UCONN vs Houston
Day: Tuesday
Date: February 17th, 2015
Location: XL Center
Time: 7:00
TV: SNY
UConn 24-1 (13-0)
Houston 6-19 (1-12)
Head to Head
1/7/14 W 90-40 H
2/22/14 W 92-41 A
Overview
Houston comes into this game on an 11 game losing streak since beating Cincinnati in Houston's only conference win. The games were not all blowouts, but against the better teams the margins were pretty bad. In their last outing they lost to Temple 72-60, and in the game before that they lost to Memphis 64-58. The sad part is there doesn't seem to be much support from the University, although they did make a nice hire in the new head coach. The fan support is almost non-existent with the average attendance of 380 per game.
UConn is on a roll. Since the benching of Stewart and Tuck, notice was served and UConn hammered South Carolina and followed that up with a great effort against a decent Tulane team. Geno is doing his usual thing, motivating, cajoling, pushing buttons to get this team ready for the post season. If you listen to what he is saying, the team is now going in the right direction in that regard. He will use this game to continue to fine tune the team and to keep everyone sharp.
UConn StartersUConn is on a roll. Since the benching of Stewart and Tuck, notice was served and UConn hammered South Carolina and followed that up with a great effort against a decent Tulane team. Geno is doing his usual thing, motivating, cajoling, pushing buttons to get this team ready for the post season. If you listen to what he is saying, the team is now going in the right direction in that regard. He will use this game to continue to fine tune the team and to keep everyone sharp.
11 Kia Nurse 6' Freshman Guard
Nurse has been on a little roller coaster ride the second half of the season. So consistent in the early games, Kia has had a few clinkers in the last 10 games. Her game against Tulane was solid and hopefully she will build off of that effort.
2014-15: MPG 24.9, FG% .516, 3PT% .462, PPG 11.5, RPG 3.3, APG 3.3, 42 steals, 0 blocks
Jefferson just won the ESPN player of the week award and boy, was that well deserved. I've been watching UConn for a long time and I don't remember a point guard playing any better than she is. She is the spark for this team and we should see more of that against Houston. She has had only eight turnovers in her last 13 games. That is fantastic. Going along with that is sixty assists in the same 13 games. Doing the math that is a 7.5/1 assist to turnover ration. That is out of this world.
2014-15: MPG 26.8, FG% .562, 3PT% .508, PPG 11.7, RPG 2.7, APG 4.6, 61 steals, 3 block
23 Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 5'11" Senior Forward
The Rock. She had a quiet game against Tulane, but over her last 12 games she is shooting 57% on threes. I've lovedd her emotions during the games. We just didn't see a lot of this for her first three season. It's great to see her display the real KML on the court.
2014-15: MPG 28.3, FG% .526, 3PT% .514, PPG 14.2, RPG 4.4, APG 2.8, 28 steals, 5 blocks
3 Morgan Tuck 6'2" Sophomore Forward
Geno gave her some great compliments over the last few weeks, in spite of the "benching". Morgan is just such a skilled player. And now she is even hitting her three's with more regularity. I expect that to continue. She is the queen of the reverse layup. No one does it better.
2014-15: MPG 24.8, FG% .575, 3PT% .213, PPG 13.9, RPG 5.2, APG 2.8, 20 steals, 9 blocks
30 Breanna Stewart 6'4" Junior Forward
Stewie has everything going but her outside shot. Her rebounding and passing has picked up but her defense has been the story. She has really picked that part of her game up. She was around 2 blocks per game in the first 12 games and over the last 12 she is closer to 3. Stewart is such an intimidating force on the defensive end. I'm hoping the voters for POY remember that when it comes time to vote.
UConn Bench
Kiah has slowed down a little the last 5 games. She has had only 10 blocks after several games of averaging close to 7 per game. Not sure if players are not challenging her as much? Or has she been less aggressive? I have a feeling we will see 5+ blocks from her in the Houston game.
2014-15: MPG 19.7, FG% .536, 3PT% .500, PPG 5.1, RPG 7.5, APG .8, 14 steals, 111 blocks
When you think of breakout players, Chong is now the one that comes to mind. She has made 17 of her last 25 three point attempts over her last 11 games. That is an amazing 68%. Ridiculous. Even more amazing, she is 11 of her last 12. Wow! Her overall shooting percentage is now over 50% giving UConn the only team in America with all eight players in their regular rotation shooting over 50%. She has scored almost 10 ppg over the last 7 games. Her defense has improved to the point where she is not only no longer a liability out there she is an asset. Her minutes from Geno reflect that. What a pleasure to watch!
2014-15: MPG 20.2, FG% .508, 3PT% .441, PPG 6.6, RPG 2.2, APG 1.8, 15 steals, 6 blocks
15 Gabby Williams 5'11" Freshman Guard
A star in the making. I have her on the double digit average watch. She is up to 9 points per game. A few more double digit efforts and she will be close. The best news is she is now 8 of her last 12 on free throws. Maybe she has turned the corner on that skill. Her overall game just keeps getting better and better.
2014-15: MPG 17.0 FG% .628, 3PT% .000, PPG 9.0, RPG 6.3, APG 1.4, 34 steals, 12 blocks
Hang in there Courtney. You are too good a shooter to keep missing. I still love her effort and intensity!
2014-15: MPG 12.3 FG% .267, 3PT% .192, PPG 1.9, RPG 1.7, APG .9, 6 steals, 0 blocks
UConn Complete Stats
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Houston Coach Ronald Hughey
Since 2008, Hughey's teams have never finished below .500, and he has helped haul in three top-15 nationally ranked recruiting classes over the last four seasons with two separate programs in Florida State and Texas.
He has a big project to make Houston a decent program but Hughey will put in the time and effort. Will he have the support of the University? Time will tell.
