UConn women’s No. 1 seed

Connecticut’s quest for the fifth perfect season in NCAA history will begin at home.

The undefeated Huskies earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament Monday night and will open against Vermont at Storrs.

Nine teams have entered the NCAA tournament unbeaten; only four have emerged unscathed. UConn and coach Geno Auriemma were the last in 2002.

Auriemma said he’s not worried about the bulls-eye on his team’s back.

“We’ve been dealing with that all year long,” he said. “You don’t worry about things you obviously have no control over. I’m not sitting here thinking about who we’re playing in St. Louis. Trust me.”

Oklahoma, Maryland and Duke earned the other three No. 1 seeds. The Sooners are in the Oklahoma City regional, the Terrapins are headed to Raleigh and the Blue Devils will make the cross-country trek to Berkeley.

Tennessee also extended its run as the only team to make every NCAA tournament but earned a No. 5 – its lowest seed ever, guaranteeing a tough road to a third straight title.

The Final Four is scheduled for the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on April 5 and 7.

Duke potentially must beat No. 2 Stanford in the regional finals to get back to the Final Four for the first time since 2006. The Blue Devils play Austin Peay in the first round at Michigan State – coach Joanne P. McCallie’s former school. She could meet up with the Spartans in the second round if they can beat Middle Tennessee State.

“I don’t know if that’s some drama by the committee,” McCallie said. “For us, it’s about us and what we want to accomplish and do. We finally have an opponent, and that’s our one concern, the one opponent we have.”

If all goes right, Duke could face former coach Gail Goestenkors and Texas in the regional finals.

The Huskies (33-0), who have run through their opponents winning by an average of 31 points, will be looking for their sixth national championship. A potential second-round opponent for UConn is former assistant coach Tonya Cardoza and Temple. The Owls must beat Florida to meet the Huskies.

Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said she was not surprised her team received a No. 5 seed. Tennessee (22-10) had only been seeded fourth once – in 1986. The team also took 10 losses into the tournament in 1997, grabbing a No. 3 seed and winning the title.

They’ll play Ball State in their opener.

The region’s No. 2 seed – Stanford – plays UC Santa Barbara in the Cardinal’s opener.