DoggyDaddy's UConn/Ohio State Pre Game Report






UCONN vs. Ohio State
Day: Monday
Date: December  19th, 2016
Location: XL Center
Time: 7:00
TV: CBS Sports

No. 1 UConn Huskies                        No. 12 Ohio State Buckeyes 

              9-0                                                                   9-3

Prior Meetings

UConn - 3-0

12/19/10 W 81-50 Maggie Dixon Classic
12/1/13 W 70-49 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge 

11/16/15 W 100-56 Away

Last years Matchup

Highlights

Here is the box score from that game that UConn won 100-56. Here are my comments from my post game report of that game.

UConn shocked everyone, including the OSU coach, by starting out in a 3-2 zone. I'm pretty sure that the Buckeyes didn't practice against that defense much. UConn ran out to a quick 7-0 lead, fueled by a couple of Williams steals . After a Williams layup, UConn had a 14-4 lead and it looked to be the start of a runaway. OSU went on it's only run of the game, 9-0, to cut the lead to one, 14-13. UConn closed out the quarter on a 10-2 for a 24-13 lead.

The second quarter started innocently enough, with OSU outscoring UConn 3-2 after two minutes to close the gap to eight, 26-18. Then before you could blink, it was game over. UConn went on a 15-0 run to take a 41-18 lead and another 8-2 run to push the lead to 29. This 23-2 run was done over a five minute span. It was as devastating a 5 minutes against a top 10 team as you will ever see. At the half UConn had a 50-24 lead.

UConn started the 2nd half in their 1-2-2 zone again. The game got very physical in the third quarter with several hard fouls and lots of turnovers. Stewart committed a couple of fouls and had four with six minutes left in the quarter. She took a seat on the bench but it didn't matter. UConn went on a quick 7-0 and ended the quarter with a 74-45 lead. 

The fourth quarter was about UConn keeping the momentum going and not getting sloppy. They did a great job with that, with Stewart leading the way with nine points. UConn's defense stayed strong, holding the Buckeyes to 11 points for the quarter. It was great to see Chong make an appearance. Geno did say she was getting close to playing. Tierney Lawlor ended the scoring for UConn with a nice baseline jumper for the final 100-56 score.  

UConn hit 37 of 65 from the floor (56.9 percent). They outrebounded the Buckeyes 49-29. UConn held OSU to 33.8% on 23-69. They forced the Buckeyes an anemic 3-19 from beyond the arc. That is only 15.8%. Wow. It was total domination on both sides of the ball.

Overview

Ohio State comes into this game on a four game winning streak, although not against the best competition. Overall they are 9-3, with their three losses coming to ranked teams. They lost to (at the time) No. 6 South Carolina 92-80, No. 5 Baylor 85-68 and No. 18 Miami 94-89 in overtime. They do have a Top 25 win, beating No. 11 Syracuse 77-72. The rest of the schedule? Pretty weak, especially the last four games. They beat Cincinnati 80-38, Southern 108-73, Canisius 89-56 and Alabama State 118-61. Well, as you will see in my game analysis, throw all of these games out the window. Ohio State hasn't played with their full team all season.

UConn is coming off the great wins against Notre Dame and Kansas State on the road. Two huge crowds and the Huskies excelled. The effort was the story to me. I've never seen players play so hard like UConn did in the Notre Dame game. That carried over to the first quarter of the Kansas State game, but you could see the fatigue kick in and impact their crispness of play. The minds were willing but the bodies were tired and it showed.

After a week off from any games, UConn should be in fine shape for this tough matchup against Ohio State. It's unknown at this time if Chong will be available.

Comparative Team Statistic

Leader in Bold

                                               UConn                                     Ohio State

                                              79.3              PPG                     90.5
                                              57.4        Defensive PPG          69.8

                                              21.9        Scoring Margin          20.7

                                              49.9        Field Goal %              47.7
                                              36.0        Defensive FG %        36.1

                                              41.2        Three Point %            31.6
                                              26.4        Defensive 3PT%        33.8

  77.3        Free Throw  %           71.1

                                              37.2        Rebounds/game         47.0

                                                3.8        Rebounding Margin      8.9 

                                              21.2        Assists per game        15.9

                                              14.3        Turnover per game     14.6

                                                1.5        Assists/TO ratio            1.1

                                                8.9        Steals per game           8.3

                                                3.9        Blocks per game           4.3

                                                         

UCONN

UConn Starters

It's hard to write the same things in different ways about each player, so going forward I'll just list their season stats to date in my game previews going forward for you to enjoy.

