Friday, December 20, 2019

Doggy's UConn/Oklahoma Pregame Report

Image result for oklahoma women's basketball logo

UCONN vs Oklahoma
Sunday
December 22th, 2019
 3:00 PM 
Uncasville, Ct
 CBSSports
                                         



No. 2 UConn Huskies                                   Oklahoma Sooners 
              9-0                                                                    7-4


Prior Meetings

OKLAHOMA | UCONN LEADS 12-0 H: 4-0 | A: 4-0 | N: 4-0
12/29/99 #1 UConn 84, Oklahoma 68 Norman, Okla.
03/25/00 #1 UConn 102, Oklahoma 80 Richmond, Va.
12/22/01 #1 UConn 86, Oklahoma 72 Hartford, Conn.
03/31/02 #1 UConn 82, Oklahoma 70 San Antonio, Texas
12/01/02 #3 UConn 73, Oklahoma 60 Honolulu, Hawaii
11/20/05 #9 UConn 82, #25 Oklahoma 62 Storrs, Conn.
11/30/08 #1 UConn 106, #4 Oklahoma 78 Storrs, Conn.
02/15/10 #1 UConn 76, #11 Oklahoma 60 Norman, Okla.
02/14/11 #2 UConn, 86, #12 Oklahoma 45 Hartford, Conn.
02/13/12 #2 UConn 73, Oklahoma 55 Norman, Okla.
12/19/17 #1 UConn 88, Oklahoma 64 Uncasville, Conn.
12/12/18 #1 UConn 72, Oklahoma 63 Norman, Okla.



LAST YEARS HIGHLIGHTS

 My Post Game Comments from Last Years Game

UConn came into this game having not played in 11 days and boy did it show. After a quick 6-0 burst to start the game (I was thinking blowout), the Huskies battled back and forth with a very game Oklahoma team. Sometimes a team will struggle on offense after a long layoff, and sometimes the struggle is on defense. For the next 20 minutes or so, it was both. The crisp play on offense was replaced with uncertainty and the quick double teaming and switching on defense was more like Tennessee's defense against Stanford on Tuesday. Always late to the open shooter.

Not to take anything away from Oklahoma. Sherri had them playing smart and confident. They fed off of their successes and after a 4 point play by Taylor Robertson the Sooners took a 12 point lead with 7 minutes left in the third quarter. UConn went on a quick 8-0 run to close to 4 and that's how the quarter ended.

So, down 52-48 going into the fourth quarter against a confident opponent in a hostile environment of 5000+ in Norman. How would this team respond to this adversity?    

Quite well, if you must know. After a three pointer by Robertson (isn't she something else?) to extend the lead to 7, 57-50,  UConn became UConn again. They went on a 13-5 run to finally take the lead at 63-62 on a post move by Collier. And they finished the game on a 13-1 run holding Oklahoma to one free throw with 13 second left in the game.

It was a great finish by the Huskies and that's what great teams do. I can name close games in many of the undefeated or championship season. It's something that can make a team stronger. I'm sure California is in for a world of hurt.   


Team Overviews

Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a young team that seems to be finding their footing. They started out the season going 4-4 with wins against Prairie View 94-48, UAB 82-75, Stephen Austin 75-62, and Abilene Christian 78-65.  They lost to No. 20 Missouri State 96-90, Houston 85-69, Wichita State 88-83, and Western Kentucky 74-63. Notice they lost to two AAC teams. 

 Since those last two losses Oklahoma has won their last three games. The first was then ranked No. 25 LSU 90-68. Don't be impressed. LSU is NOT a good team. They then beat Sam Houston State 95-71, 
and Drake 93-84. Hey, a three game winning streak is a three game winning streak. And scoring 90+ 
in each game is impressive. 

UConn

The Huskies come into this game at 9-0 on the season. They just came off a true Dr, Jekyl and Mr. Hyde type game against DePaul. That first half was something to behold. The second half was something to burn. Let's see which one shows up.  

Comparative Team Statistics

                                           UConn                                       Oklahoma

                                              78.6              PPG                       82.9
                                              57.6        Defensive PPG          74.2
                                              21.0        Scoring Margin            8.7
                                              48.0        Field Goal %               45.8
                                              34.6        Defensive FG%          41.7 
                                              37.6        Three Point %             40.0
                                              29.0        Defensive 3PT%        31,1
                                              71.8        Free Throw %              68.9
                                              43.9        Rebounds/game         41.2
                                                9.8        Rebounding Margin      3.3 
                                              18.4        Assists per game        17.1
                                              13.9        Turnover per game     19.6
                                                1.3        Assists/TO ratio              .9
                                                7.9        Steals per game            8.0
                                                5.6        Blocks per game           1.6

             


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Oklahoma

Sherri Coale
Coach Sherri Coale

Rare is the coach who embraces the balance of student and athlete like Sherri Coale. Even fewer teams have had success while emphasizing the books on the same level as the balls.
The symmetry is a trademark of Coale's program.
She meticulously prepares her athletes to excel in the classroom and on the hardwood. In essence, master the game of life and the challenges presented on the court will fall like dominoes.
Those obstacles have routinely been bulldozed during Coale's 23 years as the head coach of Oklahoma.
The numbers speak for themselves.
Take for example the six Big 12 Regular Season Championships, 64 All-Big 12 Team selections, the 127 Academic All-Big 12 honors, the four Big 12 Tournament Championships, the 16 All-District Academic Team members, the 19 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, the four Academic All-America Team Members, 13 All-Americans and nine Sweet 16 appearances.
The foundation was laid years ago during a humble upbringing in the oil mining town of Healdton, Okla. Those morals have stood as the roots of Oklahoma women's basketball for nearly two decades.
Now they are flourishing on an elite level.
That progress and consistent success has elevated Coale to elite status in college basketball as well a spot in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2016.


