UCONN vs Tulane
Day: Saturday
Date: February 14th, 2015
Location: Storrs, Ct
Time: 4:00
TV: CBS Sports
UConn 23-1 (12-0)
Tulane 19-5 (10-3)
Head to Head
This is the first meeting between these two teams.
Overview
This will be UConn's Pink Game and the 1994-95 team will be honored.
Tulane has lost twice to No. 25 South Florida and East Carolina in conference games. South Florida seemed to really have their number, holding Tulane to 45 points and 40 points in the two matchups.
Their only other losses were to at one time ranked Western Kentucky by 7 and by 11 to No. 7 Florida State. Their best wins were against Miami, NCST and LSU. Not great, but all Power 5 teams.
Still, they are one of the top 2 teams after UConn in the AAC and I will root for them to win every game other than this one.
UConn is coming off what I believe is the best regular season win in a long time. The build up, the atmosphere, the fans, how well they played.....I could go on and on. It was just wonderful for UConn fans. I don't think I have seen Geno as happy after a game that wasn't in the tournament.
The question is, how will the team play after this great win? Will they build on it and play with similar intensity? Or regress to the team that Geno was so upset with after the Memphis game. I'm betting on the former and not the latter.
UConn Starters
11 Kia Nurse 6' Freshman Guard
She didn't shoot particularly well in the South Carolina game, but I thought she showed that she was ready for the big stage. This can only help her in the AAC tourney and the NCAA tourney. Her minutes were down in that game, but some of that was because of how well Chong was playing. She was very aggressive and certainly not intimidated by the prime time environment.
2014-15: MPG 24.9, FG% .523, 3PT% .466, PPG 11.5, RPG 3.3, APG 3.3, 40 steals, 0 blocks
It's hard to say that someone that has had great games this year had a break out game against South Carolina. But I believe that only UConn fans really appreciated how good she really is and now the rest of WCBB knows. She had 3 plays that no other player in the country could duplicate. Her speed with the ball is faster than anyone else without the ball. It was just stunning. Her confidence is off the charts and combine that with her skills and you have the best point guard in the country.
2014-15: MPG 26.8, FG% .560, 3PT% .492, PPG 11.5, RPG 2.6, APG 4.6, 57 steals, 3 block
23 Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 5'11" Senior Forward
The Rock. Yes, I keep repeating myself but it's who she is. I don't think I have seen her so animated in a game and it was great to see. It might have been one of the best three point shooting I've seen in a long time.
2014-15: MPG 28.4, FG% .529, 3PT% .518, PPG 14.4, RPG 4.5, APG 2.7, 28 steals, 3 blocks
3 Morgan Tuck 6'2" Sophomore Forward
She showed everyone you don't have to be 6'4" to dominate the paint. She was able to get any shot she wanted with her ability to use either hand to finish. Her move to finish on the opposite side of the basket is unstoppable.
2014-15: MPG 24.9, FG% .577, 3PT% .200, PPG 13.9, RPG 5.1, APG 2.8, 19 steals, 9 blocks
30 Breanna Stewart 6'4" Junior Forward
If voters need to see something from her when considering POY candidates, they got it. What makes her different than Loyd and the other players vying for that award is her play on both sides of the ball. Her defense was huge in the South Carolina game. I'm sure she grabbed a few voters to her side. Now she just has to play that way the rest of the season. It was as physical as I've seen her.
2014-15: MPG 27.0, FG% .526, 3PT% .328, PPG 16.4, RPG 6.6, APG 3.0, 40 steals, 53 blocks
UConn Bench
She wasn't a big part of the game plan against South Carolina, but she should finish the season strong and this game would be a great place to start.
2014-15: MPG 19.8, FG% .532, 3PT% .500, PPG 5.1, RPG 7.5, APG .8, 14 steals, 109 blocks
Her stats weren't great against South Carolina but, boy did she play well. Her defense has improved enough that Geno trusted her for solid minutes in the biggest game of the season. Her confidence is sky high and she should carry that forward into this game.
2014-15: MPG 20.2, FG% .491, 3PT% .424, PPG 6.5, RPG 2.3, APG 1.8, 14 steals, 6 blocks
15 Gabby Williams 5'11" Freshman Guard
She didn't get the minutes we all thought she would after two double-doubles. But she looked comfortable in the few minutes she did get. Like Stokes, she wasn't part of the game plan against South Carolina. Look for a big game against Tulane. Gabby Williams leads the team w/ 51 offensive rebounds.
2014-15: MPG 16.9 FG% .624, 3PT% .000, PPG 8.9, RPG 6.3, APG 1.3, 33 steals, 11 blocks
She got minutes with the walk-on's but it has nothing to do with her potential. She needs to keep on working hard and I fully expect her to do that.
2014-15: MPG 12.5 FG% .300, 3PT% .227, PPG 2.1, RPG 1.8, APG .9, 5 steals, 0 blocks
UConn Complete Stats
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Tulane Starters
3 Kolby Morgan 5'8" Freshman Guard
20 Danielle Blagg 5'11" Senior Guard
Three-year letterwinner has played in 94 games with 65 starts for her career...enters senior season averaging 8.05 points, 6.23 rebounds, 1.28 blocks, 1.02 steals and 0.95 assists per game...in Tulane career history, ranks fifth in blocked shots (120) and blocks per game, eighth in field goal percentage (.532), 11th in offensive rebounds (229), 12th in total rebounds per game, tied for 13th in defensive rebounds (357) and 15th in total rebounds (586).
