UCONN vs East Carolina
Day: Wednesday
Date: January 4th, 2017
Location: XL Center Hartford CT
Time: 7:00
TV: SNY/ESPN3
No. 1 UConn 13-0 (1-0) East Carolina 9-5 (0-1)
Head to Head
UConn leads 6-0
11/31/14 W 88-38 A
1/28/15 W 87-42 H
3/8/15 W 106-56 N
2/6/16 W 92-46 H
2/20/16 W 84-41 A
3/5/16 W 92-51 N
Overview
Last year, UConn decimated East Carolina. Unfortunately for the Pirates, they played three times. I said that the ECU team last season would struggle as they lost three starters to graduation. I also said that they would lose several more as well after the 2015-16. They lost their top 4 scorers to graduation including the terrific senior in Jada Payne who averaged 19.5 ppg and 8.4 rpg, the double double machine I'Tiana Taylor who averaged 14 ppg and 10 rpg. This is basically a totally new team. They only have four returning players.
ECU comes into this game 9-5 after losing in their last outing to Tulane 61-45 in their AAC opener. They have only played one ranked team, losing 79-47 to No. 19 West Virginia. Their resume is pretty blah as you would expect with so many new players.
UConn comes off a sloppy win over Central Florida making way too many mistakes for Geno's liking with 21 turnovers. But in spite of that they were able to easily dispatch of UCF 84-48.
Stat by Stat Comparison
Leader is bolded
Leader is bolded
UCONN East Carolina
80.8 Points Per Game 67.9
57.7 Opp Points Per Game 64.6
.501 Field Goal % .432
.370 Opp Field Goal % .383
.420 3 Point Field Goal % .347
.261 Opp 3 Point Field Goal % .279
.763 Free Throw % .620
37.3 Rebounds Per Game 40.4
33.6 Opp Rebounds Per Game 36.9
20.8 Assists Per Game 14.6
14.2 Turnovers Per Game 17.4
1.5 Assists/Turnover Ratio .8
1.5 Assists/Turnover Ratio .8
9.4 Steals Per Game 8.8
4.0 Blocks Per Game 2.3
UCONN
UConn Starters
33 Katie Lou Samuelson
6'3" Sophomore Guard/Forward
Games - 13, MPG 32.8, FG% .479, 3PT% .454, FT% .830, PPG 20.5, RPG 4.2, APG 2.6
24 Napheesa Collier
6'1" Sophomore Forward/Guard
Games - 13, MPG 31.4, FG% .644, 3PT% .375, FT% .809, PPG 19.2, RPG 7.6, APG 2.0
15 Gabby Williams
5'11" Junior Forward
Games - 13, MPG 29.0, FG% .521, 3PT% .250, FT% .645, PPG 11.2, RPG 8.1, APG 4.6
11 Kia Nurse
6' Junior Guard
Games - 13, MPG 35.0, FG% .442, 3PT% .446, FT% .857, PPG 13.6, RPG 2.2, APG 4.3
12 Saniya Chong
5'8" Senior Guard
Games - 11, MPG 22.9, FG% .524, 3PT% .429, FT% .600, PPG 5.6, RPG 1.8, APG 2.8
UConn Bench
5 Crystal Dangerfield
5'5" Freshman Guard
Games - 12, MPG 23.2, FG% .423, 3PT% .367, FT% .667, PPG 6.4, RPG 2.7, APG 3.3
51 Natalie Butler
6'5" RS Sophomore Center
Games - 13, MPG 16.8, FG% .417, 3PT% .000, FT% .727, PPG 3.7, RPG 4.6, APG 1.2
10 Molly Bent
5'9" Freshman Guard
Games - 11, MPG 8.7, FG% .500, 3PT% .600, FT% .750, PPG 1.6, RPG 1.1, APG .5
25 Kyla Irwin
6'2" Freshman Forward
Games - 10, MPG 6.3, FG% .167, 3PT% .000, FT% .500, PPG .7, RPG .9, APG .4
20 Tierney Lawlor
5'7" Senior Guard
Games - 9, MPG 2.9, FG% .000, 3PT% .000, FT% .000, PPG 0.0, RPG .3, APG .1
*******************************************************************
Coach Heather Macy
After being named head coach of the East Carolina women's basketball team on April 30, 2010, Heather Macy enters her seventh season at the helm of the program.
Macy owns a career record of 222-122, including a 107-73 overall mark during her tenure at ECU. She is the only coach in program history to lead the Pirates to 20 or more wins in three-straight seasons after posting consecutive 22-win campaigns from 2012-15 which were complemented by as many Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) appearances.
In 2015-16, milestones were a common theme, as Macy earned victory No. 100 at ECU on Nov. 27 in an 80-62 triumph over Eastern Washington. ECU’s quartet of commitments during the Early Signing Period comprised the No. 49 overall class in the nation, marking the program’s first top-50 crop in program history. Jada Payne also became the first Pirate to receive an invitation to a WNBA preseason camp with the Washington Mystics.
Payne finished her four-year career with 2,029 points, which includes 1,757 during three seasons with the Pirates – a total that ranks No. 3 on the program’s all-time scoring list. Payne’s accomplishments were aplenty during her final campaign as her 625 points stand as the second-most in a season in program history. She also earned All-American Athletic Conference First Team honors to become just the second player in program history to earn first-team recognition in three-straight years. For the second time in as many years, I’Tiana Taylor received a second-team nod, while becoming just the fourth player to average a double-double with 14.1 points and 10 rebounds per game. Her 321 total rebounds stand No. 2 in the school’s record book for a single season.
