UConn vs NC State
Day: Monday
Date: March 28 , 2022
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Bridgeport, CT
TV: ESPN
Huskies Wolfpack
28-5 32-3
NC STATE | UCONN LEADS 6-2
H: 1-1 | A: 2-0 | N: 3-1
03/21/91 #13 UConn 82, #7 NC State 71 Philadelphia, Pa.
12/29/91 #13 NC State 62, #19 UConn 59 Storrs, Conn.
12/10/94 #2 UConn 98, NC State 75 Raleigh, N.C.
03/23/98 #10 NC State 60, #3 UConn 52 Dayton, Ohio
03/24/01 #1 UConn 72, #18 NC State 58 Pittsburgh, Pa.
11/24/02 #6 UConn 78, NC State 50 Raleigh, N.C.
12/29/03 #1 UConn 87, NC State 53 Hartford, Conn.
03/24/07 #4 UConn 78, #18 NC State 71 Fresno, Calif.
NC State Season to Date
Not many top teams open the season with playing the No. 1 team in the country. BUt that is exactly what North Carolina State did when they took on South Carolina. It was a 66-57 loss but the Wolfpack learned from that game and would only lose two other games this season. A tough 82-80 overtime loss to Georgia and their only ACC loss of the season to Notre Dame 69-66. They would win the rematch with the Irish 66-63 in the Sweet Sixteen.
NC State had some really nice wins this year. In their OOC schedule, they beat up Maryland 78-60 in November. They beat another Big Ten team, Maryland, 66-58 in early December. Outside of the Notre Dame loss, the Wolfpack handled all of the other NCAA ACC teams beating North Carolina twice 72-45 and 66-58. Louisville 68-59, Georgia Tech 59-48, and Virginia Tech twice 68-66 and 70-55.
NC State looked great in their first NCAA games beating up on 16 seed Longwood 96-68 and 9 seed Kansas State 89-57. In the Sweet Sixteen game against Notre Dame, it took a great play by Raina Perez to give them the 66-63 win. That exciting finish has to give North Carolina State some great momentum going into the UConn game.
Comparative Team Statistics
UConn NC State
74.3 PPG 77.0
53.6 Defensive PPG 57.5
20.7 Scoring Margin 19.5
48.2 Field Goal % 46.6
34.8 Defensive FG% 36.0
34.5 Three Point % 36.8
28.7 Defensive 3PT% 28.3
69.2 Free Throw % 75.1
38.8 Rebounds/game 42.0
7.5 Rebounding Margin 9.2
18.3 Assists per game 14.1
14.0 Turnover per game 12.0
1.3 Assists/TO ratio 1.1
9.3 Steals per game 7.5
4.8 Blocks per game 3.0
UCONN
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are clickable to see their Bios
UConn Starters
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NC State
NC State Starters
So, lets see.......
First UConn plays a really experienced Central Florida team. Then they play a really experienced Indiana team. Now they play a team that has now won the ACC three years straight with the main players together for that long. The Wolfpack starts three grad students, a senior and a junior.
To start with North Carolina State starts two really good guards.
Kail Crutchfield, a 5'9" grad student, is not a big scorer. She only averages 6.4 PPG. But she brings a good defensive posture to the game and don't leave her open for a three points. She only takes 2 per game but she will hit close to half of them at 44.2%. Kai also has a solid 2-1 assist to turnover ratio.
Raini Perez is a 5'4" bundle of energy. It was no surprise the Grad Student made that great steal to propell NCST to the win over Notre Dame. Another great three point shooter at 39.3%, look for her to take those on the break. She just finds that opening to receive the pass and don't blink. The ball is out of her hands so quickly. She is averaging 8.5 PPG and leads the team in assists.
NC State isn't big but does start 6', 6'1" and 6'5" in the frontcourt.
Junior Jakia Brown-Turner is a 6' wing and yes, she can hit the three pointer. Not as prolific as others on the team, she shoots only 34.2% from deep. Her thing is driving to the basket and running on the fast break. She is a terrific athelete and third on the team in scoring at 9.5 PPG. She loves to get up and down the court.
Kayla Jones, a 6'1" grad student wide body. She is a strong to the basket type player, but don't leave her opne from deep. She sticks it at a 41% rate, but like Crutchfield, she only takes 1 or 2 per game. Jones is surprisingly slick on the driblle and can get to the rim and body up the defender. Jones averages 8.6 PPG and 4.8 RPG.
Elissa Cunane is a 6'5" senior and star of the team. A second team All-American the past two season, she is a true center. The leading scorer on the team, she averaged 13.6 PPG and also 7.6 RPG. She can also take it out to the three point line, shooting 13-29 on the season. Just a really good all around post.
5'5" sophomore Diamond Johnson comes off the bench. She is a big spark plug. Also short but thick and uses that to get open spaces to score. She is the second leading scorer at 10.9 PPG and takes the most three pointers, taking over 4 long range shots per game. Johnson hits them at a nice clip, 35.4%.
The only other bench player is 6'2" junior Jada Boyd. She is the only other size on the team and is the only player that is not a threat from deep. Similarly to Kayla Jones, Boyd uses her big frame to create space and get to the basket. A strong rebounder, she is averaging 7.4 PPG and 4.6 RPG.
North Carolina State brings a different set of issues for UConn to deal with. The first thing UConn will have to do is make sure they stay with the shooters. Easier said than done. And that is just about anyone on the floor. They shoot them off screens, off the break and pretty much shoot them when they are open. The second issue is their star center Cunane, She is a tough matchup for any big. A good post up player, fortunately for UConn they have a few big bodies to match up with her.
The Wolfpack play primarily man-to-man defense and play it well. Their switching is so good somethimgs it looks like they are playing a zone. However, they are just a good but not great defensive team. They can't cover the post due to a lack of size other than Cunane.
The Huskies will look to do more of what they did against Indiana. Pressure the ball handlers, run off of turnovers and find the open shooters. I believe Indiana was the better defensive team, so I'm thinking UConn will find gaps to score from. The lack of height for NC State in the backcourt could be an issure for them. The UConn guards are 6', 5'11", 5'11", 5'11" and 5'10. NC State is 5'5", 5'4" and 5'9". Look for some post ups from the guards for the Huskies.
Final Prediction
This is the match up we all thought it would be to get to the Final Four. 1 Seed vs 2 Seed. Love it.
So, how do I think this one will play out? Well, like I mentioned, Cunane is the key to NCST. Yes, they take a lot of threes, but it's too easy to have an off night. In fact, that is what happens to them against the better teams. Over the last 14 games, starting with their last loss which was against Notre Dame, they shot 32.2% on threes. Not nearly the productivity of the first 21 games where they shot 39.6%.
I believe that UConn has the bigs to keep her under control. In fact, I believe that Olivia has a good chance of outplaying her. Add in the advantage that UConn has at the guard spot with the newly invigorated Paige Bueckers and the soon to be star Azzi Fudd and stellar senior Christyn Williams and UConn will win this game and head to the final four.
UConn by 8+.
Nice post doggy. UConns depth means they dont have to be to concerned about foul trouble. With that said UConn must avoid early foul trouble. If NC State gets into foul trouble it could be a very long nite.
ReplyDeleteGo Huskies
Tonyc