The regular seasons of each conference were drawing to a close, and the conference championships were about to begin.
The NCAA was made up of conferences of all sizes, and March Madness only applied to Division I schools.
But even among Division I schools, because they were spread across the United States, the NCAA allowed different conferences to use different rules for their championship tournaments.
In any case, the teams that ultimately entered the tournament were the 32 conference champions and 36 at-large teams selected by the committee.
Different rules were allowed, but most conferences used a single-elimination format similar to the NBA's top-eight playoff system.
The Big East Conference worked this way. The top eight teams advanced to the championship tournament, then faced off in pairings of first versus eighth, second versus seventh, and so on, until a final champion was decided.
Because at-large bids carried enormous uncertainty, winning the championship was the safest way for schools to qualify for the tournament.
That was also why the intensity of a single-elimination conference championship was no weaker than the tournament itself.
The final Big East Conference regular-season standings were as follows.
First place: Louisville University Cardinals
Second place: Connecticut Huskies
Third place: West Virginia University Mountaineers
Fourth place: Georgetown University Hoyas
Fifth place: St. John's University Red Storm
Sixth place: Marquette University Golden Eagles
Seventh place: Providence College Friars
Eighth place: Syracuse University Orangemen
UConn would face the Providence College Friars in the first round. The two teams had split their regular-season meetings, one win apiece.
UConn had Home Court Advantage, and coupled with their dominant performance in the regular-season finale, their chances of winning were quite high.
But with single elimination deciding everything in one game, the arena was packed for the opening championship game.
And as soon as