UConn at UCLA
Day: Tuesday
Date: November 21, 2017
Location: Pauley Pavilion
Time: 10:30
Location: Pauley Pavilion
Time: 10:30
TV: ESPNU
No. 1 UConn Huskies No. 5 UCLA Bruins
No. 1 UConn Huskies No. 5 UCLA Bruins
3-0 3-0
Overview
Prior Meetings
UConn leads 4-0
H: 1-0; A: 1-0; N: 2-0
11/17/98 W 113-102 A
12/23/99 W 106-64 H
12/21/14 W 86-50 N
3/25/17 86-71 N
H: 1-0; A: 1-0; N: 2-0
11/17/98 W 113-102 A
12/23/99 W 106-64 H
12/21/14 W 86-50 N
3/25/17 86-71 N
UConn and UCLA have only met four times with the Huskies taking all four. In more recent times they met in December, 2014 where UConn hammered the Bruins 86-50.
They last played just 8 short months ago in March 2017 with UConn winning in the NCAA tournament regional in Bridgeport with the Huskies holding on for an 86-71 victory.
Four starters for each team are back from that meeting so these two teams are very much aware of each other and how they play.
If you are interested in watching that game again, here is the video.
If you don't have the time to watch the entire game, here are the highlights -
UCLA Overview
UCLA is off to a great start this season. They are now ranked 5th in the country. The Bruins are 3-0, beating San Jose State 129-69, Presbyterian 76-40, and No. 3 Baylor 82-68.
They are an upper classmen loaded team with 3 seniors and 2 juniors in their starting lineup. They bring 2 freshmen off the bench. They really won't go any deeper than that in competitive games and the bench won't see many minutes in those games.
This has to be one of the toughest early season schedules of any team in a long time adding No. 5 UCLA to make 4 ranked teams to start the season.
UConn will again be without starter Katie Lou Samuelson in one of her homecoming games. I'm sure she is incredibly disappointed that she will be riding the bench.
They are an upper classmen loaded team with 3 seniors and 2 juniors in their starting lineup. They bring 2 freshmen off the bench. They really won't go any deeper than that in competitive games and the bench won't see many minutes in those games.
UConn Overview
UConn is coming off a great 97-72 over No. 15 Maryland. They also beat then No. 10 Stanford 82-47 and then No. 20 California 82-47. This has to be one of the toughest early season schedules of any team in a long time adding No. 5 UCLA to make 4 ranked teams to start the season.
UConn will again be without starter Katie Lou Samuelson in one of her homecoming games. I'm sure she is incredibly disappointed that she will be riding the bench.
Comparative Team Statistic
Leader in Bold
UConn UCLA
85.7 PPG 95.7
57.3 Defensive PPG 59.0
57.3 Defensive PPG 59.0
28.3 Scoring Margin 36.7
45.1 Field Goal % 51.9
36.4 Defensive FG% 32.8
36.4 Defensive FG% 32.8
34.2 Three Point % 35.8
25.9 Defensive 3PT% 26.8
69.8 Free Throw % 76.5 25.9 Defensive 3PT% 26.8
43.7 Rebounds/game 45.7
18.3 Assists per game 22.0
15.3 Turnover per game 13.0
1.2 Assists/TO ratio 1.7
11.7 Steals per game 12.7
4.0 Blocks per game 6.7
Take these stats with a grain of salt. For one, it's only three games. Two, UConn has played three ranked teams and UCLA has played only one.