East Carolina Starters
24 Kristen Gaffney
6'1" Grad Student Forward
A fifth year grad student from Vanderbilt where she was named to the Winter SEC Academic Honor Roll... Came off the bench to see action in 24 games in her final season with the Commodores. … Averaged 3.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
20 Bree McDonald
6' RS Senior Guard/Forward
Sat out due to NCAA transfer rules after transferring from West Virginia where she was named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team…Earned placement on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll…Played in 35 games and made 20 starts for the Mountaineers during her sophomore campaign…Averaged 6.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game…Shot .345 (88-for-255) from the field, .264 (14-for-53) from three-point range and 70 percent (49-for-70) at the free throw line.
21 Antoinette Bannister
5'10" RS Senior Guard/Forward
Fifth year senior who transferred from Florida where she made three starts in 13 appearances for the Gators as a junior in 2014-15… Named to the Gator Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team after scoring 11 points and collecting a career-best seven rebounds in the championship game loss to Eastern Washington (12/22). Prior to playing for Florida she spent her freshman season at North Carolina where she played in eight of UNC’s first 14 games of the season… Averaged 4.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists while playing 8.6 minutes per game with the Tar Heels, netting a game-high 13 points in the win at Coastal Carolina (12/16) when she played 19 minutes, hitting 4-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and both free throw attempts.
02 Khadidja Toure
5'9" RS Senior Guard
Played in all 32 games and made 23 starts with an average of 27.3 minutes played per contest…Averaged 7.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game…Led the Pirates in total assists with 87 and has the most on the team in nine different contests…Grabbed five or more rebounds seven times…Made 31 three-pointers on the season…Made multiple threes in nine different contests…Shot 72.1 percent (44-for-61) at the free throw line…Put up nine points and four assists against No. 1 UConn (3/5) in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.
40 Gabrielle Holston 6'0"
RS Junior Guard/Forward
Played in all 32 games and made one start as a redshirt sophomore…Averaged 2.7 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 44 percent (33-75) from the field in 15.8 minutes per game…Led the team in charges drawn with 20…Led all players in bench scoring with 80 points…Had a career-high five steals to go with eight points, four rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes off the bench at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (11/14)…Scored a season-high 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field against Alcorn State (11/17)…Scored 10 points on 3-for-3 shooting from the field to go with four rebounds at Tulsa (12/30)…Fell just shy of a double-double with eight points and nine boards in 19 minutes off the bench against Temple (1/30)…Made her first-career start and played 28 minutes at SMU (2/9)…Handed out a career-high four assists at Memphis (2/27)…Compiled seven points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in a personal-best 34 minutes played against SMU (2/29).
East Carolina Bench
01 Alex Frasier
5'9" Sophomore Point Guard
Played in 26 games and made 10 starts with an average of 22.5 minutes per game as a freshman…Averaged 3.3 points, 2.7 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game…Led all freshmen in the American Conference in assists per contest…Led ECU in assists nine times…Had five or more assists on six occasions…Shot 40 percent (34-for-85) from the field…Scored 11 points with three rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes off the bench against Alcorn State (11/17)…Handed out five assists and made her first-career start against No. 20/17 USF (1/2)…Posted six assists against Tulsa (2/3)…Dished out seven assists in 30 minutes off the bench at SMU (2/9)…Recorded a season-high eight assists in 28 minutes against Memphis (2/13).
13 Fanni Csutoras
5'11"Senior Guard/Forward
Played in each of the first 20 games of the season and averaged 15.9 minutes before suffering a season-ending injury…Scored 12 points with four assists off the bench at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (11/14)…Scored a season-high 15 points while shooting 8-for-8 at the free throw line to complement six rebounds, four assists and three steals in 28 minutes against Alcorn State (11/17)…Had six points and three assists in 18 minutes against Houston (1/14)…Put up four points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 29 minutes against Cincinnati (1/20).
25 Dominique Claytors
5'11"Freshman Guard/Forward
Ranked the No. 15 wing player, rated three stars and earned a scouts grade of 90 in the class of 2016 by ESPN.com…Competed at the Boo Williams Elite 64 in June 2014…Lettered four years under head coach Eugene Love…Won back-to-back state championships with the Lady Phoenix to as a junior and senior and was named Most Valuable Player in the title game in 2015…A three-time all-conference and all-region first team selection, respectively, to go with consecutive all-state nods.
11 Raven Johnson
6' Freshman Guard
Named 2016 Gwinnett Daily Post Preseason Super Six selection...Lettered four years for the Panthers under head coach Kirk Call…Rated three stars and earned a scouts grade of 90 in the class of 2016 by ESPN.com…Ranked 38th overall and No. 1 in the state of Georgia at her position by MaxPreps.
Game Analysis
I haven't seen East Carolina play this year, so I won't pretend to know their style of play. But I can tell you they turn the ball over a lot, they don't shoot very well and they are a decent rebounding team for not having much height. They actually sound a lot like Central Florida and probably a few other AAC teams.
UConn will work on what they struggled with in the last game. Look for less turnovers, and better offensive flow. The defense was outstanding against UCF and this will give ECU fits. UConn will press early and pressure constantly.
I wish I could tell you more but I just don't know enough about ECU.
UConn will work on what they struggled with in the last game. Look for less turnovers, and better offensive flow. The defense was outstanding against UCF and this will give ECU fits. UConn will press early and pressure constantly.
I wish I could tell you more but I just don't know enough about ECU.
Final Prediction
I would expect UConn to exceed their season average in scoring, getting into the 90+ range and they should hold the Pirates to lower than what they have given up, keeping it under 50.
Looks like a 40+ point win for The Huskies. More if the end of the bench can contribute more than they did in the last game.
No comments:
Post a Comment