Several years back, I remember laughing at a quote from a baseball player who had a hitting streak snapped. It had lasted long enough to garner some attention and make it impossible for him to avoid thinking about it. So once it was over, he said, "Good. Now I can get back to playing baseball.''

But of course, that's exactly what he had been doing during the streak, and doing it very well. But he'd lost track of that because of the pressure his success brought.

So here we have the No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Connecticut women about to meet Saturday as undefeateds, and you think about pressure ...

The Huskies' program has had more time to get used to that -- having won three NCAA titles and been in three other Final Fours, being on TV so often, selling out all home games. And having their current 58-game winning streak.

For Duke, 20-0, it's a newer deal. The Blue Devils have been to two Final Fours, but this is their first season being No. 1 and the favorite for the NCAA title.

"This is a learning year for us, we've never been in this position,'' Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "There's no recipe for how to deal with it. You just have to figure it out while you are dealing with it.''

It's the difference between "really good and could win it all'' and "really good and should win it all.''

UConn, which was in the "should'' boat last year, is in the "could'' boat this season. Asked about the "pressure thing,'' UConn coach Geno Auriemma goes all over the map. Which is just Geno.

"I did see some comments that Gail made that they're not enjoying it. I can understand that,'' he said. "You've got to live with the fact that everybody's got their eyes on you. We've been there, it's not easy.''

Meaning the pressure's really on when you're so good, right? Well, maybe.

Auriemma continued, "To me, pressure is when you don't have a good team and you're trying to beat a better team. (Duke) has got a good team, I don't see why they'd have any pressure.''

Ah-ha. Very clever psychological-edge positioning. Talk about how the other team is feeling pressure ... and how you can relate ... but then say, "Gee, I don't know why they would feel that way, they're so good.''

Bottom line? I think a better definition of what you feel when you're playing somebody you know is better than you is "stress.'' Auriemma loves "pressure'' because it means you expect to win.

Goestenkors loves it, too. She has been creating a program mindset that will exist independent of personnel changes. Which is what it's like at UConn. And at Tennessee, of course.

But there always has to be that first season at No. 1. Those are rough waters to navigate even when you are so darn talented.

"Sometimes I wonder if we're playing not to lose,'' Duke guard Alana Beard mused recently. "ACC teams are good; you can't expect to blow everyone out every time you play.''

And yet Duke has struggled with that: "Aren't we supposed to crush everybody? Gosh, if we don't, are we losing it?''

Goestenkors and her Blue Devils bring up the "F'' word: fun. The players even had a team meeting before their Jan. 20 victory over North Carolina to discuss it.

Duke had played that crummy game at Virginia on Jan. 9, where nobody but Beard could score. In the locker room at halftime, "It was somber and dead quiet,'' Duke guard Vicki Krapohl said.

The trip home wasn't much different, even though the Blue Devils won. That's because it didn't feel like a win, coming down to Beard being sent to the line on a questionable call with eight-tenths of a second left and nailing the two free throws that won it, 60-59. Beard had 41 points, the rest of the Devils had 19.

And things didn't necessarily feel right at the next game, a 20-point victory at Georgia Tech. Then there was a lackluster 10-point win at home over Wake Forest.

Goestenkors told the players to have a meeting, just them.

"It started out tense, nobody knew what to say,'' Krapohl said.

Uh, how about ... "We're No. 1! We haven't lost! We're on scholarship to play basketball! We're healthy! We don't live in Afghanistan! We all like each other! This is one of the best times of our lives! Why are we so tense?!!!''

Someone was the first to crack a joke. Maybe it was forward Iciss Tillis, who has a nearly unlimited capacity for comic relief. The ice broke, and pretty soon ...

"We were all telling stories and laughing,'' Krapohl said.

Beard added, "We were worried about being undefeated. A couple of players admitted that, like, 'We go out there and we have to win. If we lose, it's going to all go downhill.' ''

Beard thinks the 78-67 overtime victory at arch-enemy North Carolina on Jan. 20 was a turning point.

"`We'd been on a low because of the lack of emotion,'' she said. "The UNC game came at the right time on our schedule. It's like life and death every possession, and we showed so much emotion in that game.

"That crowd was hostile, I've gone to UNC three times, and it was the most hostile crowd I'd faced in my entire life. Everything you do wrong, they're on your back. You can hear the screaming, not the exact words, but you know they're screaming at you.''

Then Beard laughed. Because even if, by chance, they had been screaming the, uh, other "F'' word, the whole experience would have been the good "F'' word.

"I loved it. I love those environments,'' Beard said. "I can't wait to see what the UConn game is like.''

Well, it will be packed, the Blue Devils' first advance sellout.

"It should be pretty crazy; I don't think we've played in an atmosphere like that where the fans are on top of you,'' UConn's Diana Taurasi said. "It should be fun.''

The "F'' word again. Yes, it should be. As should this season for Duke and UConn.

"We have to realize,'' Goestenkors said, "there are so many people who'd love to be in our shoes. Just appreciate it.''

Mechelle Voepel is a regular contributor to ESPN.com's women's basketball coverage. She can be reached at mvoepel@kcstar.com.