vs
Syracuse
Day: Tuesday
Date: April 5rd, 2016
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Time:8:30
Time:8:30
TV: ESPN
UConn Huskies Syracuse Orange
37-0 30-7
Overview
Prior Meetings
UConn - 37-12
H: 19-4, A: 16-7, N: 2-1
H: 19-4, A: 16-7, N: 2-1
12/28/80 L 68-73 N
2/13/82 L 78-86 H
2/2/83 L 64-90 A
2/25/84 L 56-61 H
1/12/85 L 61-82 A
2/13/85 L 59-74 H
1/4/86 L 60-68 A
2/1/86 W 78-72 H
1/17/87 L 52-67 A
2/18/87 W 52-49 H
1/20/88 L 54-68 A
2/20/88 W 74-60 H
1/21/89 L 60-77 A
1/8/90 W 58-42 A
2/7/90 W 68-56 H
1/16/91 W 65-63 A
2/17/91 W 85-49 H
1/15/92 L 51-68 H
2/15/92 W 83-68 A
1/2/93 W 78-50 A
2/7/93 W 85-54 H
1/3/94 W 64-45 H
2/24/94 W 79-50 A
1/22/95 W 89-58 H
2/25/95 W 89-62 A
1/2/96 L 59-62 A
1/7/97 W 93-67 H
2/26/97 W 86-52 A
2/1/98 W 100-62 H
2/3/99 W 96-50 H
2/23/99 W 105-43 A
2/18/00 W 100-74 H
1/9/01 W 76-63 A
1/27/01 W 84-60 H
2/13/02 W 85-55 A
2/12/03 W 75-51 H
2/11/04 W 82-38 A
2/19/05 W 85-49 H
3/6/05 W 82-56 N
2/22/06 W 65-36 A
1/13/07 W 76-45 H
1/15/08 W 65-59 A
1/17/09 W 107-53 H
2/24/10 W 87-66 A
3/7/10 W 77-41 N
2/28/11 W 82-47 H
1/25/12 W 95-54 A
1/19/13 W 87-62 H
3/11/13 W 64-51 H
UConn has won the last 23 games against Syracuse, who UConn played regularly while in the big east. The last loss was 1/2/96 in Manley Field House, 62-59. Here is an article about the game.
UConn actually lost their first seven games to SU and were 3-10 after their first thirteen games. But UConn has a 33-2 advantage since then.
Syracuse Overview
Syracuse has been playing great basketball all season. Well, at least great basketball for the style they play. They have only really had one bad loss all season, 77-73 to a terrible North Carolina team. Their other 6 losses were to ranked (at the time) teams, Tennessee 57-55, Maryland 82-64, Arizona State 71-53, Louisville 61-54, Notre Dame twice 90-62 and 68-57 (in the ACC Final).
They beat several ranked (at the time) teams, Duke 86-50, Miami 57-51, Florida State 83-73, Louisville 80-75, and their big win in the NCAA tournament over South Carolina 80-72.
In the big win over South Carolina, Syracuse's three starting guards, Butler, Sykes and Peterson, led the way with 61 of their 80 points in winning that game.
Following that they manhandled Tennessee 89-67, and in the Semi-Final game, they just destroyed Washington 80-59. In both games they were again led in scoring by the big three.
UConn will be without their starting freshman, Katie Lou Samuelson, who broke a bone in her foot early in the game against Oregon State, where UConn won 80-51.
It's been a remarkable season for the Huskies, coming into this game at 36-0. As has been said over and over, every game has been by double digits. I will summarize all the awards the players and Geno have won in another blog entry, but lets just say they dominated the awards as much as they dominated the play.
There have been several teams that both UConn and Syracuse have played.
UConn beat Maryland 83-73, Syracuse lost to Maryland 82-64
UConn beat Notre Dame 91-81, Syracuse lost to Notre Dame 90-62 and 68-57
UConn beat Florida State 73-49, Syracuse beat Florida State 83-73
They beat several ranked (at the time) teams, Duke 86-50, Miami 57-51, Florida State 83-73, Louisville 80-75, and their big win in the NCAA tournament over South Carolina 80-72.
In the big win over South Carolina, Syracuse's three starting guards, Butler, Sykes and Peterson, led the way with 61 of their 80 points in winning that game.
Following that they manhandled Tennessee 89-67, and in the Semi-Final game, they just destroyed Washington 80-59. In both games they were again led in scoring by the big three.
UConn Overview
UConn will be without their starting freshman, Katie Lou Samuelson, who broke a bone in her foot early in the game against Oregon State, where UConn won 80-51.