Four-year letter winner at John Curtis Christian for former Tulane All-American Barbara Farris ... Helped lead the Patriots to a combined 118-17 overall record and a perfect 40-0 mark in district play and four consecutive trips to the playoffs with District 9-2A title her first two prep seasons, the District 10-2A crown as a junior and a District 11-3A championship as a senior
MPG 28.7, FG% .441, 3PT% .273, PPG 12.6, RPG 4.8, APG 1.8, 55 steals, 5 blocks
Three-year letterwinner has played in 93 games with 56 starts for her career...enters senior season averaging 9.92 points, 3.98 rebounds, 0.95 assists, 0.84 steals and 0.49 blocks per game...in Tulane career history, ranks fourth in 3-pointers made (179) and 3-point attempts (520), eighth in 3-point percentage (.344), 13th in blocks per game, 16th in blocked shots (46), 20th in points per game, field goal attempts (944) and minutes per game (24.5) and 25th in defensive rebounds (267).
MPG 26.0, FG% .329, 3PT% .374, PPG 9.3, RPG 3.3, APG 1.3, 31 steals, 4 blocks
22 Tiffany Dale 6'1" Senior Forward
Three-year letterwinner has played in 94 games with 65 starts for her career...enters senior season averaging 8.05 points, 6.23 rebounds, 1.28 blocks, 1.02 steals and 0.95 assists per game...in Tulane career history, ranks fifth in blocked shots (120) and blocks per game, eighth in field goal percentage (.532), 11th in offensive rebounds (229), 12th in total rebounds per game, tied for 13th in defensive rebounds (357) and 15th in total rebounds (586).
MPG 23.9, FG% .552 3PT% .000, PPG 7.3, RPG 5.6, APG 1.1, 28 steals, 28 blocks
23 Jamie Kaplan 5'8" Senior Guard
Three-year letterwinner has played in 98 games with 65 starts for her career...enters senior season averaging 7.43 points, 4.41 assists, 2.21 rebounds, 0.88 steals and 0.01 blocks per game...in Tulane career history, ranks second in assists per game, third in assists (432), 16th in minutes per game (25.5), 17th in 3-point baskets (60) and 3-point attempts (222), 19th in free throw percentage (.719), 21st in 3-point percentage (.270) and 23rd in minutes played (2499).
MPG 26.0, FG% .341, 3PT% .273, PPG 6.7, RPG 2.4, APG 4.3, 22 steals, 1 block
15 Tierra Jones 5'9" Junior Forward
Two-year letterwinner has played in 50 games with 17 starts for her career...enters junior season averaging 2.58 points, 3.68 rebounds, 0.70 steals, 0.48 assists and 0.14 blocks per game.
MPG 14.8, FG% .539, 3PT% .000, PPG 4.4, RPG 3.6, APG 0.7, 16 steals, 1 blocks
Tulane Bench
11 Leslie Vorpahl 5'6" Sophomore Guard
Played in 30 games with 14 starts as a true freshman...named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team after leading the team in free throw percentage (.765) while ranking second in assists (94), 3-point baskets (36) and 3-point percentage (.330), third in free throws made (62), fourth in points scored (266) and points per game (8.9), and fifth in field goals made (84), steals (32), minutes played (752) and minutes per game (25.1).
MPG 21.1, FG% .427, 3PT% .384, PPG 7.9, RPG 2.3, APG 2.8, 38 steals, 4 blocks
15 Adesuwa Ebomwonyi 5'10" Senior Forward
Three-year letterwinner has played in 98 games with 41 starts for her career...enters senior season averaging 6.26 points, 5.42 rebounds, 0.89 steals, 0.84 assists and 0.32 blocks per game...in Tulane career history, ranks ninth in offensive rebounds (237), 17th in total rebounds (532), 18th in total rebounds per game , 20th in defensive rebounds (295), 22nd in field goal percentage (.443), tied for 22nd in blocked shots (31) and 24th in blocks per game.
MPG 17.9, FG% .377, 3PT% .290, PPG 5.0, RPG 4.8, APG 0.8, 20 steals, 5 blocks
45 Chinwe Duru 6'2 Junior Center
Two-year letterwinner has played in 62 games with 12 starts for her career...enters junior season averaging 4.98 points, 3.37 rebounds, 0.92 blocks, 0.29 assists and 0.26 steals per game.
MPG 20.0, FG% .496, 3PT% .000, PPG 7.2, RPG 4.4, APG 0.2, 7 steals, 25 blocks
Game Analysis
Tulane is going to have the same problem that many AAC teams have with UConn. They have little height and no one to match up with Stewart and Tuck. If UConn stays aggressive, this could be a similar game to many of the other conference games, a big time blowout.
Tulane starts 5'8, 5'8, 5'9", 5'11 and 6'1. And off the bench they bring in 5'6, 5'10 and 6'2. In a game that is all about matchups, this is a bad one for Tulane and an easy one for UConn. I would expect the bench to see lots of minutes, with Chong, Williams, Stokes and Ekmark getting plenty of time on the court.
So, how is Tulane 19-5 and 10-3 in the conference? Defense. They are a tough, hard nosed defensive team. They have only 20 less steals than UConn and they only give up 35% FG shooting and 27.7% three point shooting. Great defense against most teams. Unfortunately for them UConn is not most teams.
Final Prediction
Not much to say about this game. Tulane has one double digit scorer and they don't shoot very well. And now they have to go against the best defense in the country. Tulane might end up winning the UGGY for Saturday. That is about the only good thing that will come out of this game for Tulane.
UConn by 50+.
UConn by 50+.
Hard for to believe that I can't go to the Boneyard and link this preview.
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