Thursday
January 21rd, 2021
Thompson Boiling Arena
Knoxville, Tennessee
7:00 P.M.
7:00 P.M.
ESPN
No. 3 UConn Huskies No. 25 Tennessee Lady Vols
8-0 9-2
UCONN LEADS 14-9
Home: 5-4
Away: 4-3
Neutral: 5-2
01/16/95 #2 UConn 77, #1 UT 66 Storrs, Conn.
04/02/95 #1 UConn 70, #3 UT 64 Minneapolis, Minn.
01/06/96 #2 UConn 59, #4 UT 53 Knoxville, Tenn.
03/29/96 #4 UT 88, #2 UConn 83 (OT) Charlotte, N.C.
01/05/97 #1 UConn 72, #8 UT 57 Hartford, Conn.
03/24/97 #10 UT 91, #1 UConn 81 Iowa City, Iowa
01/03/98 #1 UT 84, #3 UConn 69 Knoxville, Tenn.
01/10/99 #2 UT 92, #1 UConn 81 Storrs, Conn.
01/08/00 #1 UConn 74, #2 UT 67 Knoxville, Tenn.
02/02/00 #4 UT 72, #1 UConn 71 Storrs, Conn.
04/02/00 #1 UConn 71, #2 UT 52 Philadelphia, Pa.
12/30/00 #1 UConn 81, #2 UT 76 Hartford, Conn.
02/01/01 #3 UT 92, #2 UConn 88 Knoxville, Tenn.
01/05/02 #1 UConn 86, #2 UT 72 Knoxville, Tenn.
03/29/02 #1 UConn 79, #6 UT 56 San Antonio, Texas
01/04/03 #3 UConn 63, #5 UT 62 (OT) Hartford, Conn.
04/08/03 #1 UConn 73, #5 UT 68 Atlanta, Ga.
02/05/04 #4 UConn 81, #1 UT 67 Knoxville, Tenn.
04/06/04 #6 UConn 70, #2 UT 61 New Orleans, La.
01/08/05 #10 UT 68, #15 UConn 67 Hartford, Conn.
01/07/06 #1 UT 89, #7 UConn 80 Knoxville, Tenn.
01/06/07 #4 UT 70, #5 UConn 64 Hartford, Conn.
1/23/20 #3 UConn 60 #23 Tennessee 45 Storrs, Conn.
Here is my write up and some videos from last years game
Team Overviews
Here is my write up and some videos from last years game
Using a second half defensive effort and led by their freshman duo, UConn was able to put away Tennessee and win this game going away 60-45.
It's hard to write about this game from a UConn perspective without talking about two things. Really bad shooting and really good defense.
For almost the entire game, UConn missed shots they usually make. From open three pointers to mid-range jumpers to even layups the Huskies just looked discombobulated when releasing their shots. Maybe it was the atmosphere of the big crowd on ESPN that get them just a little nervous. Remember, in games like this (and Baylor) it's maybe the first time for everyone except Dangerfield where they had to be the ones that made the shots. Last year they just watched Samuelson and Collier. Even Dangerfield, after coming out strong and going 4-4, was just awful from the field. I mean awful. The usually dependable Megan Walker looked a little unsure on her shots. It doesn't take much to create a little doubt in a players mind. Some of the poor shooting happens when the shot doesn't come in the flow of the offense. That happened several time. They length of Tennessee certainly had a lot to do with that.
So, when your shot is off, you need to do other things to make up for it. And boy, did the team do that. Once Tennessee reached 26 points in the second quarter, UConn turned up the defense and the Lady Vols struggled to get any good shots. They only scored 19 more points in the entire game. That is just a ridiculous number. Certainly Tennessee's bad offense had something to do with it, but I don't think I've seen the UConn defense play like this all season. Every team has an identity. Is this the identity of this team now? Great half court defense along with on the ball pressure? Yes, Tennessee had 27 turnovers and several were just bad plays by the Lady Vols. But behind Griffin and Makurat, UConn had 17 steals. They anticipated passes, jumped the passing lanes, dove for loose balls and just had great energy on the defensive end.
As Geno always says, if your shot is off, do something else to help the team. I'm pretty sure he didn't anticipate the entire team having their shot off. I'm pretty sure you won't find many games where a team shoots this poorly and wins by 15.
I'm just thrilled they won this game and won going away. I would have hated to see the internet if UConn had lost this game. It would have been ugly. Now it's just beautiful!!!
TOP FIVE PLAYS
Game Highlights
Full Game Replay
Game Highlights
Full Game Replay
Team Overviews
Tenessee has had an up and down season, even with a 9-2 record. They played two teams that were ranked at the time they played in Indiana and Arkansas. I'm really not impressed that much with either team. Indiana had so many open threes and just couldn't hit any in the 66-58 win for the Lady Vols. They were 2-27. No, that is not a misprint. Just hit 20% and Indiana wins. The Arkansas team just matched up poorly with Tennessee. The Lady Vols were just to big and long for the smaller Razorbacks in the 88-73 win. Tennessee was also very lucky to beat an improved LSU team 64-63 in a game that Tennessee really should have lost. Now, it's not all bad for Tennessee. They just beat a pretty good Alabama team that they lost to last season 82-56 in a real destruction of the Tide. There were plenty of cupcakes in their schedule as well, beating Western Kentucky 87-47, East Tennessee State 67-50, Furman 90-53, UNC Greensboro 66-40 and Lipscomb 77-52.
