UCONN vs DePaul
Day: Friday
Date: Dec 19, 2014
Location: Webster Bank Arena Bridgeport
Time: 7:30
TV: SNY
RECENT MEETINGS
03/10/2013 DEP 61 CONN 94
02/10/2013 DEP 44 @CONN 91 01/21/2012 CONN 88 @DEP 44 02/05/2011 DEP 66 @CONN 89 02/10/2010 CONN 95 @DEP 62 01/13/2009 DEP 62 @CONN 77 03/09/2008 DEP 67 @CONN 86 03/01/2008 CONN 77 @DEP 76 01/24/2007 DEP 76 @CONN 88 03/06/2006 DEP 57 @CONN 69 |
Records UConn 6-1, DePaul 7-3
OverviewIn that last meeting, the Seniors Hrynko, Jenkins and Rogowski along with Junior Podkowa were just three sophomores and a freshman going against what would end up being a National Championship team. It was a tough experience for the four young players, particularly Hrynko, who was 0-15 from the field including an 0-8 on 3 point baskets.
UConn was led by the since graduated Stefanie Dolson with 23 points and Bria Hartley with 18 points. No other player was in double figures that day.
They also met in the last BE (old schools) tourney where UConn won 94-61. It wasn't much better for DePaul and the players that will be on the court Friday night. Hrynko was 1-8 from the field and 1-5 on 3 point baskets. For those who are counting, that's 1-23 and 1-13 on 3's. I don't think you forget about that.
With so many player returning for this rematch two years later, it will be interesting to see how the more mature DePaul players handle the tough UConn pressure defense. They have to be confident in spite of the devastating loss to Notre Dame when they gave it away after missing so many free throws. They played a great game and they offensively dominated Loyola Illinois the game following that loss. But giving up 84 points to Loyola is not a good thing.
UConn is coming off it's best game of the season, drubbing Notre Dame on their home court in front of Sklar. It doesn't get any better than that. The team is gelling and you can see the chemistry grow with each game since that Stanford loss. Cough...fluke...Cough. Morgan Tuck is playing like an AA and Kia Nurse is playing like she won't be far behind. As good as they are playing, they can still play better and Friday night would be a good place to start. Here is a quick breakdown of the players.
11 Kia Nurse 6' Freshman Guard
Still shooting an incredibly high percentage. She just doesn't take many bad shots.
MPG 26.6, FG% .614, 3PT% .429, PPG 13.4, RPG 4.6, APG 2.9, 10 steals, 0
blocks
4 Moriah Jefferson 5'7" Junior Guard
It's Moriah Time. Time to break out and play like the Lieberman Finalist she is.
MPG 26.4, FG% .463, 3PT% .350, PPG 9.6, RPG 1.9, APG 4.6, 14 steals, 2 block
23 Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 5'11" Senior Forward
She is just a tough kid. She mixes it up, dives for loose balls and all while being the best shooter in the country.
MPG 32.5, FG% .574, 3PT% .591, PPG 17.0, RPG 4.8, APG 2.3, 15 steals, 0 blocks
3 Morgan Tuck 6'2" Sophomore Forward
Dominating Notre Dame was awesome to see. It's just the beginning.
MPG 26.0, FG% .494, 3PT% .222, PPG 14.3, RPG 4.9, APG 3.0, 6 steals, 2 blocks
30 Breanna Stewart 6'4" Junior Forward
Stewart is not playing as well this season. Looking for a dominating performance very soon.
MPG 30.9, FG% .512, 3PT% .400, PPG 16.4, RPG 7.1, APG 2.9, 10 steals, 7 blocks
UConn Bench
41 Kiah Stokes 6'3" Senior Center
I love her game right now. Strong and aggressive. Let's see more.
MPG 20.7, FG% .533, 3PT% .000, PPG 6.1, RPG 9.0, APG 1.3, 4 steals, 25 blocks
12 Saniya Chong 5'8" Sophomore Guard
She's been ok off the bench. I'm sure Geno would like to see her do more.
MPG 21.9, FG% .450, 3PT% .345, PPG 7.1, RPG 2.7, APG 1.9, 3 steals, 2 blocks
15 Gabby Williams 5'11" Freshman Guard
She is just so much fun to watch. As the competition eases in the AAC schedule, her minutes will increase in prep for post season.
MPG 14.3, FG% .667, 3PT% .000, PPG 7.0, RPG 4.2, APG 0.3, 9 steals, 2 blocks
UConn Complete Stats
DePaul Starters
2014 Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American... 2014 WBCA Honorable Mention All-America team... 2014 first-team unanimous All-BIG EAST selection.
MPG 28.4, FG% .474, 3PT% .393, PPG 19.2, RPG 2.7, APG 1.7, 27 steals, 0 block
Led DePaul as a sophomore in rebounding with 6.3 boards per game... 36 career starts including 32 as a sophomore... BIG EAST All-Academic team...
MPG 29.0, FG% .533, 3PT% .318, PPG 16.0, RPG 7.5, APG 1.9, 15 steals, 13 blocks
14 Jessica January 5'7" Sophomore Guard
BIG EAST All-Freshman team... BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Dec. 23 and Feb. 24.
BIG EAST All-Freshman team... BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Dec. 23 and Feb. 24.
