Doggy's UConn/DePaul Pregame Report





UCONN vs DePaul

Day: Wednesday

Date: November 28th, 2018

Time: 7:00  

Location: XL Center
TV: SNY

                                         

No. 2 UConn Huskies                                DePaul Blue Demons                 5-0                                                                4-2

Prior Meetings

DEPAUL | UCONN LEADS 15-1 H: 5-0 | A: 6-0 | N: 4-1

12/28/83 DePaul 70, UConn 64 Coral Gables, Fla.
01/28/06 #5 UConn 84, #12 DePaul 75 Chicago, Ill.
03/06/06 #8 UConn 69, #15 DePaul 57 Hartford, Conn.
01/24/07 #7 UConn 88, DePaul 76 Storrs, Conn.
03/01/08 #1 UConn 77, DePaul 76 Chicago, Ill.
03/09/08 #1 UConn 86, DePaul 67 Hartford, Conn.
01/13/09 #1 UConn 77, DePaul 62 Storrs, Conn.
02/10/10 #1 UConn 95, DePaul 62 Chicago, Ill.
02/05/11 #2 UConn 89, #9 DePaul 66 Storrs, Conn.
01/21/12 #3 UConn 88, #21 DePaul 44 Chicago, Ill.
02/10/13 #3 UConn 91, DePaul 44 Storrs, Conn.
03/10/13 #3 UConn 94, DePaul 61 Hartford, Conn.
12/19/14 #2 UConn 98, #29 DePaul 64 Bridgeport, Conn.
12/02/15 #1 UConn 86, #18 DePaul 70 Chicago, Ill.
12/01/16 #2 UConn 91, #15 DePaul 46 Storrs, Conn.
12/08/17 #1 UConn 103, DePaul 69 Chicago, Ill.

LAST YEARS HIGHLIGHTS

Team Overviews

DePaul

DePaul comes into this matchup with a 4-2 record, beating Green Bay 73-64, Princeton 82-67, Kansas State 79-59 and Savanah 124-61. Their losses are to ranked teams with an overtime loss to No. 16 Syracuse on a last second shot 83-81 and to No. 1 Notre Dame 101-77. Against the Irish, DePaul ran out to an early lead and led after one quarter 29-22. But that was about it for the Blue Demons. Notre Dame was just too tough for them.

UConn

No. 2 UConn is now 5-0 after winning three games in three days in the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. UConn opened the season with a solid 85-53 win over Ohio State. They followed that with another very good win against Vanderbilt 80-42. In winning the Paradise Jam, the Huskies beat Ole Miss 90-50, St. John's 65-55 and Purdue 86-40. That's four Power-5 Conference teams with 2 against the SEC, 2 against the Big Ten along with a win against a Big East team.

Comparative Team Statistics

                                                UConn                                       DePaul

                                              81.2              PPG                     86.0

                                              48.0        Defensive PPG          72.5

                                              33.2        Scoring Margin          13.5

                                              52.2        Field Goal %              40.3

                                              30.1        Defensive FG%          44.5 

                                              39.8        Three Point %            34.5

                                              25.4        Defensive 3PT%        27.2

                                              72.8        Free Throw %            88.0

                                              38.8        Rebounds/game        38.0

                                                5.2        Rebounding Margin    -2.2 

                                              18.4        Assists per game       20.5

                                              11.0        Turnover per game    16.2

                                                1.7        Assists/TO ratio          1.3

                                                6.8        Steals per game        11.2

                                                1.6        Blocks per game         1.8

             

  UCONN

          

UConn Starters

24 Napheesa Collier

6'1" Senior Forward

33 Katie Lou Samuelson

6'3" Senior Guard/Forward

5 Crystal Dangerfield

5'5" Junior Guard

3 Megan Walker

6'1" Sophomore Guard/Forward

13 Christyn Williams
5'11" Freshman Guard

UConn Bench

10 Kyra Irwin

6'2" Junior Forward

25 Molly Bent 

5'9" Junior Guard

32 Batouly Camara 

6'2" RS Junior Forward

4 Mykala Coombs

5'8" Sophomore  Guard

34 Lexi Gordon

6' Sophomore Guard/Forward

20 Olivia Nelson-Ododa
6'4" Freshman Forward

UCONN TEAM STATS

*******************************************************************

Coach Doug Bruno

Doug Bruno’s powerful impact on the game he loves resonates across the entire spectrum of women’s basketball as not only a highly successful college coach and staunch advocate of academics, but a passionate and undaunted promoter of the sport itself.