Comparative Team Statistics
UConn Tennessee
89.0 PPG 75.9
47.9 Defensive PPG 58.0
41.1 Scoring Margin 17.9
54.5 Field Goal % 46.2
29.4 Defensive FG% 34.0
35.8 Three Point % 31.9
23.8 Defensive 3PT% 28.7
72.0 Free Throw % 69.1
43.9 Rebounds/game 46.4
14.6 Rebounding Margin 15.0
22.8 Assists per game 16.8
14.9 Turnover per game 16.4
1.5 Assists/TO ratio 1.0
10.3 Steals per game 8.5
Once again, the stats are a little distorted. UConn has played only 8 games and one ranked team in DePaul. Tennessee has played 11 games with three against ranked teams now that Georgia is ranked this week. However, the Realtime RPI has UConn with the better RPI because Tennessee has played 4 teams with an RPI of over 228. It's easier to build up your stats against those team.
That being said UConn leads the country in FG% and is clearly the better shooting team. They also are the
better defensive team. And the better passing team.
UCONN
The player and coaches names for both teams
are clickable to see their Bios
UConn Starters
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Tennessee Lady Vols
Tennessee Starters
Tennessee Bench
Game Analysis
Well, here we go! For many fans of both teams, winning this game is as good as it gets. Lots of history and now the second game of the revival is here.
Let me start this analysis with a player match up exercise. It just got complicated with Griffin now starting. I'm not sure who will match up to who. I've changed is several times but I'll just give it my best shot.
Point Guard
5'11" Freshman Paige Bueckers vs 6'2 Sophomore Jordan Horston
This one was clear. Well, unless Coach Harper decided to replace Suarez at forward with Walker at point guard. But I'll go with this as her game time decision.
You'd think this match up would be close. No. 2 recruit from 2019 and the No. 1 recruit from 2020 going against each other. The stats say something else.
Bueckers is UConn's leads scoring at 18.1, assists at 5.5 and steals at almost 3 per game. She also grabs 5.6 rebound per game. More impressive are her shooting percentages. 58.3% on field goals, 53.8 on threes. Wow. And 79.2% from the line. She is just an amazing shooter. Just terrific stats for any player let alone a freshman.
Horston is averaging 9.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG and 4 assists per game. She also leads her team in steals at 1.9 per game. Horston is a real streaky shooter. She only shoots 39.8% from the field and 33% on threes. But she had a 3 game stretch where she was 4-7 on threes. And in her last two games she was 11-19 from the field and 3-5 on threes.
But of course, stats only tell part of the story. Bueckers does a great job running the offense. In her last game she had 6 assists in the first half and 10 points in the second half. The players seem to all look to her for leadership along with Westbrook. I just don't see that with Horston. In their bad loss to Georgia, she looked to be disinterested as Georgia made their comeback. She just didn't put in the effort.
Defensively, Horston will give Bueckers something she hasn't seen before a big player with quickness. But I can tell you with all honesty I haven't see a player with such great ball control and vision. This match up will come down to this. Can Bueckers handle the moment? This big game situation? I believe she will.
Advantage UConn
Shooting Guard
6' RS Junior Evina Westbrook vs 6'1" Junior Rae Burrell
I know that Geno likes to put his best defensive player on the other teams best scorer if possible. And I thought that might be Griffin on Burrell. But after thinking about it, I like this match up better.
Westbrook is having a great return to the court. She seems to get better every game. Through 8 games she is averaging 10.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3.9 APG. She has shown the leadership you would expect from a RS Junior.
Burrell is having the breakout year that most folks predicted for this talented player. She is leading Tennessee in scoring with 16.7 PPG. Her shooting percentages are excellent, going 49.0% from the field and 43.8% on threes, and 82.8% from the FT line.
Can Westbook put enough heat on Burrell to slow her down? I can say this for sure. Burrell is not the best defensive player and sometimes loses her man. She will see a lot of backdoor plays by Westbrook in this game.
Another really good match up. If Westbrook can keep it together emotionally I like her against Burrell, making it tough for Burrell to get open looks.
Advantage UConn
Wing
6'1"Sophomore Forward Aubrey Griffin vs 6'2" Junior Rennia Davis
Geno pretty much said that he is starting Griffin in this game for her size and quickness. And Davis is the likely target of his strategy.
Griffin has had a choppy season and her stats show it. She is averaging 8.8 PPG and 4.9 RPG. But this is in only 17.8 MPG. And her game is really coming into form with a double double in her last outing.
Davis is not having the All-American season that many predicted. But she is still averaging 14.2 PPG and 8.3 RPG. Nothing wrong with those numbers. And she has been much better the last several games. But she has disappeared at times.
