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UCONN vs Maryland
Day: Sunday
Date: April 5th, 2015
Location: Tampa, Florida
Time: 8:30
TV: ESPN
Prior Meeting Results
12/3/12 W 63-48 H
3/30/13 W 76-50 N
11/15/13 W 72-55 A
Overview
UConn faced Maryland in a home and home series in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. The last time they met was in the Sweet Sixteen two seasons ago 76-50. Only Pavlech and Howard played in that game and had little impact on the game and Pavlech rarely gets minutes. UConn handled Maryland easily on their way to a National Championship.
Maryland has had a terrific season this year. They had their best season since their National Championship year in 2008-09. They won the Big Ten, going 18-0. With only two losses, they are guaranteed to have the best winning percentage in their history.
Coming into this game, Maryland has done enough to win all their NCAA tourney game, but really haven't looked dominant in doing it. Their scoring offense is down almost 10 points per game. They struggled against Tennessee, scoring only 58 points and 40% from the field.
UConn is coming off a great win over a very talented Dayton team. Down at the half for the first time this year, UConn came roaring back to win by 21 points. KML set the NCAA three point basket mark and Stewart was the region's MOP with 31 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists against Texas and 23 points 16 rebounds and 4 blocks against Dayton.
Maryland has had a terrific season this year. They had their best season since their National Championship year in 2008-09. They won the Big Ten, going 18-0. With only two losses, they are guaranteed to have the best winning percentage in their history.
Coming into this game, Maryland has done enough to win all their NCAA tourney game, but really haven't looked dominant in doing it. Their scoring offense is down almost 10 points per game. They struggled against Tennessee, scoring only 58 points and 40% from the field.
UConn is coming off a great win over a very talented Dayton team. Down at the half for the first time this year, UConn came roaring back to win by 21 points. KML set the NCAA three point basket mark and Stewart was the region's MOP with 31 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists against Texas and 23 points 16 rebounds and 4 blocks against Dayton.
Comparative Team Statistics
UConn Maryland
90.2 PPG 79.2
48.2 Defensive PPG 60.5
48.2 Defensive PPG 60.5
42.0 Scoring Margin 18.5
54.3 Field Goal % 47.2
30.6 Defensive FG% 38.8
30.6 Defensive FG% 38.8
40.9 Three Point % 34.7
26.8 Defensive 3PT% 27.9
72.2 Free Throw % 75.826.8 Defensive 3PT% 27.9
44.1 Rebounds/game 42.6
13.2 Rebounding Margin 11.1
21.6 Assists per game 16.6
12.2 Turnover per game 15.3
1.8 Assists/TO ratio 1.3
10.2 Steals per game 8.4
8.0 Blocks per game 3.4
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UConn Starters
11 Kia Nurse 6' Freshman Guard
Game 1 vs SFB - 26 min, 12 pts, 3 reb, 2 asts, 1 blk, 2 to
Game 2 vs Rutgers - 27 min, 8 pts, 3 reb, 1 asts, 3 stl, 1 to
Game 3 vs Texas - 28 min, 13 pts, 0 reb, 1 asts, 2 stl, 0 to
Game 4 vs Dayton - 29 min, 6 pts, 5 reb, 0 asts, 0 stl, 0 to
MPG 24.9, FG% .494, 3PT% .415, PPG 10.4, RPG 3.2, APG 2.9, 54 steals, 2 block
4 Moriah Jefferson 5'7" Junior Guard
Game 1 vs SFB - 22 min, 5 pts, 3 reb, 5 asts, 2 to
Game 2 vs Rutgers - 34 min, 19 pts, 4 reb, 5 asts, 1 stl, 2 to
Game 3 vs Texas - 34 min, 25 pts, 4 reb, 6 asts, 3 stl, 2 to
Game 4 vs Dayton - 38 min, 10 pts, 3 reb, 6 asts, 2 stl, 0 to
