Bridgeport — Vegas might have it a pick 'em as to the greater upheaval to the system of the Mississippi State women's basketball players:

The inherent culture shock between pastoral Starkville, Miss. and bedazzling Bridgeport ... or playing the top-ranked UConn women today in the Sweet 16?

Answer: could be the latter. While some of their players joked about seeing more jersey barriers on the bus ride to the arena than in their entire home state, the upstart Bulldogs play for their season at 11:30 a.m. Saturday (ESPN) at Webster Bank Arena.

This is the second trip to the Sweet 16 in program history (2010) for Mississippi State (28-7), which has already amassed a school record for wins in a single season.

"We're very, very young and yet we've accomplished a lot in the past two years," Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer said. "We've just got to try to be comfortable still knowing most of the (arena) will be against us."

The environment will be a sold-out arena, most of which will be rooting for the three-time defending champion Huskies (34-0), who also happen to have won 71 straight games.

"There's really not much that I think you can say at this time of the year. We're pretty excited that we're playing a team that we haven't seen, not only haven't seen this year, but haven't seen ever. So I think that's good," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "Obviously, everybody knows that we're trying to do something that's extremely difficult to do, and that's win a national championship, as they are, and as the other two teams are in this regional.

"And as I told the players on the team, our three seniors are about as good as it gets and if we get everybody else to do their part, then we're going to be okay."

UConn's primary assignment today is to stop all-Southeastern Conference pick Victoria Vivians, who leads the team in scoring (17.4 ppg.). She's the first player since former Connecticut Sun guard and MSU grad Tan White to score at least 600 points in a season.

"I think we take great pride in our defense. We think we're a pretty good defensive team," Auriemma said. "But it's been my experience that, for instance, us trying to guard Courtney Williams (of South Florida) during the regular season, the defense is really, really good and it's really, really important, and you have to have it to win championships. But the best defender can't keep a great offensive player down. As I told you guys a hundred times, I'm a great fan of baseball. You throw the right pitch at the right time in the perfect spot and the guy hits a three-run homer. So what are you going to do?

"So great offensive players can overcome great defense. Not always, not always, but there's a defense for everything, obviously. But somehow or another, great offensive players figure out how to play against great defenses."

The winner of Saturday's game plays the winner of the No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 2 Texas game at 7 p.m. Monday for the right to go to the Final Four.

m.dimauro@theday.com

BRIDGEPORT REGIONAL

Semifinals

Saturday's Games

UConn (34-0) vs. Mississippi State (28-7), 11:30 a.m. (ESPN)

UCLA (26-8) vs. Texas (30-4), 2 p.m. (ESPN)

Championship

Monday, March 28

Semifinal winners, 7 p.m. (ESPN)