| Rutgers 23-9 No. 8 Seed |
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No. 1 UConn 33-1 No. 1 Seed |
UCONN vs Rutgers
Day: Monday
Date: March 23nd, 2015
Location: Gample
Time: 9:00
TV: ESPN2
Prior Meetings
UConn - 33-6
1/24/96 W 96-68 H
2/18/96 W 73-61 A
3/3/96 W 93-64 H
1/15/97 W 78-45 H
12/31/97 W 82-69 H
2/10/98 L 70-74 A
3/3/98 W 67-58 N
1/27/99 W 56-55 A
1/17/00 W 65-50 H
2/12/00 W 49-45 A
3/7/00 W 79-59 H
2/14/01 W 70-45 H
3/5/01 W 94-66 H
2/23/02 W 80-42 A
1/8/03 W 67-62 H
1/19/04 W 72-47 H
2/14/04 W 66-43 A
2/3/05 W 57-44 H
2/13/05 L 62-76 A
3/8/05 W 67-51 N
2/7/06 L 56-60 H
2/27/06 L 42-48 A
2/6/07 W 60-50 H
2/26/07 W 70-44 A
3/6/07 L 47-55 N
2/5/08 L 71-73 A
3/3/08 W 66-46 H
4/1/08 W 66-56 N
2/3/09 W 75-56 H
3/2/09 W 69-59 A
1/26/10 W 73-36 H
1/26/11 W 63-44 A
3/7/11 W 75-51 H
2/4/12 W 66-34 H
3/4/12 W 49-34 H
2/16/13 W 65-45 A
1/19/14 W 94-64 A
3/1/14 W 72-35 H
3/9/14 W 83-57 N
Overview
After a great win against a game Seton Hall team, the word of the day is injuries for the Scarlett Knights. Kahleah Copper need to be carried off the floor because of a leg cramp at the end of Saturday night’s victory. Copper is what you call a habitual cramper but she is expected to recover in time for Monday’s game. She had 21 points and eight rebounds in 37 minutes against Seton Hall and will be needed to play extended minutes again. Point guard Syessence Davis missed the game with what Stringer called “a MCL tear” suffered March 6 in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals. It doesn't look good for her to return for the UConn game, and she will be missed. Davis is Rutgers’ all-time leader in steals and the 2015 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Rachel Hollivay suffered a more mild MCL tear in the same game as Davis but has recovered more quickly. She finished with three points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots off the bench against Seton Hall. They say she can't hurt it anymore, but her conditioning might be a concern.
Rutgers is not know for their three point shooting. In fact they are 340th in the country in average threes made per game. But against Seton Hall, they were able to hit a remarkable 7-13 from beyond the arc. Without that, I don't know if they pull this game out.
UConn had the kind of dominating 1 vs 16 game you'd expect from the Huskies. Morgan Tuck owned the inside against the smaller Terriers and Kia Nurse his 4-6 three point shots in the first half of the 87-33 win. UConn seemed to be a little banged up as Moriah Jefferson got hit in the head and as Geno put it KML is a little something, nothing to worry about.
I would have loved to see UConn play someone they don't usually play in this round. While I don't think it will matter, there isn't a coach in America that knows UConn better than C. Vivian Stringer. There certainly is some history here between the two programs. UConn is 33-6 overall against Rutgers. In an eight game stretch from 2005-2007, Rutgers was 5-3 against UConn, similar to the Notre Dame success of recent past. But that is OLD history.
More recently, UConn played Rutgers three times last year, and the Scarlett Knights have all the same players back. UConn won 93-63 in Piscatawa, 72-35 in Storrs, and 83-57 in the AAC tourney at Foxwoods. That's 30, 37 and 26 margin of victory for the Huskies.
Rutgers is not know for their three point shooting. In fact they are 340th in the country in average threes made per game. But against Seton Hall, they were able to hit a remarkable 7-13 from beyond the arc. Without that, I don't know if they pull this game out.