MPG 28.2, FG% .595, 3PT% .505, PPG 12.3, RPG 2.9, APG 4.9, 94 steals, 5 blocks
23 Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 5'11" Senior Forward
Game 1 vs SFB - 16 min, 2 pts, 3 reb, 1 asts, 0 to
Game 2 vs Rutgers - 32 min, 23 pts, 2 reb, 4 asts, 1 stl, 1 blk, 3 to
Game 3 vs Texas - 23 min, 10 pts, 3 reb, 2 asts, 1 stl, 2 blk, 0 to
Game 4 vs Dayton - 38 min, 27 pts, 5 reb, 2 asts, 3 stl, 4 to
Game 4 vs Dayton - 38 min, 27 pts, 5 reb, 2 asts, 3 stl, 4 to
MPG 28.3, FG% .527, 3PT% .500, PPG 15.2, RPG 4.2, APG 2.7, 40 steals, 12 blocks
3 Morgan Tuck 6'2" Sophomore Forward
Game 1 vs SFB - 29 min, 26 pts, 3 reb, 8 asts, 1 stl, 2 to
Game 2 vs Rutgers - 29 min, 16 pts, 7 reb, 7 asts, 1 stl, 3 to
Game 3 vs Texas - 24 min, 14 pts, 5 reb, 2 asts, 1 stl, 0 blk, 1 to
Game 3 vs Texas - 24 min, 14 pts, 5 reb, 2 asts, 1 stl, 0 blk, 1 to
Game 4 vs Dayton - 38 min, 23 pts, 8 reb, 3 asts, 1 stl, 2 to
MPG 24.8, FG% .605, 3PT% .262, PPG 14.2, RPG 5.5, APG 2.9, 30 steals, 12 blocks
30 Breanna Stewart 6'4" Junior Forward
Game 1 vs SFB - 30 min, 17 pts, 10 reb, 5 asts, 1 stl, 2 blk, 3 to
Game 2 vs Rutgers - 20 min, 8 pts, 2 reb, 4 asts, 1 stl, 2 blk, 2 to
Game 3 vs Texas - 31 min, 31 pts, 12 reb, 7 asts, 2 stl, 3 blk, 1 to
Game 4 vs Dayton - 38 min, 23 pts, 16 reb, 1 asts, 1 stl, 4 blk, 2 to
Game 4 vs Dayton - 38 min, 23 pts, 16 reb, 1 asts, 1 stl, 4 blk, 2 to
MPG 27.7, FG% .539, 3PT% .315, PPG 17.6, RPG 7.6, APG 3.2, 57 steals, 96 blocks
UConn Bench
41 Kiah Stokes 6'3" Senior Center
Game 1 vs SFB - 20 min, 2 pts, 10 reb, 2 asts, 6 blk, 1 to
Game 2 vs Rutgers - 12 min, 4 pts, 8 reb, 1 asts, 2 blk, 2 to
Game 3 vs Texas - 19 min, 4 pts, 7 reb, 0 asts, 1 stl, 4 blk, 0 to
Game 4 vs Dayton - 7 min, 2 pts, 1 reb, 0 asts, 0 stl, 1 blk
Game 4 vs Dayton - 7 min, 2 pts, 1 reb, 0 asts, 0 stl, 1 blk
MPG 18.6, FG% .553, 3PT% .500, PPG 4.5, RPG 6.9, APG .8, 18 steals, 145 blocks
Game 1 vs SFB - 27 min, 8 pts, 3 reb, 2 asts, 3 stl, 2 to
Game 2 vs Rutgers - 18 min, 2 pts, 4 reb, 0 asts, 0 stl, 1 to
Game 3 vs Texas - 10 min, 3 pts, 1 reb, 1 asts, 2 stl, 0 blk, 0 to
Game 4 vs Dayton - 5 min, 0 pts, 0 reb, 0 asts, 0 stl, 0 to
Game 4 vs Dayton - 5 min, 0 pts, 0 reb, 0 asts, 0 stl, 0 to
MPG 19.5, FG% .470, 3PT% .366, PPG 5.8, RPG 2.0, APG 2.0, 26 steals, 8 blocks
15 Gabby Williams 5'11" Freshman Guard
Game 1 vs SFB - 14 min, 15 pts, 6 reb, 0 asts, 1 stl, 1 to
Game 2 vs Rutgers - 19 min, 11 pts, 10 reb, 1 asts, 2 stl, 1 to
Game 3 vs Texas - 13 min, 2 pts, 6 reb, 2 asts, 0 stl, 1 blk, 2 to
Game 4 vs Dayton - 5 min, 0 pts, 0 reb, 1 asts, 0 stl, 1 to
Game 4 vs Dayton - 5 min, 0 pts, 0 reb, 1 asts, 0 stl, 1 to
MPG 16.2, FG% .638, 3PT% .000, PPG 8.7, RPG 6.0, APG 1.4, 46 steals, 14 blocks
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Head Coach Brenda Freese
From Wiki - Since 2002, she has served as the head coach of the University of Maryland women's basketball team. In her fourth year as head coach, she won the 2006 Women's National Championship. She won the 2009 ACC Regular Season and Tournament Championships - the women's first ACC Championship since 1989. She won another ACC Championship in 2012 and reached another Final Four in 2014. Maryland moved to the Big Ten for the 2014-15 season and Frese led the Terrapins to an undefeated 18-0 conference record and a Big Ten Regular Season Championship in their first year in the Big Ten. She was voted AP National Coach of the Year in 2002, ACC Coach of the Year in 2013, Big Ten Coach of the Year in both 2002 and 2015, and MAC Coach of the Year in 2000. At Maryland, she's coached four ACC Players of the Year and four ACC Freshmen of the Year.
