could travel the length of Chile in that time.

No men's team since Indiana in the 1975-76 season has gone undefeated. Few teams since, including the 1991-92 University of Nevada-Las Vegas team, have come close to making it through one season undefeated, but never even sniffed at two.

The record the Huskies broke stood for seven years, and was made by another Connecticut team that featured standout players like Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi. The fact that within a decade one school could win 70 games in a row twice is remarkable, especially in this age of parity.

And there have been very few cream puffs on this schedule. The Huskies this season are No. 1 in RPI and No. 2 in strength of schedule. Oklahoma is No. 1 in strength of schedule and they have nine loses. Big East compatriot Rutgers is No. 2 in strength of schedule and has suffered 14 loses.

Now some have said that without a game against arch rival Tennessee, that the streak does not mean as much as it could. I’m sorry but that argument just feels awfully nitpicky to me. If the New England Patriots had gone undefeated in 2007, would people have put an asterisk by their record if they did not play the Indianapolis Colts? No. The Volunteers canceled the regular season series between the two powerhouses after a struggle over recruit Maya Moore, so the Huskies should feel no responsibility to have to play Tennessee. And the way Connecticut has played against other great teams, the Huskies would probably win by double-figures anyway.

The record for most consecutive wins by any college basketball team, regardless of gender, is 88 set by the UCLA Bruins men's team, which ended with a defeat in South Bend against Notre Dame. Six wins in the tournament for Connecticut would bring them up to 78 wins. If they can win their first eleven games next season, they will claim the all-time record.

Can they do it? I would not want to bet against them. The hard part will be the NCAA tournament. Barring some weird upsets, the Huskies will have some very tough games once they reach the Elite Eight, and the effects of a long season and a streak of this magnitude can start to weigh on people.

Then again, they have yet to play a game decided by single-digit game so far during the streak, so who knows how tough of a test those teams will actually be.

And if they win the title and lock up 78 wins? Look out as they start the 2010-11 season with fresh legs and an out-of-conference schedule.

Will it make everyone start to watch women’s college basketball? Probably not. Will it be viewed as the one of the most exciting sports event ever? Unlikely given how the Huskies have offed teams with Terminator-like effectiveness, never being pushed to their limits.

I’m just saying though, it is time we all take notice of this remarkable feat, because you never know when a team like this will roll around again.