UConn had the kind of dominating 1 vs 16 game you'd expect from the Huskies. Morgan Tuck owned the inside against the smaller Terriers and Kia Nurse his 4-6 three point shots in the first half of the 87-33 win. UConn seemed to be a little banged up as Moriah Jefferson got hit in the head and as Geno put it KML is a little something, nothing to worry about.
I would have loved to see UConn play someone they don't usually play in this round. While I don't think it will matter, there isn't a coach in America that knows UConn better than C. Vivian Stringer. There certainly is some history here between the two programs. UConn is 33-6 overall against Rutgers. In an eight game stretch from 2005-2007, Rutgers was 5-3 against UConn, similar to the Notre Dame success of recent past. But that is OLD history.
More recently, UConn played Rutgers three times last year, and the Scarlett Knights have all the same players back. UConn won 93-63 in Piscatawa, 72-35 in Storrs, and 83-57 in the AAC tourney at Foxwoods. That's 30, 37 and 26 margin of victory for the Huskies.
UConn Starters
11 Kia Nurse 6' Freshman Guard
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
MPG 24.6, FG% .504, 3PT% .409, PPG 10.5, RPG 3.2, APG 3.1, 49 steals, 2 block
4 Moriah Jefferson 5'7" Junior Guard
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 32 minutes, 13 points, 8 assists, 0 TOs.
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 23 minutes, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists.
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 27 minutes, 10 points, 7 assists.
MPG 27.5, FG% .580, 3PT% .500, PPG 11.8, RPG 2.8, APG 4.8, 88 steals, 5 blocks
23 Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 5'11" Senior Forward
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 33 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 27 minutes, 7 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 33 minutes, 19 points, 3 rebounds
MPG 28.0, FG% .538, 3PT% .502, PPG 14.7, RPG 4.3, APG 2.7, 35 steals, 9 blocks
3 Morgan Tuck 6'2" Sophomore Forward
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
MPG 24.2, FG% .606, 3PT% .259, PPG 13.9, RPG 5.4, APG 2.8, 27 steals, 12 blocks
30 Breanna Stewart 6'4" Junior Forward
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 32 minutes, 23 points, 4 blocks
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 34 minutes, 24 points, 10 rebounds
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 29 minutes, 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks
MPG 27.6, FG% .540, 3PT% .296, PPG 17.4, RPG 7.4, APG 3.1, 53 steals, 87 blocks
UConn Bench
41 Kiah Stokes 6'3" Senior Center
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 17 minutes, 4 points, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 22 minutes, 4 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 13 minutes, 3 points, 2 blocks
MPG 19.1, FG% .534, 3PT% .500, PPG 4.6, RPG 7.1, APG .9, 17 steals, 138 blocks
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 10 minutes, 2 points, 2 assists
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 13 minutes, 5 points
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 15 minutes, 2 points
MPG 20.2, FG% .481, 3PT% .378, PPG 6.1, RPG 2.0, APG 2.1, 24 steals, 8 blocks
15 Gabby Williams 5'11" Freshman Guard
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
MPG 16.5, FG% .657, 3PT% .000, PPG 9.1, RPG 6.1, APG 1.4, 44 steals, 13 blocks
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Rutgers Starters
2 Kahleah Cooper 6'1" Junior Forward/Guard
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 37 minutes, 20 points 4 rebounds
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 34 minutes, 12 points, 6 rebounds
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
2014-15: MPG 32.5, FG% .466, 3PT% .000, PPG 16.5, RPG 5.2, APG 1.6, 40 steals, 5 blocks
44 Betnijah Laney 6'0" Senior Forward/Guard
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 26 minutes, 8 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 37 minutes, 14 points, 9 rebounds
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 33 minutes, 8 points, 6 rebounds
2014-15: MPG 36.2, FG% .491, 3PT% .424, PPG 15.9, RPG 10.9, APG 3.0, 55 steals, 6 blocks
03 Tyler Scaife 5'9" Sophomore Guard
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 32 minutes, 8 points, 4 rebounds
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 31 minutes,12 points
.