UCONN
UConn Starters
24 Napheesa Collier
6'1" Junior Forward/Guard
MPG - 27.0, FG% .455, 3PT% .333, FT% .500, 11.7 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2 blks, 6 stls
15 Gabby Williams
5'11" Senior Forward
MPG - 27.3, FG% .607, 3PT% .000, FT% .556%, 13.0 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 4.0 apg, 2 blks, 10 stls
11 Kia Nurse
6' Senior Guard
Min - 30, FG% .429%, 3PT% .636, FT 100%, 13 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 0 blks, 2 stl
5 Crystal Dangerfield
5'5" Sophomore Guard
MPG - 28.3, FG% .486, 3PT% .588, FT% .571%, 16.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 4.3 apg, 0 blks, 5 stls
23 Azura Stevens
6'6" Senior Forward/Guard
MPG - 22.7, FG% .500, 3PT% .182, FT .500%, 12.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2 apg, 5 blks, 4 stls
UConn Bench
3 Megan Walker
6'1" Freshman Guard/Forward
Min - 18.7 FG% .318, 3PT% .000, FT% .800, 6 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 2 blk, 2 stls
2 Andra Espinoza-Hunter
5'11" Freshman Guard
Min - 9.3, FG% .400, 3PT% .400, FT% .000, 2 ppg, .3 rpg, .3 apg, 0 blk, 1 stls
10 Molly Bent
5'9" Sophomore Guard
Min - 8, FG% .333, 3PT% .000, FT% .000, .7 ppg, 0 rpg, 0 apg, 0 blk, 0 stls
25 Kyla Irwin
6'2" Sophomore Forward
Min - 7.0, FG% .000, 3PT% .000, FT% .000, 0 ppg, .3 rpg, 0 apg, 0 blk, 1 stls
4 Mikayla Coombs
5'8" Freshman Guard
Min - 4.7, FG% .000, 3PT% .000, FT% .000, 0 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0 apg, 0 blk, 0 stls
34 Alexi Gordon
6' Freshman Guard
Min - 1.7, FG% .000, 3PT% .000, FT% .000, 0 ppg, .3 rpg, 0 apg, 0 blk, 0 stls
Out for the Game
33 Katie Lou Samuelson
6'3" Junior Guard/Forward
MPG - 23, FG% .455, 3PT% .250, FT% .917, 16.51 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1 blk, 4 stls
UCLA
Head Coach
Cori Close
Cori Close
Cori Close was named head women’s basketball coach at UCLA on April 21, 2011, and is currently 98-69 (.587) overall. She enters her sixth season at the helm of the Bruins’ program in 2016-17. Close was named the 2016 United States Marine Corps/WBCA NCAA Division I Region 5 Co-Coach of the Year (with Arizona State’s Charli Turner Thorne).
Close guided the Bruins to a 26-9 overall record in 2015-16, including a third-place finish in the Pac-12 with a 14-4 record (the No. 1 conference in the country in RPI) and guided the Bruins to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1999.
She led the Bruins to their first WNIT Championship in school history in UCLA’s first-ever appearance in the postseason tournament with a 62-60 win over West Virginia in Charleston, W.Va., on April 4, 2015. It marked UCLA’s first postseason title of any kind since winning the Pac-10 Tournament in 2006.
This is the first head coaching assignment for Close, who has worked as associate head coach or assistant on teams that have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 16 seasons, won at least 20 games in 16 of the previous 18 seasons and won or shared a total of 11 conference championships.
Close, who served on the Bruin coaching staff in 1994 and 1995, returns to Westwood after spending seven seasons as associate head coach at Florida State University. Considered one of the top offensive minds in the game, Close helped guide the Seminoles into a nationally-recognized program in her time. FSU ranked among the nation’s top 30 teams in scoring, field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage her last two seasons.
Close guided the Bruins to a 26-9 overall record in 2015-16, including a third-place finish in the Pac-12 with a 14-4 record (the No. 1 conference in the country in RPI) and guided the Bruins to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1999.
She led the Bruins to their first WNIT Championship in school history in UCLA’s first-ever appearance in the postseason tournament with a 62-60 win over West Virginia in Charleston, W.Va., on April 4, 2015. It marked UCLA’s first postseason title of any kind since winning the Pac-10 Tournament in 2006.
This is the first head coaching assignment for Close, who has worked as associate head coach or assistant on teams that have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 16 seasons, won at least 20 games in 16 of the previous 18 seasons and won or shared a total of 11 conference championships.
