UCONN vs UCF
Day: Wednesday
Date: February 7th, 2018
Location: CFE Arena,
Orlando, Fla.
Orlando, Fla.
Time: 7:00 PM
TV: SNY/ESPN3
No. 1 UConn 22-0 (12-0) Central Florida 16-7 (8-2)
Head to Head games
1/1/14 W 77-49 A
2/19/14 W 83-35 H
1/21/15 W 100-45 A
1/20/16 W 106-51 H
1/1/17 W 84-48 A
3/5/17 W 78-56 N
1/9/18 W 80-44 H
1/21/15 W 100-45 A
1/20/16 W 106-51 H
1/1/17 W 84-48 A
3/5/17 W 78-56 N
1/9/18 W 80-44 H
Here are the Highlights
from the first game this season
Overview
from the first game this season
Central Florida is 5-1 since losing to UConn almost a month ago. They lost the next game they played losing to South Florida. Since then they are on a 5 game winning streak. Last time they met UConn they were on a 4 game winning streak. In the most current streak UCF has beaten SMU, Tulane, Tulsa, Memphis and Cincinnati. The first four teams on that list are at the bottom of the league standings. But wins are wins and being 8-2 at this time of the season in the conference and with 5 games after the UConn game left in conference, they had a decent chance of winning 20 games this year.
UConn is 9-0 since playing UCF and beat two ranked teams in the process in Texas and South Carolina. They hammered Cincinnati in their last outing. One thing of note, UCF held Cincinnati to 38 points for the game in their win while UConn gave up 65. It doesn't mean a thing, but I thought that was interesting.
In the first game between these two teams UConn had their lowest scoring first half of the season, leading only 32-19. They turned it on in the second half outscoring UCF 48-25.
Stat by Stat Comparison
Leader is bolded
Leader is bolded
UCONN Central Florida
91.3 Points Per Game 58.5
55.5 Opp Points Per Game 53.7
.533 Field Goal % .406
.340 Opp Field Goal % .366
.405 3 Point Field Goal % .264
.405 3 Point Field Goal % .264
.291 Opp 3 Point Field Goal % .276
.759 Free Throw % .643
42.2 Rebounds Per Game 37.7
32.5 Opp Rebounds Per Game 34.6
22.6 Assists Per Game 12.6
12.9 Turnovers Per Game 15.4
1.8 Assists/Turnover Ratio .8
1.8 Assists/Turnover Ratio .8
10.5 Steals Per Game 10.7
5.4 Blocks Per Game 2.5
UCONN
UConn Starters
24 Napheesa Collier
6'1" Junior Forward
MPG -28.9, FG% .563, 3PT% .357, FT% .769, 15.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 3.1 apg
15 Gabby Williams
5'11" Senior Forward
MPG - 26.1, FG% .580, 3PT% .000, FT% .698, 10.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 5.0 apg
11 Kia Nurse
6' Senior Guard
MPG - 32.6, FG% .562%, 3PT% .500, FT .797, 15.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.9 apg
5 Crystal Dangerfield
5'5" Sophomore Guard
MPG - 29.6, FG% .464, 3PT% .460, FT% .773%, 10.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 4.3 apg
33 Katie Lou Samuelson
6'3" Junior Guard/Forward
MPG - 27.8, FG% .518, 3PT% .459, FT% .786, 17.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.4 apg
UConn Bench
23 Azura Stevens
6'6" Junior Forward
MPG - 22.0, FG% .604, 3PT% .154, FT .773, 14.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 2.1 apg
3 Megan Walker
6'1" Freshman Guard/Forward
MPG - 16.1, FG% .454, 3PT% .409, FT% .794, 6.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.1 apg
MPG - 16.1, FG% .454, 3PT% .409, FT% .794, 6.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.1 apg
32 Batouly Camara
6'2" Sophomore Forward
MPG - 3.5, FG% .400, 3PT% .000, FT% .750, 1.0 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.4 apg
10 Molly Bent
5'9" Sophomore Guard
MPG - 8.0, FG% .444, 3PT% .333, FT% 1.000, 1.0 ppg, .9 rpg, .6 apg
25 Kyla Irwin
6'2" Sophomore Forward
MPG - 9.2, FG% .535, 3PT% .267, FT% .286, 2.7 ppg, 1.2 rpg, .5 apg
4 Mikayla Coombs
5'8" Freshman Guard
MPG - 6.8, FG% .333, 3PT% .125, FT% .625, 1.1 ppg, .8 rpg, .6 apg
34 Alexi Gordon
6' Freshman Guard
MPG - 3.5, FG% .176, 3PT% .100, FT% .000, .5 ppg, .5 rpg, 1 apg
*******************************************************************
Katie Abrahamson-Henderson
Head Coach
On April 1, 2016, Katie Abrahamson-Henderson was announced as UCF's head women's basketball coach.