It's been a remarkable season for the Huskies, coming into this game at 36-0. As has been said over and over, every game has been by double digits. I will summarize all the awards the players and Geno have won in another blog entry, but lets just say they dominated the awards as much as they dominated the play.
There have been several teams that both UConn and Syracuse have played.
UConn beat Maryland 83-73, Syracuse lost to Maryland 82-64
UConn beat Notre Dame 91-81, Syracuse lost to Notre Dame 90-62 and 68-57
UConn beat Florida State 73-49, Syracuse beat Florida State 83-73
Comparative Team Statistic
Leader in Bold
UConn Syracuse
88.2 PPG 73.1
48.3 Defensive PPG 59.5
48.3 Defensive PPG 59.5
39.9 Scoring Margin 13.6
53.0 Field Goal % 37.5
33.1 Defensive FG% 39.3
33.1 Defensive FG% 39.3
38.2 Three Point % 29.8
30.5 Defensive 3PT% 29.5
79.7 Free Throw % 67.2 30.5 Defensive 3PT% 29.5
40.7 Rebounds/game 40.7
11.0 Rebounding Margin - .4
21.6 Assists per game 13.2
11.8 Turnover per game 13.8
1.8 Assists/TO ratio 1.0
11.9 Steals per game 12.7
6.4 Blocks per game 4.7
UConn Starters
30 Breanna Stewart
6'4" Senior Forward
6'4" Senior Forward
NCAA Game 1 - 20 minutes, 18 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assist, 0 TO, 8 steals, 3 blocks
NCAA Game 2 - 34 minutes, 21 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assist, 4 TO, 5 blocks
NCAA Game 3 - 25 minutes, 22 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assist, 1 TO, 5 blocks, 1 steal
NCAA Game 4 - 38 minutes, 21 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assist, 5 TO, 3 blocks, 3 steals
NCAA Game 4 - 38 minutes, 21 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assist, 5 TO, 3 blocks, 3 steals
NCAA Game 5 - 35 minutes, 16 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assist, 0 TO, 1 blocks, 2 steals
2015-16 Stats
36 Games - MPG 28.9, FG% .586, 3PT% .430 PPG 19.2 RPG 8.7, APG 3.9, 67 steals, 124 blocks
3 Morgan Tuck
6'2" RS Junior Forward
6'2" RS Junior Forward
NCAA Game 1 - 20 minutes, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assist, 1 TO, 2 steals
NCAA Game 2 - 35 minutes, 20 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assist, 1 TO, 1 steal, 1 block
NCAA Game 3 - 28 minutes, 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assist, 2 TO, 3 steals
NCAA Game 4 - 32 minutes, 22 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assist, 3 TO
NCAA Game 5 - 34 minutes, 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assist, 2 TO
NCAA Game 4 - 32 minutes, 22 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assist, 3 TO
NCAA Game 5 - 34 minutes, 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assist, 2 TO
2015-16 Stats
31 Games - MPG 26.5, FG% .516 3PT% .329, PPG 13.5, RPG 5.6, APG 3.4, 26 steals, 9 blocks
4 Moriah Jefferson
5'7" Senior Guard
5'7" Senior Guard
NCAA Game 1 - 23 minutes, 14 points, 0 rebounds, 5 assist, 1 TO, 2 steals
NCAA Game 2 - 34 minutes, 20 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assist, 0 TO, 3 steals
NCAA Game 3 - 23 minutes, 7 points, 1 rebounds, 4 assist, 2 TO, 4 steals
NCAA Game 4 - 38 minutes, 11 points, 1 rebound, 9 assist, 2 TO, 1 block, 1 steal
NCAA Game 5 - 38 minutes, 10 points, 3 rebound, 7 assist, 5 TO, 1 block, 1 steal
NCAA Game 5 - 38 minutes, 10 points, 3 rebound, 7 assist, 5 TO, 1 block, 1 steal
2015-16 Stats
36 Games - MPG 30.8, FG% .557, 3PT% .436, PPG 12.6, RPG 2.5, APG 5.5, 94 steals, 8 blocks
11 Kia Nurse
6' Sophomore Guard
NCAA Game 1 - 27 minutes, 14 points, 0 rebounds, 6 assist, 0 TO, 4 steals
NCAA Game 2 - 28 minutes, 7 points, 3 rebounds, 0 assist, 1 TO
NCAA Game 3 - 26 minutes, 6 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 TO
NCAA Game 4 - 38 minutes, 11 points, 0 rebounds, 2 assists
NCAA Game 5 - 31 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 TO
2015-16 Stats
37 Games - MPG 28.0, FG% .441, 3PT% .368, PPG 9.3, RPG 1.9, APG 2.8, 49 steals, 6 blocks
33 Katie Lou Samuelson
6'3" Freshman Guard/Forward
NCAA Game 1 - 25 minutes, 22 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 TO, 2 steals
NCAA Game 2 - 22 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 TO
NCAA Game 3 - 28 minutes, 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
