UCONN @ Tulane
Day: Monday
Date: February 23th, 2015
Location: New Orleans, La
Time: 8:00
TV: SNY
UConn 26-1 (15-0)
Tulane 20-7 (11-5)
Overview
UConn handily beat Tulane in their first meeting in the game following the big game against South Carolina. Moriah Jefferson scored 16 points to lead six UConn players in double figures in the 87-39.
It was the first ever meeting between the two programs. Kia Nurse scored seven straight points to highlight a 15-0 UConn run that made it 25-4 less than 9 minutes into the game.
Tulane has gone 1-1 in their two games after the last UConn game, losing to Temple 69-58 and beating Memphis 75-65 in their last outing. It's not expected that they can actually win the game against UConn, but it's important for them to play better at home and win their last regular season conference game so they end up 21-8 and 12-6 in the conference before heading into the tourney. Getting to the final game of the AAC tourney would give them 23 wins. It might be enough to get into the NCAA tourney.
UConn has gone 2-0 in their two games since the last Tulane game beating Houston 85-26 and Tulsa 96-46. Geno is just trying to keep the team focused. Three more regular season games, Tulane, Memphis at home and the second best team on the road in South Florida. Geno will want to talk about the regular season title and not get too far ahead themselves.
UConn Starters
11 Kia Nurse 6' Freshman Guard
First Tulane Game - 26 minutes, 12 points, 3 rebounds 3 assists, 2 steals
5-12 from the field, 2-5 on threes
2014-15: MPG 25.0, FG% .512, 3PT% .437, PPG 11.3, RPG 3.3, APG 3.2, 46 steals, 1 block
First Tulane Game - 28 minutes, 16 points, 5 rebounds 5 assists, 4 steals
6-10 from the field, 4-6 on threes
2014-15: MPG 26.7, FG% .566, 3PT% .500, PPG 11.7, RPG 2.8, APG 4.6, 65 steals, 3 blocks
23 Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 5'11" Senior Forward
First Tulane Game - 27 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds 5 assists, 2 blocks
3-7 from the field, 3-7 on threes
First Tulane Game - 27 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds 5 assists, 2 blocks
3-7 from the field, 3-7 on threes
2014-15: MPG 28.1, FG% .524, 3PT% .506, PPG 13.9, RPG 4.2, APG 2.8, 29 steals, 5 blocks
3 Morgan Tuck 6'2" Sophomore Forward
First Tulane Game - 21 minutes, 14 points, 8 rebounds 2 assists, 1 steal
First Tulane Game - 21 minutes, 14 points, 8 rebounds 2 assists, 1 steal
6-11 from the field, 1-2 on threes
6-11 from the field, 1-2 on threes
2014-15: MPG 24.6, FG% .579, 3PT% .208, PPG 13.6, RPG 5.2, APG 2.8, 22 steals, 10 blocks
30 Breanna Stewart 6'4" Junior Forward
First Tulane Game - 21 minutes, 11 points, 6 rebounds 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks
5-14 from the field, 0-4 on threes
First Tulane Game - 21 minutes, 11 points, 6 rebounds 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks
5-14 from the field, 0-4 on threes
UConn Bench
First Tulane Game - 18 minutes, 4 points, 6 rebounds 2 blocks
2-3 from the field
2014-15: MPG 19.8, FG% .519, 3PT% .500, PPG 5.0, RPG 7.6, APG .8, 15 steals, 120 blocks
First Tulane Game - 22 minutes, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
4-4 from the field, 2-2 on threes
2014-15: MPG 20.2, FG% .496, 3PT% .423, PPG 6.5, RPG 2.1, APG 1.9, 16 steals, 6 blocks
15 Gabby Williams 5'11" Freshman Guard
First Tulane Game - 19 minutes, 11 points, 6 rebounds 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
5-7 from the field, 1-1 on free throws
First Tulane Game - 19 minutes, 11 points, 6 rebounds 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
5-7 from the field, 1-1 on free throws
2014-15: MPG 17.0 FG% .625, 3PT% .000, PPG 8.9, RPG 6.5, APG 1.4, 36 steals, 13 blocks
First Tulane Game - 10 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists, 1 steal
0-5 from the field, 0-4 on threes
2014-15: MPG 12.0 FG% .300, 3PT% .207, PPG 2.2, RPG 1.7, APG .8, 6 steals, 0 blocks
UConn Complete Stats
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Tulane Starters
3 Kolby Morgan 5'8" Freshman Guard
First UConn Game - 29 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
4-10 from the field, 1-3 on threes
20 Danielle Blagg 5'11" Senior Guard
First UConn Game - 30 minutes, 10 points, 6 rebounds 1 assist, 1 steal
4-14 from the field, 2-9 on threes
First UConn Game - 29 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
4-10 from the field, 1-3 on threes
MPG 28.9, FG% .444, 3PT% .276, PPG 12.6, RPG 4.6, APG 1.7, 59 steals, 7 blocks
First UConn Game - 30 minutes, 10 points, 6 rebounds 1 assist, 1 steal
4-14 from the field, 2-9 on threes
MPG 26.5, FG% .336, 3PT% .364, PPG 9.8, RPG 3.5, APG 1.4, 34 steals, 5 blocks
22 Tiffany Dale 6'1" Senior Forward