33 Katie Lou Samuelson

6'3" Sophomore Guard/Forward

Games - 9, MPG - 32.3, FG% - .484 , 3PT% - .475, FT% - .833, PPG - 19.8, RPG -4.3, APG - 3.0

24 Napheesa Collier

6'1 Sophomore Forward/Guard

Games - 9, MPG - 31.7, FG% - .676 , 3PT% - .455, FT% - .774, PPG - 19.4, RPG -7.0 , APG - 1.9

 

15 Gabby Williams

5'11" Junior Forward

Games - 9, MPG - 28.7, FG% - .482 , 3PT% - .250, FT% - .696, PPG - 10.8, RPG -7.7 , APG - 4.8

11 Kia Nurse

6' Junior Guard

Games - 9, MPG - 34.9, FG% - .430, 3PT% - .413, FT% - .912, PPG - 13.1, RPG -2.0 , APG - 4.6

5 Crystal Dangerfield

5'5" Freshman Guard

Games - 8, MPG - 25.0, FG% - .407 , 3PT% - .333, FT% - .750, PPG - 6.9, RPG -3.0 , APG - 3.4

UConn Bench

51 Natalie Butler

6'5" RS Sophomore Center

Games - 9, MPG - 17.0, FG% - .452 , 3PT% - .000, FT% - .625, PPG - 3.7, RPG -5.0 , APG - 1.1

10 Molly Bent

5'9" Freshman Guard

Games - 8, MPG - 8.0, FG% - .556 , 3PT% - .750, FT% - .500, PPG - 1.8, RPG - .8 , APG - .3

25 Kyla Irwin
6'2" Freshman Forward

Games - 7,  MPG - 6.7, FG% - .200 , 3PT% - .000, FT% - .500, PPG - 1.0, RPG - 1.0 , APG - .3

20 Tierney Lawlor

Games - 6 , MPG - 3.2, FG% - .000 , 3PT% - .000, FT% - .000, PPG - 0.0, RPG - .3 , APG - .2     

UConn Injury List

12 Saniya Chong

5'8" Senior Guard

Games - 8, MPG - 21.1, FG% - .481 , 3PT% - .300, FT% - .667, PPG - 4.6, RPG -1.5 , APG - 2.6

UCONN TEAM STATS





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Ohio State Buckeyes 

Head Coach 

Kevin McGuff

McGuff has been successful wherever he has coached. For 6 years he was an assistant under Muffet McGraw at Notre Dame and was part of a National Championship team in 2001. Yes, UConn fans, that team. He parlayed that success to a head coaching gig at Xavier University. If you remember those very successful Atlantic 10 team, you know that he was a great recruiter for a team not in a power conference. He had a great twin tower combo in Amber Harris and Ta'shia Phillips. That year they went 30-3 and lost in the Elite Eight. He moved to Washington state for two non-descript years before landing the power 5 conference job he was looking for. He was able to land a two for one by hiring Mark Mitchell, superstar Kelsey Mitchell's father. By adding her and a few other pieces to the puzzle, he was able to improve after his first season to an NCAA tournament and 20 win season team in his second year. Last year he pushed the Buckeyes to a 26-8 season, losing in the Sweet Sixteen in what had to be a very disappointing loss.

McDuff added two very good transfers and a solid freshman class. He will continue to improve this program, fighting for league championships before too long.

Ohio State Starters

32 Shayla Cooper
6'2" Senior Forward

Cooper was All-Big Ten Second Team (2016). In her junior season she played in 32 of the 34 games and made 11 starts. She led the team in rebounding at 8.1 rebounds per game and was third on the team at 13.3 points per game. Cooper also had a team-high 10 double-doubles on the year. She was very efficient last season shooting 52.2 percent from the floor and was 46.0 percent from beyond the arc.

