The College Basketball Belt
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16 famous title changes, replayed the other way

We took famous Women's College Basketball title changes, flipped the result, and replayed every game since through the same rules. Sometimes the belt finds its way home within days. Sometimes it never does.

March 31, 2017 · 2016–17

What if UConn had won?

Real result: Mississippi State beat UConn 66–64 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by December 3, 2017, 247 days later.

The alternate belt: Notre Dame

December 30, 2010 · 2010–11

What if UConn had won?

Real result: Stanford beat UConn 71–59 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by April 5, 2011, 96 days later, after 1 reign that never happened.

The alternate belt: Notre Dame

November 17, 2014 · 2014–15

What if UConn had won?

Real result: Stanford beat UConn 88–86 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by April 7, 2015, 141 days later.

The alternate belt: Mississippi State

April 3, 2026 · 2025–26

What if UConn had won?

Real result: South Carolina beat UConn 62–48 · the game

The belt never finds its way back. Today it would belong to UConn, not UCLA.

March 31, 2023 · 2022–23

What if South Carolina had won?

Real result: Iowa beat South Carolina 77–73 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by March 31, 2024, 366 days later.

The alternate belt: UCLA

March 11, 2003 · 2002–03

What if UConn had won?

Real result: Villanova beat UConn 52–48 · the game

History snaps back fast: the belt is back on its real path by April 8, 2003, 28 days later.

The alternate belt: Duke

November 30, 2019 · 2019–20

What if Baylor had won?

Real result: South Carolina beat Baylor 74–59 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by April 2, 2021, 489 days later, after 9 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Iowa State → South Dakota State → Kansas State → Iowa State → Texas → West Virginia → Oklahoma → Baylor → UConn

April 3, 2022 · 2021–22

What if UConn had won?

Real result: South Carolina beat UConn 64–49 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by April 2, 2023, 364 days later, after 7 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Notre Dame → North Carolina → Louisville → Notre Dame → Louisville → Virginia Tech → LSU

April 2, 2023 · 2022–23

What if Iowa had won?

Real result: LSU beat Iowa 102–85 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by April 7, 2024, 371 days later, after 4 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Kansas State → Iowa → Ohio State → Iowa

March 29, 2024 · 2023–24

What if Notre Dame had won?

Real result: Oregon State beat Notre Dame 70–65 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by April 6, 2025, 373 days later, after 4 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: TCU → South Carolina → Texas → South Carolina

March 31, 2024 · 2023–24

What if Oregon State had won?

Real result: South Carolina beat Oregon State 70–58 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by April 5, 2026, 735 days later, after 19 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Colorado State → BYU → Northern Colorado → Lamar → SE Louisiana → Texas A&M-Corpus Christi → Lamar → Northern Colorado → Denver → UTEP → TCU → Utah

April 4, 2025 · 2024–25

What if UCLA had won?

Real result: UConn beat UCLA 85–51 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by April 5, 2026, 366 days later, after 10 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Texas → LSU → Texas → Vanderbilt → Georgia → Oklahoma → LSU → South Carolina → Texas → UCLA

April 5, 2026 · 2025–26

What if South Carolina had won?

Real result: UCLA beat South Carolina 79–51 · the game

The belt never finds its way back. Today it would belong to South Carolina, not UCLA.

November 24, 2024 · 2024–25

What if South Carolina had won?

Real result: UCLA beat South Carolina 77–62 · the game

It takes a while: the belt is back on its real path by April 6, 2025, 133 days later, after 2 reigns that never happened.

The alternate belt: Texas → South Carolina

February 13, 2025 · 2024–25

What if UCLA had won?

Real result: USC beat UCLA 71–60 · the game

History snaps back fast: the belt is back on its real path by March 1, 2025, 16 days later.

The alternate belt: USC

March 9, 2025 · 2024–25

What if USC had won?

Real result: UCLA beat USC 72–67 · the game

History snaps back fast: the belt is back on its real path by April 4, 2025, 26 days later, after 1 reign that never happened.

The alternate belt: UConn

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