First UConn Game - 23 minutes, 2 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal
1-4 from the field
MPG 24.6, FG% .540 3PT% .000, PPG 7.0, RPG 6.1, APG 1.0, 33 steals, 31 blocks
23 Jamie Kaplan 5'8" Senior Guard
First UConn Game - 5 points, 5 assists
2-8 from the field, 1-5 on threes
MPG 26.8, FG% .336, 3PT% .269, PPG 6.7, RPG 2.3, APG 4.7, 24 steals, 1 block
45 Chinwe Duru 6'2 Junior Center
First UConn Game - 22 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks
0-2 from the field
MPG 20.1, FG% .500, 3PT% .000, PPG 6.8, RPG 4.2, APG 0.2, 10 steals, 29 blocks
Tulane Bench
33 Courtney Latham 5'11" Sophomore Guard
First UConn Game - 25 minutes, 3 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals
1-8 from the field, 1-3 on threes
MPG 16.4, FG% .389, 3PT% .226, PPG 4.5, RPG 2.3, APG 1.4, 19 steals, 2 blocks
15 Adesuwa Ebomwonyi 5'10" Senior Forward
First UConn Game - 17 minutes, 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
4-6 from the field
MPG 18.1, FG% .410, 3PT% .273, PPG 5.5, RPG 4.6, APG 0.7, 23 steals, 6 blocks
15 Tierra Jones 5'9" Junior Forward
First UConn Game - 9 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound
0-2 from the field
MPG 14.2, FG% .526, 3PT% .000, PPG 4.0, RPG 3.4, APG 0.6, 16 steals, 1 blocks
Game Analysis
Tulane started both their bigs, 6'1" and 6'2" in the last game and I would guess they will do that again. But it's just not enough to deal with Stewart and Tuck. In the first game, Tulane had a horrible first half shooting, their coach said
“I thought we came out pretty loose, got some offensive rebounds, but were really hesitant on our shots. First half was tough. Second half we came out and had a lot more confidence and were a little more aggressive.”
The stats bear this out as Tulane shot 21% in the first half and 40% in the second half. What she doesn't mention is that for much of the second half, Geno calls off the defensive pressure. Teams as good as Tulane can take advantage of that. Just like the second matchup with Tulsa, Geno will want the team to play aggressive the entire game, even of not pressuring. He won't want them to ease up too much this late in the season.
I would expect the bench to see lots of minutes, with Chong, Williams, Stokes and Ekmark getting plenty of time on the court.
Stewart had a tough game in the first matchup but in the two games since then she has been the NPOY contender we expect to see. If she stays aggressive, Tulane is in for a long night.
I do expect Tulane to be more comfortable at home and play better, even if the score doesn't reflect it. They are still a tough, hard nosed defensive team. They play very good defense against most teams. But like I said last time, UConn is not most teams.
“I thought we came out pretty loose, got some offensive rebounds, but were really hesitant on our shots. First half was tough. Second half we came out and had a lot more confidence and were a little more aggressive.”
The stats bear this out as Tulane shot 21% in the first half and 40% in the second half. What she doesn't mention is that for much of the second half, Geno calls off the defensive pressure. Teams as good as Tulane can take advantage of that. Just like the second matchup with Tulsa, Geno will want the team to play aggressive the entire game, even of not pressuring. He won't want them to ease up too much this late in the season.
I would expect the bench to see lots of minutes, with Chong, Williams, Stokes and Ekmark getting plenty of time on the court.
Stewart had a tough game in the first matchup but in the two games since then she has been the NPOY contender we expect to see. If she stays aggressive, Tulane is in for a long night.
I do expect Tulane to be more comfortable at home and play better, even if the score doesn't reflect it. They are still a tough, hard nosed defensive team. They play very good defense against most teams. But like I said last time, UConn is not most teams.
Final Prediction
I don't think the final outcome will be much different this time. It's always how they get there that is interesting. Will Stewart stay hot? Will the bench continue to play well? Can Tulane keep it together after the first big UConn run?
As I said the first time, Tulane has one double digit scorer and they don't shoot very well. And now they have to go against the best defense in the country. Tulane won the UGGY last time these two teams met. They might not do that again, but......
UConn by 45+.
As I said the first time, Tulane has one double digit scorer and they don't shoot very well. And now they have to go against the best defense in the country. Tulane won the UGGY last time these two teams met. They might not do that again, but......
UConn by 45+.
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