This season? Her outside shooting has fallen apart. She is 4-31from behind the three point line, a terrible 12.9%. Why? Who knows, but when you shoot 46% for a full season, it can turn around anytime.

3 Kelsey Mitchell
5'8" Junior Guard

Mitchell has garnered too many honors to mention, but I'll try. She was first team All-Big Ten (2015, 2016), B1G Player of the Year (2015), USBWA and ESPNW National Freshman of the Year (2015),

Unanimous B1G Freshman of the Year (2015).

She was also first team All-American, USBWA (2015, 2016), AP (2016), WBCA (2016), ESPNW (2016).

Here are a few more -

• Naismith Award Semifinalist (2015), Finalist (2016)
• John R. Wooden Award National Ballot (2015, 2016)
• Dawn Staley and Nancy Lieberman Award finalist (2015, 2016)
• National Player of the Week 3 times (12/29/14, 11/30/15, 1/4/16)
• B1G Player of the Week 4 times (12/23/14, 1/26/15, 11/30/15, 1/4/16)
• B1G Freshman of the Week 7 times

1 Stephanie Mavunga

6'3" RS Junior Forward

Mavunga was First Team All-ACC (2015),  Full Court Freshman All-America honorable mention (2014), on the Naismith Trophy Watch List (2015). She was ACC Player of the Week 3 times (11/24/14, 1/5/15, 2/2/15) and ACC Freshman of the Week (11/25/13). Mavunga Joined the program in August after playing for Team USA in the Pan Am Games and sat out the collegiate season per NCAA transfer rules.

20 Asia Doss

 5'7" Junior Guard

Last season Doss was one of three players on the team to have played in all 34 games and made 19 starts where she averaged 7.0 points, 2.6 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game. She was second on the team with a 2.12 assist-to-turnover ratio and third on the team with 89 assists.

Doss was an ESPN Top 100 and four-star prospect. She was ranked No. 89 overall and the No. 22 point guard by ESPN. Also the No. 48-ranked prospect, No. 14 at position by Prospects Nation.

4 Sierra Calhoun

 6' RS Sophomore Guard

Calhoun sat out last season after transferring from Duke where she was named to the Preseason ACC Newcomer Watch List. She also started all 13 non-conference games and was one of the team's primary ball-handlers where she averaged 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

In High School Calhoun was a McDonald's & WBCA All-America and was selected to the Parade Magazine All-America team. She was also the 2014 Gatorade High School New York Girls Player of the Year.

Ohio State Bench

15 Linnae Harper

 5'8" RS Junior Guard

Harper transferred from Kentucky and is now eligible to play for the Buckeyes. At Kentucky she was on the SEC All-Tournament Team (2014), SEC All-Freshman Team (2014) and SEC All-Defensive Team (2015).

While at Kentucky and earned a spot on the U.S. Pan American Women’s Basketball Team and helped the team to a silver medal. She played in all 34 games with 17 starts and led the team and ranked seventh in the SEC in rebounding, averaging 7.1 per game. She was the only player in the nation to stand at 5-8 or under and average more than 7.0 rpg.

22 Alexa Hart

 6'2" Junior Forward

Hart was Second Team All-Big Ten (2016), Big Ten All-Defensive Team (2016), Big Ten All-Freshman Team (2015), Big Ten All-Tournament Team (2015).

She was one of two players on the team to have played in and started all 34 games, fourth on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game and second on the team in rebounding at 7.8 per game. She was third in the Big Ten with an overall shooting percentage of 61.5.

24 Makayla Waterman

 6'2" RS Sophomore Forward

As a redshirt freshman, she played in 32 of the 34 games and made one start. She averaged 3.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while playing an average of 14.3 minutes per contest.

This year, she is averaging a few more minutes, and contributes on the boards with 4.9 rebounds per game.

23 Kiara Lewis

 5'8" Freshman Guard

Lewis was the 2015-16 Illinois Gatorade High School Player of the Year. She was ranked No. 22 in the 2016 class according to ESPN and a consensus five-star recruit. Lewis received a scout’s grade of 97 by ESPN Hoopgurlz and was Ranked No. 21 by Prospect Nation.