2014-15: MPG 32.0, FG% .408 3PT% .286, PPG 14.8, RPG 3.3, APG 2.6, 37 steals, 16 blocks
04 Briyona Cantey 5'9" RS Junior Guard
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 14 minutes, 2 points
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 35 minutes, 6 points
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 31 minutes, 16 points
2014-15: MPG 26.2, FG% .377, 3PT% .235, PPG 5.4, RPG 3.4 APG 4.1, 49 steals, 15 blocks
43 Arial Butts 6'3" Sophomore Center
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 12 minutes, 3 rebounds
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 3 minutes
2014-15: MPG 10.9, FG% .480, 3PT% .000, PPG 1.8, RPG 3.6, APG .3, 11 steals, 14 blocks
Rutgers Bench
01 Rachel Hollivay 6'4" Junior Center
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 22 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 16 minutes, 1 point, 1 block
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 29 minutes, 7 points, 7 rebound, 3 blocks
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 22 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 16 minutes, 1 point, 1 block
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 29 minutes, 7 points, 7 rebound, 3 blocks
2014-15: MPG 19.2, FG% .573, 3PT% .000, PPG 6.8, RPG 4.7, APG .7, 17 steals, 70 blocks
20 Christa Evans 6'3" Senior Center
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 13 minutes, 1 point, 1 rebound
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - 7 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds
2014-15: MPG 9.3, FG% .333, 3PT% .000, PPG .5, RPG .9, APG 0.2, 4 steals, 22 blocks
10 Sharitta Parker 5'7" Freshman Guard
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
2014-15: MPG 9.2, FG% .305, 3PT% .207, PPG 2.5, RPG 1.2, APG 0.6, 6 steals, 0 blocks
13 Cynthia Hernandez 5'7" Junior Guard
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
2014-15: MPG 6.7, FG% .392, 3PT% .435, PPG 3.8, RPG .7, APG 0.2, 3 steals, 0 blocks
1/19/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
3/1/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
3/9/14 UConn/Rutgers game - DNP
2014-15: MPG 6.7, FG% .392, 3PT% .435, PPG 3.8, RPG .7, APG 0.2, 3 steals, 0 blocks
Game Analysis
Rutgers rode some hot three point shooting against Seton Hall to move on to this round game against UConn. It's hard to believe that a team that only makes 2 per game will have another hot shooting night from the perimeter, especially against UConn's tough defense. RU will look to disrupt UConn's offense with defensive pressure. Their problem with executing this strategy is the absence of their starting point guard, Syessence Davis, who leads the team in assists and almost more importantly, steals. She was also defensive player of the year in the Big Ten. The 2014-15 version of Rutgers loves to run, push the ball, hit pull up jumpers on the break. With a shortened lineup, Rutgers might have to find another strategy. Maybe the old slow ball of the past might keep it closer.
UConn had their way against St. Francis as expected. We will see more of the same against the short handed Scarlet Knights. UConn will pressure the ball early and often and run run run. When they are in the half court offense, they will press their advantage in the paint. With KML ready to go, I can't imagine her having another off game. She well be determined to get her shot off. Stewart is a matchup nightmare for RU (and most teams) and had great success last year in the three games they played against Rutgers. UConn will try to tire out Rutgers early.
UConn had their way against St. Francis as expected. We will see more of the same against the short handed Scarlet Knights. UConn will pressure the ball early and often and run run run. When they are in the half court offense, they will press their advantage in the paint. With KML ready to go, I can't imagine her having another off game. She well be determined to get her shot off. Stewart is a matchup nightmare for RU (and most teams) and had great success last year in the three games they played against Rutgers. UConn will try to tire out Rutgers early.
Final Prediction
Rutgers says they won't be intimidated. I don't believe that will make a difference. UConn will grind, grind and then grind even more, forcing Rutgers to do things they don't want to on offense. If RU can't turn UConn over, I don't see them slowing the Huskies down. If Rutgers can find a way to slow UConn down, it could be closer.
Rutgers might be successful for a few minutes, but with their short bench, fatigue is going to be a big factor.
UConn should take this one by 40+.
Rutgers might be successful for a few minutes, but with their short bench, fatigue is going to be a big factor.
UConn should take this one by 40+.
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