During the 2016-17 campaign, Abrahamson-Henderson led the Knights to their best season since joining the American Athletic Conference. Her squad achieved milestone after milestone in her first year at the helm.
Finishing the season with a 21-12 overall record, the Knights added 14 to its total in the win column from the previous season. That 14-victory swing was tied for the second-best turnaround among women's Division I basketball teams.
Under her guidance, a pair of Knights - Aliyah Gregory and Zykira Lewis - earned all-conference accolades. Having two Knights recognized on The American postseason teams was not the only program first; Gregory became the first Knight to earn First Team honors in The American.
Abrahamson-Henderson came to UCF after six seasons at Albany, where she led the Great Danes to a combined nine America East Conference tournament and regular season titles. Her Albany teams recorded five 20-win seasons en route to five-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including the program’s first bid in 2011 and its first NCAA Tournament victory in 2016.
During the 2016-17 campaign, Abrahamson-Henderson led the Knights to their best season since joining the American Athletic Conference. Her squad achieved milestone after milestone in her first year at the helm.
Finishing the season with a 21-12 overall record, the Knights added 14 to its total in the win column from the previous season. That 14-victory swing was tied for the second-best turnaround among women's Division I basketball teams.
Under her guidance, a pair of Knights - Aliyah Gregory and Zykira Lewis - earned all-conference accolades. Having two Knights recognized on The American postseason teams was not the only program first; Gregory became the first Knight to earn First Team honors in The American.
Abrahamson-Henderson came to UCF after six seasons at Albany, where she led the Great Danes to a combined nine America East Conference tournament and regular season titles. Her Albany teams recorded five 20-win seasons en route to five-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including the program’s first bid in 2011 and its first NCAA Tournament victory in 2016.
Central Florida Starters
5'10" Senior Guard
2 Korneila Wright
5'7" Sophomore Guard
MPG 33.1, FG% .369, 3PT% .280, PPG 10.1, RPG 3.3, APG 4.1
12 Nyala Shuler
6' RS Junior Guard
6' RS Junior Guard
MPG 29.9, FG% .416, 3PT% .250, PPG 4.3, RPG 7.4, APG 1.0
3 Zakiya Saunders
5'9" RS Senior Guard
MPG 35.9, FG% .414, 3PT% .300, PPG 14.4, RPG 5.8 APG 4.0
MPG 35.9, FG% .414, 3PT% .300, PPG 14.4, RPG 5.8 APG 4.0
5 Masseny Kaba
6'3" Freshman Forward
MPG 28.0, FG% .506, 3PT% .000, PPG 8.8, RPG 6.4 APG .5
Central Florida Bench
23 Lawriell Wilson
5'8" Junior Guard
MPG 17.3, FG% .396, 3PT% .000, PPG 4.4, RPG 3.3 APG 1.5
11 Kayla Thigpen
5'8" Junior Guard
MPG 14.8, FG% .389, 3PT% .429, PPG 3.4, RPG 2.6 APG .3
33 Jamesha Paul
5'8" Junior Guard
MPG 13.1, FG% .354, 3PT% .000, PPG 2.6, RPG 2.0 APG .6
Game Analysis
As I said before the first game, Central Florida is the kind of team that should really struggle with UConn. They have only two players 6' or more, they don't shoot well, they don't rebound well, they don't defend the deep post well. And since that game, their PPG average has gone down, their shooting percentage have also gone down. But after the UConn loss they actually won 5 of 6 games losing only to South Florida. Check out these points scored per game in the five game winning streak.
59, 58, 47, 50 and 61. Yes, those are the points scored by UCF in winning those games.
But that being said, they had pretty much the same issue last season and still managed to give the Huskies a tough time, only losing to them by 36 in their first matchup and 22 in the second matchup. And in the first game this season, UCF held UConn to 32 points in the first half. The Knights just make the two games a slop fest, with lots of bumping and hoping that fouls don't get called.
UCF starts 4 guards and one forward. 5'9" Saunders, 5"10 Gregory, 5'7" Wright and 6' Shuler Their lone post presence is 6'3" freshman Kabe. And they bring in three 5'8" junior guards off the bench.
Kaba is still the only player averaging 50%+ from the field. And this is against a pretty weak schedule. But it's clear by their stats that offense is not why they have won 16 games so far this season. In all of their victories, they have held their opponent to less than 60 points with those teams averaging 47 PPG. Again, that is a reflection of the schedule.