NCAA Game 4 - 32 minutes, 9 points, 6 rebounds, 0 assists, 2 TO, 1 block
NCAA Game 5 - 17 minutes, 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
2015-16 Stats
37 Games - MPG 23.5, FG% .493, 3PT% .394, PPG 11.0, RPG 3.4, APG 2.2, 38 steals, 6 blocks
15 Gabby Williams
5'11" Sophomore Forward
5'11" Sophomore Forward
NCAA Game 1 - 22 minutes, 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal
NCAA Game 2 - 14 minutes, 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 TO
NCAA Game 3 - 17 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assist, 1 TO, 3 steals
NCAA Game 4 - 6 minutes, 3 points, 1 assist
NCAA Game 5 - 15 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds 2 steals
2015-16 Stats
37 Games - MPG 18.5, FG% .636, 3PT% .000, PPG 8.8 RPG 5.5, APG 1.3, 71 steals, 12 blocks
UConn Bench
24 Napheesa Collier
6'1 Freshman Forward/Guard
NCAA Game 1 - 21 minutes, 14 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
NCAA Game 2 - 13 minutes, 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal
2015-16 Stats
NCAA Game 3 - 14 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
NCAA Game 4 - 12 minutes, 9 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist
NCAA Game 5 - 14 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 TO, 2 blocks, 2 steals
37 Games - MPG 17.2, FG% .531, 3PT% .167, PPG 6.8, RPG 5.2, APG .9, 49 steals, 47 blocks
6'5" RS Sophomore Center
NCAA Game 1 - 2 points, 1 block, 1 TO
NCAA Game 2 - 1 points
NCAA Game 3 - 14 minutes, 6 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks
NCAA Game 4 - 2 minutes
NCAA Game 5 -12 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block
NCAA Game 4 - 2 minutes
NCAA Game 5 -12 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block
2015-16 Stats
25 Games - MPG 12.4, FG% .559, 3PT% .000, PPG 5.8, RPG 4.2, APG .8, 13 steals, 21 blocks
5'8" Junior Guard
NCAA game 1 - 12 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebounds, 4 TO
NCAA Game 2 - 6 minutes, 8 points, 1 steal
NCAA Game 3 - 10 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
NCAA Game 4 - 2 minutes
NCAA Game 5 - 4 minutes
NCAA Game 4 - 2 minutes
NCAA Game 5 - 4 minutes
2015-16 Stats
32 Games - MPG 12.7, FG% .424, 3PT% .368, PPG 3.8, RPG 1.3, APG 1.1, 20 steals, 2 blocks
22 Courtney Ekmark
6' Sophomore Guard
NCAA Game 1 - 13 minutes, 1 assists, 2 TO, 2 steals
NCAA Game 2 - 4 minutes
NCAA Game 3 - 9 minutes, 2 points, 1 assist, 1 TO
NCAA Game 4 - DNP
NCAA Game 5 - 2 minutes, 1 TO
NCAA Game 4 - DNP
NCAA Game 5 - 2 minutes, 1 TO
2015-16 Stats
32 Games - MPG 9.2, FG% .446, 3PT% .361, PPG 2.1, RPG 1.2, APG .7, 12 steals, 1 block
20 Tierney Lawlor
5'7" Junior Guard
22 Briana Pulido
5'7" Senior Guard
NCAA Game 1 - 3 minutes, 1 turnover
NCAA Game 2 - 3 minutes
2015-16 Stats
NCAA Game 3 - 3 minutes
NCAA Game 4 - DNP
NCAA Game 5 - 1 minute
NCAA Game 4 - DNP
NCAA Game 5 - 1 minute
29 Games - MPG 3.1, FG% .429, 3PT% .400, PPG .3, RPG 0.1, APG 0.2, 1 steals, 0 blocks
5'7" Senior Guard
NCAA Game 1 - 3 minutes, 1 rebound
NCAA Game 2 - 3 minutes, 1 rebound
NCAA Game 3 - 3 minutes, 1 point, 1 assist, 1 block
NCAA Game 4 - DNP
NCAA Game 5 - 1 minute
NCAA Game 4 - DNP
NCAA Game 5 - 1 minute
2015-16 Stats
26 Games - MPG 2.5, FG% .176, 3PT% .100, PPG 0.3, RPG 0.2, APG 0.1, 1 steals, 0 blocks
OUT FOR THE GAME
33 Katie Lou Samuelson
6'3" Freshman Guard/Forward
NCAA Game 1 - 25 minutes, 22 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 TO, 2 steals
NCAA Game 2 - 22 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 TO
NCAA Game 3 - 28 minutes, 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
NCAA Game 4 - 32 minutes, 9 points, 6 rebounds, 0 assists, 2 TO, 1 block
NCAA Game 5 - 17 minutes, 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
2015-16 Stats
37 Games - MPG 23.5, FG% .493, 3PT% .394, PPG 11.0, RPG 3.4, APG 2.2, 38 steals, 6 blocks
Syracuse
Head Coach
Quinten Hillsman
Now in his 10th season as head coach, Quentin Hillsman has transformed the Syracuse Women’s Basketball program into a predominate national program. Hillsman has led the Orange to seven consecutive postseason appearances, including three straight NCAA berths, 13 postseason victories and seven straight winning seasons, while winning 63 percent of his games.