Close, who served on the Bruin coaching staff in 1994 and 1995, returns to Westwood after spending seven seasons as associate head coach at Florida State University. Considered one of the top offensive minds in the game, Close helped guide the Seminoles into a nationally-recognized program in her time. FSU ranked among the nation’s top 30 teams in scoring, field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage her last two seasons.
UCLA Starters
03 Jordan Canada
5'6" Senior Guard
MPG 26.3, FG% .606, 3PT% .636 PPG 17.3 RPG 2.3, APG 8.0
25 Monique Billings
6'4" Senior Forward
MPG 24.7, FG% .487, 3PT% .000 PPG 17.3 RPG 7.7, APG 2.0
22 Kennedy Burke
6'1" Junior Guard
MPG 32.7, FG% .567, 3PT% .167 PPG 14.3 RPG 9.0, APG 2.3
23 Kelly Hayes
6' Senior Guard
MPG 29.0, FG% .368, 3PT% .308 PPG 7.3 RPG 2.7, APG 2.7
11 Lajahna Drummer
6'1" RS Junior Forward
MPG 18.8, FG% .533, 3PT% 1.000 PPG 8.7 RPG 7.0, APG .7
UCLA Bench
0 Chantell Horvat
6'1" Freshman Guard
MPG 14.0, FG% .625, 3PT% .571 PPG 8.3 RPG 2.3, APG 1.3
21 Michaela Onyenwere
5'11" Freshman Forward
MPG 17.0, FG% .550, 3PT% .000 PPG 9.0 RPG 4.1, APG 1.4
MPG 17.0, FG% .550, 3PT% .000 PPG 9.0 RPG 4.1, APG 1.4
UCLA Bench
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Game Analysis
I watched the UCLA/Baylor game and UCLA looked really really good. That being said, Baylor was without Cox and their coach. The other two games were against pretty weak teams so not sure what to make of them.
UCLA has four starters back from last year and three of them are seniors.
UCLA has four starters back from last year and three of them are seniors.
Their best player is clearly Jordin Canada. She is tied for points scored with Billings, she is the leading playmaker, and plays like a coach on the floor. She loves to use screens to get to the basket. Canada has a great handle and uses her left hand well. You WILL see some spectacular drives and finishes from her. She has improved her pull up jumper AND her three point shooting making her really difficult to guard. She is just really good.
Monique Billings is their second best player and their best post. Tied with Canada for the team lead in scoring, she is also a terrific shot rebounder. With long arms and a quick jumper, her matchup with either Stevens, Williams or Collier will be fun to watch. Defensively she is an excellent shot blocker. She will get a couple in this game.
Kelly Hayes is the other senior starter. She really struggles from the field and three point land. But she is a good distributor of the ball and a very smart player and she plays solid defense.
The other two starters are juniors. Kennedy Burke is a big guard (6'1"). She has a nice mid-range game but she has really struggled shooting outside the arc. The other starter is now Lajahna Drummer, a 6'1" jumping jack. She rebounds well but not much of an offensive threat.
The Bruins have two freshman coming off the bench in Chantel Horvat, a 6'1" freshman guard along with Michaela Onyenwere, a 5'11" freshman forward. Both have contributed somewhat, especially in the two games they have played against the weaker teams so far. I don't expect them to be playing many minutes in this game other than to give the starters a few minutes of rest.
UCLA uses primarily a man-to-man defense, but they don't seem to press or put a lot of on the ball pressure. Their players are solid on the defensive side of the ball. And they do a nice job of switching. They will have to help Billings on the inside. UConn will try to take her away from the basket and then take advantage of whoever she isn't guarding in the post.
The Bruins have two freshman coming off the bench in Chantel Horvat, a 6'1" freshman guard along with Michaela Onyenwere, a 5'11" freshman forward. Both have contributed somewhat, especially in the two games they have played against the weaker teams so far. I don't expect them to be playing many minutes in this game other than to give the starters a few minutes of rest.