The former DePaul basketball player who is forever grateful to the athletic scholarship he received from legendary Blue Demon coach Ray Meyer is heading into his 33rd season as the head coach at his alma mater. Born and raised in Chicago and a product of Quigley South High School, Bruno has transformed DePaul women’s basketball into a steadfast national power.

He has guided the Blue Demons to 16 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances---a feat only the NCAA elite of Connecticut, Notre Dame, Stanford, Tennessee and Oklahoma can also claim.  Since his return in 1988, DePaul has won 641 games, competed in 23 NCAA Tournaments and four Sweet Sixteen’s  (2006, 2011, 2014, 2016).  Bruno is the fourth active Division I head coach to reach the 600-win plateau. Bruno has won 708 games as a head coach, 668 as DePaul’s leader. He won the 700th game of his overall career on Feb. 9 at Butler.

DePaul Starters

34  Chante Stonewell

6'1" Junior Forward



1 Aston Millender
5'8" Senior Guard




35 Mart'e Grays
6'2" Junior Forward 

20 Kelly Campbell
5'10" Junior Guard




11 Sonya Morris
5'11" Freshman Guard

DePaul Bench

0 Rebecca Dahlman
5'9" Senior Guard


24 Tanita Allen
5'10" Senior Guard


23 Dee Bekeija
5'8" Sophomore Guard 

 DePaul Stats

 Game Analysis

DePaul is doing what they usually do in scoring a lot of points averaging 86 points per game. I'm sure Coach Bruno realizes his teams only chance to make a game of it is to make a lot of threes. The good news for DePaul is they take a lot of threes. Every player on the roster has hit a three pointer. Yes, every player. I bet there isn't another team in the country that can say that.  They have nine players that are in double digit three-point shots taken. They have taken 229 three pointers in 6 games so far this season. That's 38+ per game. And they have taken only 424 shots in total. Crazy! On the other hand, UConn averages only 20 per game. Unfortunately for DePaul, they only make them at a 34.5% clip and it was much lower before their last game against Savanah where they were 22-41. But that was Savanah.  

As usual, DePaul is also one of the best passing teams in the country. Coach Bruno is an excellent offensive coach and his players usually do a great job valuing the ball.  But this season they have turned the ball over 16.2 times per game. More than usual. 

The question for DePaul is twofold. Can they hit their three point shots at a high percentage against UConn? Can they find a way to play enough defense to keep UConn under 80? Lasts year UConn broke open a close game in the first quarter with a 14-2 run and never looked back. DePaul did put up 43 threes, but they only made 12. They will have to do much better than that to stay in this game.

DePaul  pretty much has only two inside players in leading scorer 6'1" Chante Stonewall and 6'2" junior Mart'e Grays. They are the only two players over 6' tall in their rotation. 

DePaul is able to create turnovers against most teams, but UConn has not been sloppy with the ball so I don't expect DePaul to have much success in doing that although they will press to try to disrupt the UConn offense.. 

UConn's defense will have to work hard in preventing open threes. DePaul seems to find that open player. But UConn is the best at closing in on the open shooter with their amazing switching defense. DePaul will get some open looks. If they hit them at a high rate, DePaul can certainly make it close but I don't see how they can slow down the UConn offense. 

Final Prediction

After a loss in their first meeting ever in 1983, UConn has won the last 15 game in a rivalry that started in 2006. In their first 4 meeting since 2006 UConn won by an average of 8 PPG with one really close game won in the last second by the Huskies. Sine then UConn has won the last 11 games by an average of 30 PPG. I really don't expect this to be too different. Then again, DePaul always has that puncher's chance to upset UConn or at least keep it close. It will take them making 40% of the 40+ threes they will take. And for UConn to struggle on offense.

I just don't see that all happening so I would guess it ends up UConn by 20+.