Oklahoma Starters


 Game Analysis

I remember last year's match up between these two teams very well. And since they return every player except one from last years game, we pretty much know what to expect. Sadly, I did not write a pregame report last year, so I had to start this one from scratch. Oklahoma is a similar team to DePaul in that they rely a lot on three point shooting. But unlike DePaul, who has every player on the team capable of shooting threes, the Sooners rely on pretty much one player to carry the heavy load on long range makes.

Taylor Robertson, the 5'7" sophomore is hands down, the most prolific and deadly three point shooter in WCBB today. Period. She leads the nation in three pointers attempted, three pointers made, three pointers made per game with almost 6 per game and is 12th in three point percentage at 49.1%. Oklahoma does a great job finding her when she is open, she has a quick release and unlimited range. Amazingly, she had made 56 three pointers and only 10 two pointers. She has taken 114 three pointers and taken only 18 two pointers. Most of those are back cuts. So....guess what. Find No. 30 and don't let her shoot the three. Easier said than done. As a freshman, she was 6-12 against UConn and scored 23 points. For this season, she leads the team in scoring at 19.5 per game.

The rest of the team takes only 136 threes compared to Robertson's 114. And they only shoot 32.3%. Getting open threes for the rest of the team is not a priority although I expect they will hit a few.

The next best player on the Oklahoma team is 6' junior guard Ana Llanusa. She is the second highest scorer at 18.5 per game. She has a solid perimeter game but has struggled on three pointers so far this season. She still takes around 6 per game even though she is shooting only 30.6%. She is a better shooter than that so UConn can't afford to leave her open. She is due to improve her percentage. The problem is, when tightly guarded, she has the handle to drive past her defender. She loves to attack the basket in transition.

6'1" Mandy Simpson is the only post presence for Oklahoma. Not tall but with a sturdy base, she carves out position with back to the basket moves. I'm not sure if she can do that against Nelson-Ododa.

Freshman 6' guard Gabby Gregory and Sophomore 5'8 guard Tatum Veitenheimer round out the starting lineup. Facially they look like sisters and their games are similar as well. Both will take the occasional three pointer,  but Veitenheimer is really the point guard on this team. She is a tough defender and a good passer. When they run, these two are in the middle of it.

The bench is comprised of three sophomores, but only one will see much time in this game. 6' Guard Madi Williams gets starter minutes and will see plenty of time in this game. It shows the talent on this team as Williams is the leading rebounder on this small team. She is tough on the boards and has a knack for being in the right place for rebounds as you can tell by her 8.9 rebound per game average. She is also third in scoring at 13.6 per game. This young lady can jump. It will be fun to see if she is matched up with Griffin at any point in this game.

Oklahoma likes to run off misses and either attach the hoop or look for players on the wings for a quick three pointer (mostly Robertson).  They do a really nice job with their interior passing, looking to make that extra pass for a better shot. A typical Sherri Coale team.

Defensively is the issue for Oklahoma. They are giving up 74 points per game and in their losses, they have given up 96, 85, 88 and 74 points. Their problem is that they are short and mostly slow. Robertson, as good as she is on offense, struggles on defense. If she is matched up with Dangerfield, it won't be pretty. They play mostly a man to man and occasionally slip into a zone. UConn will have an advantage in pretty much every match up so we might see plenty of zone in this game.     

UConn should be able to dominate the boards in this game like they did in the first half of the DePaul game and that will lead to fast break points. Oklahoma will struggle to get back on defense and UConn will run, run, and run. In the halfcourt offense, look for the Huskies to get the ball into Nelson-Ododa. She was very successful against DePaul. UConn will test the interior defense of the Sooners. 

UConn will have to find a way to either keep the ball out of Robertson's hands or have someone in her face on the perimeter. Easier said than done. She is slippery and finds the open spaces and it doesn't take her long to launch the ball.

The Huskies HAVE to take better care of the ball in this game than they did in the second half against DePaul. Hopefully that issue won't carry over here but Oklahoma will take advantage of those mistakes. 
    
Final Prediction

I'm sure that the UConn players that were there for last years game remember that they were down 12 points with 17 minutes left in the game. UConn shot only 40% in that game and were 2-17 on threes. Ugly.

Williams, Walker and Dangerfield were a combined 11-37, 1-11 on threes and Nelson-Ododa only played 4 minutes, had two quick fouls and was never seen again.

I don't expect a repeat of that game this time out. For one thing, the game is a "home" game for UConn. After that terrible 2nd half against DePaul, I'm pretty sure the team is pissed off and will play hard and smart. Don't forget that Chris Dailey is undefeated as a head coach.

UConn in a romp by 25+. 
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