Freese is one of those coaches you love to hate. But if you are a Maryland fan, you just think the world of her. She went through a hard time a few years ago when one of her twins was diagnosed with leukemia and thank God he is fine after an extended chemo treatments. They have shown some videos about that experience that was really very touching and put her in a different light to me. I still find her sideline antic a little much, but I have great respect for the job she has done at Maryland.
Freese is one of those coaches you love to hate. But if you are a Maryland fan, you just think the world of her. She went through a hard time a few years ago when one of her twins was diagnosed with leukemia and thank God he is fine after an extended chemo treatments. They have shown some videos about that experience that was really very touching and put her in a different light to me. I still find her sideline antic a little much, but I have great respect for the job she has done at Maryland.
Maryland Starters
1 Laurin Mincy 6'0" Redshirt Senior Guard
Game 1 vs NM State - 29 min, 19 pts, 3 reb, 2 asts, 3 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
Game 2 vs Princeton - 37 min, 27 pts, 4 reb, 7 asts, 3 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
Game 3 vs Duke - 40 min, 15 pts, 4 reb, 7 asts, 1 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
Game 4 vs Tennessee - 39 min, 10 pts, 7 reb, 5 asts, 3 to, 1 stl, 0 blk
2014-15: MPG 30.5, FG% .446, 3PT% .392, PPG 13.8, RPG 4.1, APG 3.4, 29 steals, 6 blocks
32 Shatori Walker-Kimbrough 5'11" Sophomore Guard
Game 1 vs NM State - 28 min, 10 pts, 5 reb, 0 asts, 5 to, 1 stl, 1 blk
Game 2 vs Princeton - 35 min, 10 pts, 4 reb, 0 asts, 1 to, 1 stl, 1 blk
Game 3 vs Duke - 36 min, 24 pts, 3 reb, 1 asts, 1 to, 1 stl, 1 blk
Game 4 vs Tennessee - 33 min, 12 pts, 7 reb, 1 asts, 1 to, 0 stl, 1 blk
2014-15: MPG 29.6, FG% .516, 3PT% .346, PPG 13.5, RPG 5.3, APG 2.2, 55 steals, 20 blocks
4 Lexie Brown 5'9" Sophomore Guard
Game 1 vs NM State - 27 min, 5 pts, 5 reb, 5 asts, 6 to, 2 stl, 0 blk
Game 2 vs Princeton - 39 min, 23 pts, 6 reb, 4 asts, 6 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
Game 3 vs Duke - 24 min, 1 pts, 4 reb, 3 asts, 2 to, 1 stl, 0 blk
Game 4 vs Tennessee - 37 min, 15 pts, 6 reb, 3 asts, 3 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
2014-15: MPG 31.6, FG% .412, 3PT% .344, PPG 13.4, RPG 3.3, APG 4.6, 78 steals, 0 blocks
42 Brionna Jones 6'3" Sophomore Center
Game 1 vs NM State - 28 min, 22 pts, 12 reb, 1 asts, 1 to, 2 stl, 1 blk
Game 2 vs Princeton - 29 min, 10 pts, 10 reb, 0 asts, 1 to, 0 stl, 1 blk
Game 3 vs Duke - 33 min, 10 pts, 10 reb, 2 asts, 0 to, 1 stl, 0 blk
Game 4 vs Tennessee - 36 min, 14 pts, 9 reb, 0 asts, 2 to, 1 stl, 4 blk
2014-15: MPG 24.4, FG% .601, 3PT% .000, PPG 12.3, RPG 9.0 APG 0.8, 36 steals, 49 blocks
5 Malina Howard 6'4" Junior Center
Game 1 vs NM State - 19 min, 2 pts, 5 reb, 1 asts, 1 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
Game 2 vs Princeton - 28 min, 2 pts, 2 reb, 0 asts, 1 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
Game 3 vs Duke - 18 min, 3 pts, 3 reb, 1 asts, 1 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
Game 4 vs Tennessee - 17 min, 2 pts, 1 reb, 1 asts, 0 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
2014-15: MPG 23.0, FG% .470, 3PT% .111, PPG 5.9, RPG 4.6 APG 1.1, 22 steals, 20 blocks
