His Phoenix (29-3) are ranked 21st in The Associated Press poll and take a 26-game winning streak into tonight’s NCAA second-round game at the Civic Center. But to hear the ninth-year coach talk, you would think that the Horizon League champions might want to board the plane back home rather than meet with the favored and fourth-ranked Huskies with a berth in the "Sweet 16" on the line tonight.

"I would lie if I told you this wasn’t the steepest mountain we have ever tried to climb, very similar to Mt. Everest, David vs. Goliath, one of those types of stories," Borseth said. "Hoosiers, the deck is obviously stacked against us, but we have to go out and play and do the best we can when we are out there."

There were more quips from the quick-witted Borseth when the topic turned to defending UConn’s athletic front line with a lineup featuring one player over 6 feet.

"That is the question, and I don’t really have an answer for it," Borseth said. "I wish I did. We dealt with kids who are bigger than us all year long and sometimes they are bigger and aren’t as athletic. But UConn, they are big and athletic, and that kind of develops a double whammy."

When prodded about whether a game in the 60s would give the Phoenix a chance against the Huskies (30-3), Borseth’s dead-pan response was "two, I’ll take two points."

There is no question that the Phoenix could have their hands full with the UConn trio of freshman center Tina Charles, junior forward Charde Houston and sophomore forward/guard Kalana Greene. But don’t get the sympathy cards ready for Wisconsin-Green Bay just yet.

The Phoenix haven’t lost since Nov. 29, when DePaul needed a Caprice Smith jumper with 0.4 seconds left to win by a point. The Phoenix have three senior starters, including Nicole Soulis, who is attracting the interest of WNBA scouts, and a pair of 1,000-point scorers. Wisconsin-Green Bay also happens to bear a striking resemblance to UConn’s Big East rival DePaul with the ability to put five players on the floor who can not only make 3-pointers but also drive to the basket with alarming regularity.

"We were comparing them to DePaul because they have a post player that can step out and shoot (3-pointers). They are a lot like DePaul, so they are going to be hard to guard against," UConn assistant coach Tonya Cardoza said. "We’ll probably have to do a lot of switching, so it will be a difficult game.

"I think we pay attention a little more, but we still have lapses, and we’ll give up a couple (open 3-pointers). Hopefully, we won’t give up eight, like they average a game. Hopefully, we pay attention, don’t help and just contain our guy. If we do a good job containing the dribble, we shouldn’t have a problem giving up 3s."

Wisconsin-Green Bay has five players with at least 20 3-pointers, and the projected starting lineup also features four players shooting better than 80 percent on free throws.

"They may not be big, but they can be extremely tough, they can make it difficult for us in the post," Houston said. "If we turn the ball over, then we can make them look a lot better than they really are. Everything goes back to us; we have to start the game playing like we know how. We need to pound it inside so we can open it up offensively."

The 6-foot-2 Soulis, the team’s leader in scoring, rebounding and blocks, is the only starter at least 6 feet tall. Even if the Phoenix come out in the 2-3 zone it used in shutting down New Mexico on Sunday, Soulis will likely have to get physical with the bigger and stronger Charles inside. Amanda Popp and Rachel Porath, each listed at 5-10, figure to draw the assignments on Houston and Greene.

"Our defense is a huge thing," Popp said. "Even the New Mexico coach (Don Flanagan) said ‘We weren’t expecting their defense ...’ but we knew we could do it all along. We have proved ourselves and also our fundamentals are pretty solid. We take care of the ball pretty well compared to a lot of the big teams, so, hopefully, that will work in our favor, too.

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