Syracuse Starters
5'7" Junior Guard
2015-16 Stats
2015-16 Stats
36 Games - MPG 32.1, FG% .415, 3PT% .319 PPG 16.2 RPG 2.7, APG 4.8, 79 steals, 2 blocks
5'11" Senior Guard
2015-16 Stats
37 Games - MPG 30.6, FG% .317, 3PT% .311, PPG 13.5, RPG 3.8, APG 1.5, 59 steals, 9 blocks
50 Bria Day
6'4" Junior Center
2015-16 Stats
37 Games - MPG 22.9, FG% .517, 3PT% .000, PPG 9.9, RPG 8.1, APG .3, 52 steals, 75 blocks
20 Brittney Sykes
5'9" RS Junior Guard
2015-16 Stats
37 Games - MPG 29.3, FG% .350, 3PT% .239, PPG 10.2, RPG 5.2, APG 1.5, 76 steals, 21 blocks
Syracuse Bench
2015-16 Stats
22 Taylor Ford
6' Senior Forward
11 Cornelia Fondren
5'8" Senior Guard
2015-16 Stats
37 Games - MPG 26.5, FG% .426, 3PT% .167, PPG 7.1, RPG 5.7, APG 3.3, 91 steals, 9 blocks
04 Maggie Morrison
5'8" RS Senior Guard
2015-16 Stats
36 Games - MPG 14.9, FG% .337, 3PT% .329, PPG 5.4, RPG 1.8, APG 1.0, 39 steals, 2 blocks
6' Senior Forward
2015-16 Stats
37 Games - MPG 11.1, FG% .329, 3PT% .283, PPG 3.6, RPG 2.3, APG .2, 19 steals, 2 blocks
55 Bria Day
6'4" Junior Center
2015-16 Stats
36 Games - MPG 11.8, FG% .483, 3PT% .000, PPG 2.1, RPG 3.5, APG .1, 14 steals, 37 blocks
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Game Analysis
Syracuse has now won 30 games, but like I said in my Syracuse/Washington pregame report, if you look at their team stats, you wonder how the heck do they do it. They are not a very good shooting team. They are only 37.3% from the field and 29.6% on threes. So, they must be a very good defensive team. Well, they allow opponents to shoot 39.7% from field, not exactly lock down defense. They must rebound like demons, right? Well, they grab 40 per game, but they allow 41. Hmmm....
I hate to call it this, but how they win is almost gimmick-like in two ways.
1) Pressure Full Court defense - They play 8-9 and sometimes 10 players, and they have to because they play a pressing defense that morphs into their zone. It's really impressive. They play it with reckless abandon. They have forced an amazing 24 turnovers per game. That is a +11. They rattle their opponents into mistakes and take advantage of it. It's exactly what they did to Washington. Even if they didn't turn them over, the forced them into quick shots.
2) Three Point Shooting - They shoot a lot of threes, around 30 per game and while they are only at 30% this year, they have been shooting closer to 35% in the NCAA tournament. They set a record for made threes with 12 and threes taken with 34 in a final four game. You can bet they will be firing from all over the court against UConn.
What they did against Washington was outrebound them by 46-28 with many of those on the offensive end. This allowed Syracuse, between the extra possession on turnovers and offensive rebounds to take 19 more shots than Washington.