Another match up that will come down to good defense against good offense. I'm not sure that Griffin can totally shut Davis down but I expect her to make it really hard on her.
Slight Advantage Tennessee
Forward
5'11" Junior Christyn Williams vs 6'2" Freshman Marta Suarez
I'm still not sure that this is how UConn's man-to-man defense will match up. Geno always surprises me. But if this is how it does match up, big advantage UConn. I really don't know how many minutes Suarez will see. I'm not sure there is anyone on the UConn roster she can cover. Maybe Makarat.
Williams is the third leading scorer at 14.9, even with a big fat zero in one game. She is just an all around performer. Suarez is averaging 6.1 PPG and 5.6 RPG. That is her strength. But she struggles in a quicker game and there is no way she can cover Williams.
This one was easy.
Advantage UConn
Center
6'5" Junior Olivia Nelson-Ododa vs 6'6" Sophomore Tamari Key
This is another interesting match up. ONO has had terrific season for sure and Key is playing at a higher level than last season.
Statistically ONO is averaging 16.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.9 blocks per game. Key is averaging 7.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4 assists total on the season and 1.7 blocks. All down from last season. She did have a really good same last time out with 12 points.
Defense is the mainstay for both of these players. Both are terrific shot blockers and shot alterers.
Foul trouble could come into play and I am concerned that Nelson-Ododa could have that happen defending the bigger player.
ONO has had several dominating games while Key has not. Experience matters with post players as well. So, I'm sure you can guess what I am going here.........
Advantage UConn
Bench
UConn
6'2" Sophomore Anna Makurat
6'3" Freshman Aliyah Edwards
5'11" Freshman Nika Muhl
5'11" Freshman Mir McLean
Tennessee
6'4" Junior Center Kasiyahna Kushkituah
5'8" RS Junior Jordan Walker
6' Freshman Destiny Salary
Two very different benches in regards to skills and position. The Lady Vols have some size off the bench to back up Key in Kushkituah. Big and slow. Walker is the only backup to Horston and could see extended minutes if Suarez struggles. Salary fouled out in 9 minutes in her last game. Enough said there.
UConn's bench now has a shooter to come in and hit some shots, if she takes them in Makurat. And Edwards is a double digit scorer off the bench. Geno is also giving early minutes to Muhl and McLean.
I'm pretty sure that Kushkituah well see some minutes for Tennessee off the bench, maybe even a few with Key on the court for a twin tower effect.
This was a closer match up last season. This year? Not so much.
Advantage UConn
Coach
Do I really have to do a comparison here? The best coach over the last 25 years vs a coach in her first season at her Alma Mater.
Geno has been the standard for a long time now. With 11 national championships and after passing Pat he has 1099 wins and better than .885 winning percentage, he is without peer at this time. He continues to recruit at the highest level.
Kellie Jolly Harper is a terrific young coach that is building a very nice resume. She has coached at Western Carolina, NC State, Missouri State and now Tennessee. Her 2020 class was not that great, but her 2021 class is better.
Harper continues to make mistakes in time outs and substitutions. And mistakes in this game will be consequential.
It's really not close.
Advantage UConn
Intangibles
Will there be 4000 fans in Knoxville? Maybe. Will it help? A little.
Advantage Tennessee
UConn has the advantage in almost every position. Some are closer than others, but the Huskies are the better team. That is no surprise.
Tennessee still doesn't seem to run much of an offense. They love to rebound and then run, but it always seemed forced. So much 1-1 play. A lot of standing around. Spacing is better but still pretty awful.
What they do well is defend the rim. Key and Kushkituah basically split the center position. You won't see them on the court at the same time too often in this game. If you do, it will change once UConn runs a few times. Tennessee is always big in the middle though with Key and KK. If UConn can drive through the defense as easily as I've seen other teams do, it will be a long night for Tennessee.
UConn will have to look out for the Tennessee full court press They are long and get their hands in the passing lanes. And once the press is broken, Key is there to protect the rim. This could be effective for Tennessee other than the fact that UConn passes so well. I would expect a few fast break baskets will stop the Lady Vols from pressing.
This will be an intense game from beginning to end and like last years game, the outcome could depend on which team handles the situation better. No matter how many times Geno downplays the game, everyone knows, including the players, that this is still a big game.
Final Prediction
A tough prediction here. I just don't know if Tennessee is really as good as they were against Alabama or as bad as they were in losing the lead against Georgia and the weak effort against LSU. UConn, albeit against a weak team, played really well in their last outing.
Personally, I think UConn is a better team than last year and Tennessee is around the same. And don't forget, UConn had it's worst shooting game in a long time in last years game. I don't expect that again.
Tennessee's talent will keep it fairly close.
UConn by 12+.
nice preview. thanks again.
ReplyDeleteTennessee 85, UConn 77
ReplyDeleteNeither team is making the Final 4 this year
And Im Calling it right now....
Geno Auriemma is never winning another National Title Again Period!
Next time UConn wins a natty it will be with a female head coach! (I dont think Geno will be at UConn much longer)