The 1980 U.S. hockey team over the USSR. Villanova over Georgetown. The New York Giants over the New England Patriots.
If the Gators women's basketball team (24-7) comes away victorious tonight, it might not be asking too much to add its feat to this list of greatest sports upsets.
That's just a taste of what No. 8-seed UF will be up against when it steps on the court at 7:11 p.m. in Storrs, Conn., to take on No. 1-overall-seed Connecticut (34-0) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
"They are an incredible team," UF assistant coach Susie Gardner said after Sunday's win against No. 9-seed Temple. "I'm not that old, but I've seen some of the undefeated teams that have come through. The Tennessees, even Texas, the first team that went undefeated. I'm not going to say this quite yet, but they may be one of the top three teams in the history of the game."
It's clear the Gators won't need any extra motivation, at least none they can't get from just talking about playing the Huskies.
When they watched as the brackets were revealed just over a week ago, the Gators were not happy with their seeding or with this potential matchup in such an early round.
Because of that, they've had a chip on their shoulder.
"It's actually a motivation for us to see actually where we are," senior point guard Sha Brooks said.
Gardner said the team will go into this game with a similar approach to when it played Tennessee the first time this season in Gainesville.
"Our players are going to know UConn's players' names," Gardner said. "They've seen them on TV all year. You ask your players, 'Who would you like to play?' when you're scheduling, and they always say UConn."
It might seem difficult to find a kryptonite to a Huskies team that has an average margin of victory this season of nearly 32 points and has won every game by no fewer than 10.
But Gardner has done her best to name something.
"If UConn does have a weakness, which it's hard to find weaknesses, but they're not overly deep," Gardner said. "Their bench is not that deep, but they don't play a lot of players either. They stay out of foul trouble."
UF, however, is quite the opposite, and has the ability to dig through its bench.
But it's almost certain the Gators will need their star players on the court for as long as possible if they want to have any chance of pulling off the improbable upset.
"Sha loves the matchup," Gardner said. "She always plays good against the great guards, and (Renee) Montgomery's a great guard. Steffi's going to come with her confidence and her cockiness, and Marshae (Dotson), I think, will step up against their post players as well.
"They've got an opportunity to live a lifetime dream and a one-chance opportunity to play a team that probably is potentially going to be one of the best teams ever," Gardner added.
Every underdog needs a chance.