The offensive numbers for UCF are just ugly. They average 58 PPG, shoot 40% from the field, 26% on threes. They only TAKE 5 threes per game. It's just not part of their offense. A smaller team, they don't rebound well either, averaging 37 per game. As you can probably guess, they don't have a ton of assists either with 12.6 per game and they turn the ball over more than they assist with 15.4 TO's per game.
Defensively, they do force turnovers creating 18.8 per game and 11 of those are steals. It's their bread and butter. Being one of the smaller teams in the league, they only average 2.1 blocks per game. Their only post presence, Kaba, only has 16 blocks on the season. That doesn't even lead the Knights. That goes to Shuler with 23 blocks.
UConn is going to take advantage of ever mismatch and there will be several on the court, no matter who is in for the Huskies. Collier and Williams will take the ball hard to the basket and will either get fouled or make the shot. When Stevens is in, she will be able to dominate both the defensive and offensive boards. Katie Lou will be a nightmare for UCF. I expect her to dominate on the offensive end.
UConn will pressure UCF from the outset and see how that goes. Teams with 4 guards can sometimes handle the pressure defense and take advantage of the 2 on 1's that happen. Not Central Florida. They don't have enough quickness and not enough size to pass over the pressure. Look for lots of turnovers.
UConn totally neutralized the UCF offense in the first meeting holding them to 40 points. But UCF had UConn discombobulated on offense and they scored only 32 first half points. Can they do that to the Huskies again?
All the reasons I mentioned in the analysis makes this a really tough game for Central Florida. They will play hard and not quit, but it won't matter. And UConn will remember what happened in the first game and it's doubtful they will struggle like that again.
UCF slows UConn down enough to hold them under 90 points but UCF struggles to get to 40 again.
UConn by 45+.
59, 58, 47, 50 and 61. Yes, those are the points scored by UCF in winning those games.
But that being said, they had pretty much the same issue last season and still managed to give the Huskies a tough time, only losing to them by 36 in their first matchup and 22 in the second matchup. And in the first game this season, UCF held UConn to 32 points in the first half. The Knights just make the two games a slop fest, with lots of bumping and hoping that fouls don't get called.
UCF starts 4 guards and one forward. 5'9" Saunders, 5"10 Gregory, 5'7" Wright and 6' Shuler Their lone post presence is 6'3" freshman Kabe. And they bring in three 5'8" junior guards off the bench.
Kaba is still the only player averaging 50%+ from the field. And this is against a pretty weak schedule. But it's clear by their stats that offense is not why they have won 16 games so far this season. In all of their victories, they have held their opponent to less than 60 points with those teams averaging 47 PPG. Again, that is a reflection of the schedule.
The offensive numbers for UCF are just ugly. They average 58 PPG, shoot 40% from the field, 26% on threes. They only TAKE 5 threes per game. It's just not part of their offense. A smaller team, they don't rebound well either, averaging 37 per game. As you can probably guess, they don't have a ton of assists either with 12.6 per game and they turn the ball over more than they assist with 15.4 TO's per game.
Defensively, they do force turnovers creating 18.8 per game and 11 of those are steals. It's their bread and butter. Being one of the smaller teams in the league, they only average 2.1 blocks per game. Their only post presence, Kaba, only has 16 blocks on the season. That doesn't even lead the Knights. That goes to Shuler with 23 blocks.
UConn is going to take advantage of ever mismatch and there will be several on the court, no matter who is in for the Huskies. Collier and Williams will take the ball hard to the basket and will either get fouled or make the shot. When Stevens is in, she will be able to dominate both the defensive and offensive boards. Katie Lou will be a nightmare for UCF. I expect her to dominate on the offensive end.
UConn will pressure UCF from the outset and see how that goes. Teams with 4 guards can sometimes handle the pressure defense and take advantage of the 2 on 1's that happen. Not Central Florida. They don't have enough quickness and not enough size to pass over the pressure. Look for lots of turnovers.
Game Prediction
UConn totally neutralized the UCF offense in the first meeting holding them to 40 points. But UCF had UConn discombobulated on offense and they scored only 32 first half points. Can they do that to the Huskies again?
All the reasons I mentioned in the analysis makes this a really tough game for Central Florida. They will play hard and not quit, but it won't matter. And UConn will remember what happened in the first game and it's doubtful they will struggle like that again.
UCF slows UConn down enough to hold them under 90 points but UCF struggles to get to 40 again.
UConn by 45+.
No comments:
Post a Comment