Maryland Bench
3 Brene Moseley 5'7" Redshirt Junior Guard
Game 1 vs NM State - 20 min, 6 pts, 3 reb, 4 asts, 2 to, 1 stl, 0 blk
Game 2 vs Princeton - 2 min, 0 pts, 1 reb, 1 asts, 0 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
Game 3 vs Duke - 16 min, 8 pts, 2 reb, 2 asts, 3 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
Game 4 vs Tennessee - 6 min, 2 pts, 0 reb, 0 asts, 1 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
2014-15: MPG 11.1, FG% .420 3PT% .380, PPG 5.4, RPG 1.1, APG 1.4, 21 steals, 0 blocks
22 Tierney Pfirman 6'2" Junior Forward
Game 1 vs NM State - 7 min, 2 pts, 0 reb, 0 asts, 0 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
Game 2 vs Princeton - 19 min, 11 pts, 7 reb, 0 asts, 0 to, 1 stl, 0 blk
Game 3 vs Duke - 10 min, 2 pts, 1 reb, 0 asts, 2 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
Game 4 vs Tennessee - 6 min, 0 pts, 0 reb, 0 asts, 1 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
2014-15: MPG 13.6, FG% .517, 3PT% .333, PPG 4.9, RPG 3.9, APG 0.7, 17 steals, 8 blocks
12 Kristen Confroy 5'9" Freshman Guard
Game 1 vs NM State - 26 min, 5 pts, 4 reb, 3 asts, 1 to, 1 stl, 0 blk
Game 2 vs Princeton - 4 min, 0 pts, 0 reb, 1 asts, 0 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
Game 3 vs Duke - 7 min, 0 pts, 0 reb, 0 asts, 2 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
Game 4 vs Tennessee - 3 min, 3 pts, 0 reb, 0 asts, 0 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
2014-15: MPG 12.8, FG% .386, 3PT% .333, PPG 4.0, RPG 1.6, APG 1.2, 9 steals, 1 block
02 Kiara Leslie 6' Freshman Guard
Game 1 vs NM State - 12 min, 4 pts, 3 reb, 0 asts, 2 to, 0 stl, 1 blk
Game 2 vs Princeton - 5 min, 2 pts, 0 reb, 1 asts, 0 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
Game 3 vs Duke - 15 min, 2 pts, 3 reb, 1 asts, 1 to, 1 stl, 1 blk
Game 4 vs Tennessee - 16 min, 0 pts, 2 reb, 1 asts, 0 to, 0 stl, 0 blk
2014-15: MPG 12.8, FG% .386, 3PT% .333, PPG 4.0, RPG 1.6, APG 1.2, 9 steals, 1 block
Game Analysis
Two teams that like to run, defend man-to-man, like to put up a lot of shots and have more than several players sharing the scoring load. So, how might it shake out??
Maryland offense
The Terps have been a high scoring team this year, averaging almost 80 points per game. One reason is the ability of their three starting guards to run the court and finish on the break. They love to spot up for a three point shot. Once they settle into their half court offense, Maryland loves to go down low to Brionna Jones, who lost a lot of weight since last season, but as 6'3" and a strong body, she can physically push her defender around. Jones has solid post moves as well and will be a handful for whoever is guarding her. They also like to move the ball around the perimeter looking for open three's for Mincy and Brown who put up 120 and 195 threes each and hit as a decent 39% and 34%. I know that some folks (Crème) think they play an inside out game but their bigs average only .8 and 1.1 assists per game. Once the ball goes inside, don't expect it to come out for an open shot. Maryland has only four scoring threat and all of them start, so expect Mincy, Brown, Walker-Kimbrough, and Jones to take 80% of their shots. Jones has the capability of scoring on offensive rebounds and Maryland needs her to do just that.