UCLA uses primarily a man-to-man defense, but they don't seem to press or put a lot of on the ball pressure. Their players are solid on the defensive side of the ball. And they do a nice job of switching. They will have to help Billings on the inside. UConn will try to take her away from the basket and then take advantage of whoever she isn't guarding in the post.
UConn has a great advantage in team speed. They will pressure UCLA trying to get the ball out of Canada's hands and into the other ball handlers. Although the Bruins don't turn the ball over a lot, they haven't met a defense like UConn's.
I believe that UConn has the advantage at every position, except maybe point guard with Canada vs Dangerfield but even that is pretty even.
Both UCLA and UConn love to run, but I'll say that the Bruins better be in amazing shape or UConn will run them into the ground. Both teams will not go very deep. In fact I would expect the UCLA starters all to play 35+ minutes except for Drummer, where the Bruins will rotate the two freshman in occasionally. UConn will go their 6 deep with Megan Walker coming off the bench and Geno just rotating those 6 players to rest a player here and there. If it's close, the rest of the bench will not see much time at all. If you see Espinoza-Hunter in the game while it's still competitive it means Geno is really starting to trust her.
Both UCLA and UConn love to run, but I'll say that the Bruins better be in amazing shape or UConn will run them into the ground. Both teams will not go very deep. In fact I would expect the UCLA starters all to play 35+ minutes except for Drummer, where the Bruins will rotate the two freshman in occasionally. UConn will go their 6 deep with Megan Walker coming off the bench and Geno just rotating those 6 players to rest a player here and there. If it's close, the rest of the bench will not see much time at all. If you see Espinoza-Hunter in the game while it's still competitive it means Geno is really starting to trust her.
Final Prediction
I have to tell the truth. I've been a UCLA fan for a long time. But it was the men's team that I followed as a young teen. It started with the remarkable young man Lew Alcindor, so tall and so graceful and so unique. And the hippie Bill Walton, near and dear to my heart. Many years of great play and great coaching by the greatest men's coach of all time, John Wooden. The great play of Connecticut native Rocket Rod Foster. I even have a UCLA sweatshirt.
But, this is a different time and a different gender. I haven't been a fan of the UCLA women's program as I have the men's team. But I have somewhat followed them over the years and they just played in March so my pre game report was not difficult to put together.
UConn is great at shutting down the best players and if they can't, they shut down everyone else. This should be no different in this game.
UConn will probably not hit 100 points. They might not hit 90 either. UConn's defense should shut down the Bruins.
UConn is just at a different level than a team like UCLA. With four starters for each team coming back for this game, you can really look at last years game as a predictor for this one. So what will change from that game? Well, for one, they are playing on the UCLA court. Two, the Bruins are coming off of the big win against Baylor. Three, UConn is without Samuelson. Four, UConn has a much improved Dangerfield and five, UConn as added a 6'6" player in Stevens. Add them all up and it should make this a more competitive game than the last one, which was surprisingly close.
They will really miss Samuelson in this game. Not for her excellent play, but being the third game in 5 days, the players might eventually be a little tired.
I don't see it being a runaway. More like a 10+ point win in this one.
But, this is a different time and a different gender. I haven't been a fan of the UCLA women's program as I have the men's team. But I have somewhat followed them over the years and they just played in March so my pre game report was not difficult to put together.
UConn is great at shutting down the best players and if they can't, they shut down everyone else. This should be no different in this game.
UConn will probably not hit 100 points. They might not hit 90 either. UConn's defense should shut down the Bruins.
UConn is just at a different level than a team like UCLA. With four starters for each team coming back for this game, you can really look at last years game as a predictor for this one. So what will change from that game? Well, for one, they are playing on the UCLA court. Two, the Bruins are coming off of the big win against Baylor. Three, UConn is without Samuelson. Four, UConn has a much improved Dangerfield and five, UConn as added a 6'6" player in Stevens. Add them all up and it should make this a more competitive game than the last one, which was surprisingly close.
They will really miss Samuelson in this game. Not for her excellent play, but being the third game in 5 days, the players might eventually be a little tired.
I don't see it being a runaway. More like a 10+ point win in this one.
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