Houston Starters
22 Marche' Amerson 6'1" Junior Forward
Rated a three-star recruit by ESPN HoopGurlz. Ranked as the No. 82 forward nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz. Listed as the No. 37 overall prospect in the state of Texas by Premier Basketball Report. Chose Houston over Memphis, North Texas, Rice and Tulane.
33 Tyler Gilbert 6'2" Junior Forward
Rated as a three-star recruit by ESPN HoopGurlz. Ranked as the No. 31 post player nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz. Tabbed the No. 29 overall prospect in the state of Texas by Premier Basketball Report. Chose Houston over TCU, Arizona, Georgetown, Georgia Tech and New Mexico.
Rated a three-star recruit by ESPN HoopGurlz. Ranked as the No. 120 guard nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz. Two-time District 20-5A First Team selection. Helped lead Bellaire High to a 20-9 record in her senior season by averaging 10.4 points, 3.5 steals, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
Rated a three-star recruit by ESPN HoopGurlz. Ranked as the No. 82 forward nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz. Listed as the No. 37 overall prospect in the state of Texas by Premier Basketball Report. Chose Houston over Memphis, North Texas, Rice and Tulane.
MPG 31.2, FG% .369, 3PT% .311, PPG 9.5, RPG 4.2, APG 1.0, 30 steals, 17 blocks
Rated as a three-star recruit by ESPN HoopGurlz. Ranked as the No. 31 post player nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz. Tabbed the No. 29 overall prospect in the state of Texas by Premier Basketball Report. Chose Houston over TCU, Arizona, Georgetown, Georgia Tech and New Mexico.
MPG 24.6, FG% .441, 3PT% .000, PPG 8.1, RPG 5.8, APG .1, 18 steals, 57 blocks
3 Bianca Winslow 5'7" Junior Guard
Rated a three-star recruit by ESPN HoopGurlz. Ranked as the No. 120 guard nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz. Two-time District 20-5A First Team selection. Helped lead Bellaire High to a 20-9 record in her senior season by averaging 10.4 points, 3.5 steals, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
MPG 22.5, FG% .330 3PT% .327, PPG 4.8, RPG 1.7, APG 2.2, 22 steals, 1 block
15 Alecia Smith 5'7" Junior Guard
Rated a four-star recruit by Premier Basketball Report. Tabbed as the No. 15 overall prospect in the state of Texas by Premier Basketball Report. Chose Houston over New Mexico and North Texas.
MPG 29.3, FG% .291, 3PT% .270, PPG 7.5, RPG 2.4, APG 3.6, 32 steals, 2 blocks
21 Jessieka Palmer 6'1" Junior Guard
Rated a four-star recruit by ESPN HoopGurlz. Tabbed as the No. 9 point guard and the No. 61 overall prospect nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz. Listed as the No. 14 prospect overall in the state of Texas and No. 44 overall nationally by Premier Basketball Report. Chose Houston over UT-Arlington, UTEP, Southern Miss and North Texas.
MPG 27.1, FG% .390, 3PT% .255, PPG 9.8, RPG 4.7, APG 1.4, 15 steals, 6 blocks
Houston Bench
24 Mariah Mitchell 5'9" Freshman Guard
Was a three-time all-district honoree while at McKinney High School in McKinney, Texas. Also was a four-year letter-winner at guard. Averaged 19.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game through her freshman and sophomore seasons, putting her on the map as a top-100 recruit within the state of Texas according to MaxPreps.com.
MPG 19.9, FG% .333, 3PT% .333, PPG 6.2, RPG 2.5, APG .4, 21 steals, 1 block
34 Terran Alford 6'1" Senior Forward
Starred for the Oklahoma City Storm, a home-school basketball team, for three seasons. Averaged 10.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game as a senior. Was a two-time NCHBC Girls All-America selection. Recorded 14 double-digit scoring performances and five double-doubles in her senior season. Also played volleyball during her prep career.
MPG 15.5, FG% .439, 3PT% .000, PPG 3.4, RPG 3.6, APG 0.1, 13 steals, 7 blocks
Game Analysis
Boy, these are tough to write. Houston is just not a good team. In fact, they are just a bad team. This is the coaches first season, so he is playing kids he didn't recruit and will do the same next year with 4 juniors in the starting lineup. But the game must go on, and so must I.
UConn and Houston are both very balanced. UConn has 5 players averaging double digits. Houston has none. Statistically, these two teams couldn't be further apart. We all know how efficient UConn is with their #1 shooting percentage, assists/to ratio and all the other great things they are doing. Houston on the other hand, is at the bottom in almost every offensive category. They only average 35.8% FG shooting, 28.8% three point shooting, and their assists/turnovers are horrific with 262/433. UConn has all eight players in their regular rotation shooting over 50% and Houston has only two players that shoot over 40%.
I'm sure you can guess how this one will turn out. But I'll still give my prediction below.
Final Prediction
Pain. Big time pain for Houston and their new coach. This might end up being the ugliest game of all the ugly AAC games. And UConn has had some beauties against the bottom feeders of the conference.
The score will be whatever Geno wants it to be. And I think he will do the usual. Stop running and using pressure defense at some point. The starters will get 20-25 minutes and the bench will get plenty of time, including Ekmark.
My guess is UConn will score close to 100 points in this game and Houston will struggle to get to 40.
UConn by 60+.
The score will be whatever Geno wants it to be. And I think he will do the usual. Stop running and using pressure defense at some point. The starters will get 20-25 minutes and the bench will get plenty of time, including Ekmark.
My guess is UConn will score close to 100 points in this game and Houston will struggle to get to 40.
UConn by 60+.
Realtime RPI makes Houston a 1000 - 1 underdog.
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