UConn Defense
As they always do, UConn will start in their full court pressure defense, giving Maryland as little time as possible to set up their offense. Once Maryland sets up, UConn will pressure the ball on the perimeter trying to deny the three guards open looks. This will open up the lanes for Maryland and their three guards are all capable to get past the first line of the defense and into the lane. Tuck and especially Stewart will have to provide stellar help defense, certainly better than they did in the first half against Dayton. My guess is Jefferson will cover the sophomore point guard, Lexi Brown. She is a terrific player but has been very inconsistent in the tourney so far with two good games and two poor games. She also has 17 turnovers in the tournament and Geno will want to take advantage of that. Nurse will use her size to help negate the 6' Mincy. This is a huge matchup for Maryland as it's one they have to win and win big. They need Mincy to score and Nurse is very capable of making that difficult for her to do. UConn will use KML on Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, a terrific shot making guard. This will be a difficult matchup for Kaleena. SWK is too quick for KML. I'm thinking that Morgan will start on Jones. Two really strong players. Jones doesn't get off the ground too high, so she will have to get excellent post position to score and she will score when she gets the ball down deep. I'm sure Geno will remind Stewart to rotate over and block a shot or two by Jones. Breanna can afford to give that help because she will be guarding Malina Howard. Howard was highly regarded in the Stewert/Jefferson class but really hasn't progressed much in her three years. This is a very good matchup for the UConn defense.
Maryland defense
Maryland plays almost exclusively man-to-man. So who covers who?? Pretty much how I have the UConn defense vs Maryland offense. They will probably put Mincy on Nurse, Brown on Jefferson, SWK on KML, Jones on Tuck, and Howard on Stewart. The Mincy/Nurse matchup is a good one. This could be very physical. Mincy will look to take away the dribble penetration. Brown is pretty quick and will try to keep Jefferson in front of her. Easier said than done. But you can't defend both the drive and the three, so something will have to give. SWK could give KML a hard time. She is a real aggressive defender. SWK will have to fight through multiple screens and that could be a problem for Maryland. Finally, the real trouble for Maryland. How to cover Stewart. They will start out with Howard on Stewart. Malina does have some size. But if you thought Malott of Dayton had trouble with her, the much slower Howard will be helpless against the top of her game Stewart. They might bring in 6'2" Tierney Pfirman to replace Howard, but she is just as slow and 2 inches shorter. Maryland really has no one to guard her. Their bigs are too slow and their quick players are way too small. The have no answer.
UConn offense
The offense has been on an amazing roll this year. In the post season they are averaging 94 point per game and had two games over 100 points. What they have is five players on the court at the same time who can score from any spot on the floor. But that is a very general statement. How will they score in this game? Well you can be sure they will try to run at every opportunity. UConn has speed advantages as 3 of the 5 positions in Jefferson, Stewart and Tuck. I can imagine Jones and Howard bent over and holding on to their shorts after 10 minutes of the first half. In the half court, UConn will try to take advantage of their mismatches. In this game, that would be Stewart on the outside taking Howard off the dribble, and KML in the post. UConn attempted this a lot against Dayton with limited results. Austria did a pretty good job but I think they try to have KML post SWK down low. Of course, Kaleena will be coming off screens to unleash that deadly three point shot. The Tuck/Jones battle is going to be fun. Tuck will use her quickness to maneuver past Jones, but Jones is strong enough to at times keep Tuck away from where Morgan wants to go. Keep an eye on those two going at it off the ball. Positioning will be everything in this matchup.
Final Prediction
I've said this several times, it's all about the matchups. And based on what I wrote, you can guess where I'm going with this.
Maryland is tied for 92nd in the country in points allowed. Not a good thing when you are playing the No. 1 offense in the country. I see mismatch after mismatch for them. Especially with Stewart.
On the other side of the ball, I like UConn's ability to totally take away the inside play of Jones and Howard. Stokes will see time playing against Jones in the paint and with her length, she can give Jones fits. With the inside shut down, Maryland will have trouble scoring.
UConn's hot offense continues with 90 points and Maryland works hard to get to 60.
Sorry Terp fans. UConn by 30+.
Maryland is tied for 92nd in the country in points allowed. Not a good thing when you are playing the No. 1 offense in the country. I see mismatch after mismatch for them. Especially with Stewart.
On the other side of the ball, I like UConn's ability to totally take away the inside play of Jones and Howard. Stokes will see time playing against Jones in the paint and with her length, she can give Jones fits. With the inside shut down, Maryland will have trouble scoring.
UConn's hot offense continues with 90 points and Maryland works hard to get to 60.
Sorry Terp fans. UConn by 30+.
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