0 Tori McCoy

6'4" Freshman Forward

McCoy has had a ton of honors coming out of high school. She was a McDonald's All-American, WBCA All-American, Naismith Player of the Year Finalist. She also was a consensus five-star recruit, was named to the American Family Insurance ALL-USA preseason and was ranked in the top-10 in the class of 2016 by every outlet (No. 10 – ESPN HoopGurlz, No. 8 – Prospect Nation, No. 7 – Blue Star Report).

Ohio State Statistics

 Game Analysis

UConn is not the only team that has lost players to graduation coming into this season. Ohio State lost two of their starting guards, Ameryst Alston and Cait Craft. Last season the Buckeyes started four guards most of their games but in losing these two guards, it appears that McDuff is going a little bigger. The starters are now Cooper at 6'2" and when healthy, Stephanie Mavunga, the 6'3" transfer from UNC along with newly added 6' Sierra Calhoun, the Duke transfer guard.

Of course they start all-world guard Kelsey Mitchell and also start guard Asia Doss. While the loss of an all-American caliber guard in Alston is big, this lineup appears to me to be a better team. When you add in a terrific freshman, 6'4" Tori McCoy, 6'3" junior forward Alexa Hart and RS sophomore 6'2"  Makayla Waterman you have a much stronger front line than last season. Their only guard off the bench was freshman guard Kiala Lewis. But in her first appearance on a basketball court since 2015 for Kentucky, transfer guard Linnae Harper made an immediate impact.

This version of Ohio State is a true 10 deep rotation. And since this will be only the second game with all the players available, it's tough to know how Coach McGuff will handle rotating all the good players he has on the roster.

Ohio State is a team that loves to run and now has enough horses to do that for the entire game. But they also are sometimes out of control. In their last outing, even while putting a beating on Alabama State, they still had 24 turnovers. They also played every player in the rotation between 13 and 23 minutes. Will that happen against UConn? I doubt it. Against the better teams, I would think McGuff would play his best players the most minutes. That means that the freshmen, McCoy and Lewis and Sophomore Waterman will see less time and Mitchell, Mavunga, Cooper, Hart, Harper, Calhoun, and Doss will see the majority of the minutes.

UConn will try to take advantage of the turnovers and force as many as possible. They will need to outscore this dynamic Buckeye team. UConn loves to run as well, so this could be a very high scoring game. But UConn might try to control the pace with Chong still out with her concussion issue. The starters better be ready to play 35-40 minutes each.

The front line matchup should be a great one. Mavunga is a beast on boards and along with Cooper and Hart going against Collier and Williams it will be a battle. Nurse will have her hands full with Mitchell, who will be looking for redemption after being shut down by Jefferson last year. Hopefully Chong is available. In a racehorse like pace, UConn will need every available body.

Harper and Calhoun are wild cards. Two very talented players that add great depth to the Buckeyes. As you can tell, I'm impressed with Ohio State.              

Final Prediction

Whew...this is a tough one. When you don't know how the pieces will fit together, no matter how talented, it's difficult to figure out how a game will play out. Ohio State struggled against the ranked teams and they haven't played a team as talented as UConn since the second game of the season against South Carolina. And now they have a more players to throw at the Huskies.

Geno is very concerned, so that concerns me.....a lot!!!

"If you remember last year Pheesa and Lou didn't get a lot of playing time at Ohio State, they weren't quite ready for something like that. Now they aren't that much different than they were last year to be honest with you, they've added some pretty good pieces with  Sierra Calhoun, Tory McCoy and (Stephanie) Mavunga an they have gotten a lot, they have (Linnae) Harper playing so they have a lot of bodies that they can put out there, obvoiusly they want to go up and down and want to create as much of a high scoring game as they can. Controlling the tempo is going to be really important. Not that we want to walk it up and play 50-45 game but our starters are going to log a lot of minutes tomorrow but we are going to need some help from our bench and that is a big concern."

Of course, Ohio State hasn't played a team that plays defense as well as The Huskies. And that should be the difference maker in this one. Ohio State struggles to stop good teams from scoring. So UConn should be able to outscore the Buckeyes. But it will be a close one.

UConn by 8+.