MPG 26.3, FG% .426 3PT% .281, PPG 14.3, RPG 3.2, APG 3.3, 27 steals, 0 blocks
21 Megan Rogowski 5'9" Senior Guard
Enters senior season with a .386 (204-of-529) 3-point field goal percentage which ranks seventh among active Division I players... set the DePaul single-season record for 3-pointers as a junior with 114... needs 100 3-pointers to break the DePaul record for Career 3-pointers
Enters senior season with a .386 (204-of-529) 3-point field goal percentage which ranks seventh among active Division I players... set the DePaul single-season record for 3-pointers as a junior with 114... needs 100 3-pointers to break the DePaul record for Career 3-pointers
MPG 27.2, FG% .417, 3PT% .381, PPG 13.2, RPG 2.3, APG 1.2, 14 steals, 4 blocks
13 Chanise Jenkins 5'5" Junior Guard
Finished sophomore season (2013-14) ranked 19th and second in the BIG EAST with an impressive 2.60 assist-to-turnover ration... earned All-BIG EAST Freshman team honors... averaged 4.1 assists per game as a freshman.
MPG 27.4, FG% .391, 3PT% .233, PPG 8.0, RPG 4.4, APG 4.9, 19 steals, 0 block
DePaul Bench
23 Centrese McGee 5'7" Senior Guard
Appeared in 35 games as a junior after transfering from Illinois... sat out the 2012-13 season under NCAA Transfer guidelines... earned DePaul's Shirley Becker Academic Award in 2013... named to the BIG EAST All-Academic team.
Appeared in 35 games as a junior after transfering from Illinois... sat out the 2012-13 season under NCAA Transfer guidelines... earned DePaul's Shirley Becker Academic Award in 2013... named to the BIG EAST All-Academic team.
MPG 17.2, FG% .375, 3PT% .143, PPG 3.1, RPG 5.2, APG .9, 14 steals, 0 blocks
22 Brooke Schulte 5'9" Sophomore Guard
Appeared in 24 games including 14 BIG EAST Conference games... played one minute in DePaul's NCAA Sweet 16 game against Texas A&M... career-day at Bradley -- scored eight points on 3-of-4 shooting and connected on 2-of-3 from behind the arc.
Appeared in 24 games including 14 BIG EAST Conference games... played one minute in DePaul's NCAA Sweet 16 game against Texas A&M... career-day at Bradley -- scored eight points on 3-of-4 shooting and connected on 2-of-3 from behind the arc.
MPG 17.4, FG% .435, 3PT% .750, PPG 5.8, RPG 4.9, APG 0.9, 12 steals, 3 blocks
44 Brandi Harvey-Carr 6'4" Sophomore Forward
Appeared in all 36 games... started DePaul's games against Harvard, Notre Dame, and St. John's... averaged 3.0 points per games... season-best 14 points against Illinois.
MPG 12.7, FG% .324, 3PT% .600, PPG 4.0, RPG 3.7, APG 0.1, 5 steals, 2 blocks
Game Analysis
DePaul has been playing 6 guards and Megan Powdoski, a 6'2" guard/forward the majority of the minutes. There will be times that Bruno will have 5'5, 5'7, 5'7, 5'9 and 5'9 on the court at the same time. What we have seen in the past when teams go small is Geno tend to match up with them with his best small players. I think that means that Stokes will see few minutes in this game and Chong will see more as will Williams off the bench.
One thing DePaul will do is shoot the three. And shoot the three. And shoot the three. They average 30.7 attempts per game. They will be hoisting them up. The good news for UConn is they only hit one out of every three. UConn's size advantage on defense will keep DePaul out of the paint and on the perimeter.
UConn will go early and often to the mismatches they will have in the paint, including posting up Nurse. When they double in the paint, and they WILL have to double, look for a lot of open jumpers.
DePaul is averaging 91.5 points and the Blue Demons have scored 80 or more points in nine of their 10 last games. Can they continue to score at this pace against UConn? They will have to in order to keep it close. They give up entirely too many points this year. Without a post presence, they struggle to stop the inside games of their opponents.
I always feel so bad for one of my favorite coaches, Doug Bruno, whenever these two teams meet. After a few years of competitive games 5-6 years ago, UConn has dominated the matchup. I don't see how this year will be any different.
Some might point to the Notre Dame game and think that DePaul has a good chance to make a game of it. And they do have a shooter's chance to do that. But basketball is usually about matchups and the Notre Dame game without Turner was a good matchup for the Blue Demons. This one? Not so good.
Geno doesn't like beating up on his buddies, but UConn's height and renewed defensive dominance will rule the day and UConn will take this by 20+.
One thing DePaul will do is shoot the three. And shoot the three. And shoot the three. They average 30.7 attempts per game. They will be hoisting them up. The good news for UConn is they only hit one out of every three. UConn's size advantage on defense will keep DePaul out of the paint and on the perimeter.
UConn will go early and often to the mismatches they will have in the paint, including posting up Nurse. When they double in the paint, and they WILL have to double, look for a lot of open jumpers.
DePaul is averaging 91.5 points and the Blue Demons have scored 80 or more points in nine of their 10 last games. Can they continue to score at this pace against UConn? They will have to in order to keep it close. They give up entirely too many points this year. Without a post presence, they struggle to stop the inside games of their opponents.
Final Prediction
Some might point to the Notre Dame game and think that DePaul has a good chance to make a game of it. And they do have a shooter's chance to do that. But basketball is usually about matchups and the Notre Dame game without Turner was a good matchup for the Blue Demons. This one? Not so good.
Geno doesn't like beating up on his buddies, but UConn's height and renewed defensive dominance will rule the day and UConn will take this by 20+.
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