The Orange are led by point guard Alexis Peterson, who is one tough cookie. She averages 16 ppg and 4.7 assists. She controls the team like a coach on the court and really is an extension both tactically and emotionally of Coach Hillsman. She loves to drive to the basket and is willing to take contact and finish. One of the top point guards in the country. Her pressure defense is a big part of the Syracuse scheme.
Brianna Butler is the designated shooter on this team averaging 10 threes taken per game. That is crazy! She will shoot from anywhere on the court and has a very quick release. The problem is that she only makes around 31% of those threes. She was really hot against Tennessee and was 4-12 against Washington. Her last made three set a season NCAA record breaking Kelsey Mitchell's number from last season.
Brittany Sykes was terrific against Washington, hitting some key baskets after Washington would make a run. She is another tough player and loves to drive to the basket. She is another emotional leader for Syracuse and part of the big three that do most of the scoring
There is not much size on Syracuse and the Day twins are it. Bria is the more talented player and she starts and gets more minutes than her sister Briana. But between them, they average a double double. Bria was terrific against Washington with four big offensive rebounds and 15 boards for the game.
I was really impressed with the Syracuse bench. Ford was 2-3 on threes and Fondren had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Solid contributions.
What you will notice is that because of the pressure defense, every Syracuse player has a good number of steals. They press, press and press. And they pressure almost the every possession. They have to as they just don't shoot well enough to win games. When they do have a good shooting game, they win big, like against Duke and more recently, the Tennessee game and Washington game.
UConn is now short a starter, and will have to make a big adjustment without a big part of their outside shooting without Samuelson. I would guess Geno will start Williams but don't be surprised of Chong sees some early minutes to help with breaking the press and hit a few outside shots.
You can bet that Syracuse will see a lot of UConn looking for holes in the zone and using their excellent interior passing to get easy buckets. They will move the ball around the perimeter as quickly as they can to get open three point shots for Stewart, Jefferson, Tuck and Nurse. This is where they will miss Samuelson and her outside shooting. I have a feeling that we will be seeing more of Chong in this game and her 36% three point shooting.
UConn will also attack the press, trying to find the open player under the basket. Using Stewart and Tucks size, they will try to break the press with as few dribbles as possible, passing over the shorter Syracuse defenders. It won't be easy. Syracuse is extremely aggressive.
Defensively, UConn will be playing their usual aggressive defense, but there won't be much full court pressing. UConn defends mostly with 1-1 type defense. Someone will have to be in Butler's grill at all times, as she loves that catch and shoot three pointer. Most likely Nurse. Jefferson will be all over Peterson, and it will be the kind of defense that Alexis hasn't seen this season. After all, Moriah is the DPOY!
UConn will also attack the press, trying to find the open player under the basket. Using Stewart and Tucks size, they will try to break the press with as few dribbles as possible, passing over the shorter Syracuse defenders. It won't be easy. Syracuse is extremely aggressive.
Defensively, UConn will be playing their usual aggressive defense, but there won't be much full court pressing. UConn defends mostly with 1-1 type defense. Someone will have to be in Butler's grill at all times, as she loves that catch and shoot three pointer. Most likely Nurse. Jefferson will be all over Peterson, and it will be the kind of defense that Alexis hasn't seen this season. After all, Moriah is the DPOY!
Final Prediction
Well, this is it. Last prediction of the season. I'm also undefeated!!!! Yeah, not that difficult..lol.
Syracuse brings things that UConn is not used to. Full court pressure combined with extreme volume three point shooting. For Syracuse to have a shot, they need both to be working at a high level. Even in the games they have lost, the Orange has forced some pretty good teams into 20+ turnovers. Their press is intense. They have two players attacking the ball all the way down the court. I did see Washington have several opportunity at easy buckets once they beat the initial pressure, but they just didn't execute. UConn has much more talented players and won't miss on those same opportunity.
So, it's out there for us all to see. If Syracuse can turn UConn over 20+ times AND hit at least 35% of their three point shots AND take at least 30, they have a chance to be in this game with a chance to win. The Orange will still have to prevent UConn from scoring once the Huskies break the press at too high a rate.
On offense, UConn needs to take care of the ball, be patient in breaking the press, move the ball against the zone.
On defense, UConn needs to defend the three and protect the basket.
Whoever does what they need to do better than the other will win this game. UConn has come this far, and I just can't see them losing to Syracuse.
My best guess is a closer game than UConn fans will be comfortable with as Syracuse is playing great basketball and I expect that to continue. Something like an 83-71 game.
UConn by 12+.
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