Analysis and comments - Game 21 - UConn vs Notre Dame

[JAMBall]

Shade would also be money from the middle of the zone. Heck even Nika looked pretty good from the foul line last night!

 

[kidfrom360]

They are going to play Nika on Hidalgo, similar to how they played Nika on the top scorer on St John.

 

[Tonyc]

I am confident Nika can keep Hidalgo under control. UConns challenge will be rebounding as ND is tall and physical. ND had problems against Virginias press which Virginia used late in the game and blew a 20 pt lead. I am confident that UConns press cause problems for ND. ND will have to keep up with UConns starters all who have shooting over 50% from the floor. Paige will be the difference maker. I have not seen a player like Paige since DT. Paige can get UConn what they need when they need it whether its a pass, a defensive stop or a shot. No team has a Paige. UConn will win this game by double digits

 

[Zarathustra]

COMMENTS

This is a game we have been waiting for. I am really glad that we are playing this one at Storrs. This will pit Notre Dame’s exceptional back-court and Westbeld against UConn’s 4 guard line-up which features the NCAA’s most efficient player in Paige Bueckers and an emerging All-American Aaliyah Edwards. To say that I am not excited to see this one would be a gross understatement.

Last year UConn went to South Bend without Paige and Dorka. Azzi Fudd only played 13 minutes in that one and was an “ofer”. Aubrey had an off game only scoring 3 points and Ducharme also had an off game only playing 13 minutes as well she only had 2 points. Thank God for Lou Lopez-Senechal who had 21 points. We took a beating 74 to 60. With Miles going for 21 points and 8 rebounds. Westbeld had 17 and 9; Citron had 10 and 6. Lauren Ebo went for 12 and 4. While Dara Mabrey contributed 10 points.

Notre Dame will shorten its bench to 7 players in close tough games. They will start: Maddy Westbeld 6’3” F, Sonia Citron 5’10 G, Hannah Hildago 5’6” G, Anna DeWolfe 5’8” G and Kylee Watson 6’4” F. KK Bransford 5’11” G will be first off the bench and will likely see about 20 minutes. The only other player who will see significant minutes (roughly about 10 minutes) is Nataliia Marshall 6’5” F.

Because Notre Dame will start 6’3”, 6’4”, 5’10’, 5’8”, and 5’6”…I think that Ice Brady may see a start in this game or she will be called into the game early. For the Analysis, I will go with prior practice which will be Geno starting: Aaliyah Edwards, Paige Bueckers, Nike Muhl, Ashlynn Shade, and KK Arnold. However, I would not be surprised to see Ice in the starting line-up.

Notre Dame has played a pretty weak schedule to date. Their current RPI is 27 and their SOS is 52. Their projected seasonal RPI is 39 and their SOS is 55. To date, they have faced teams with the following RPIs: 351, 287, 269, 240, 208, 188, 165, 126, 118, 77, 76. 52, 47, 37, 29 (North Carolina), 23 (Tennessee), 4 (South Carolina).

On the other hand, UConn has not shied away from the tough competition. Their current RPI is 2 and their current SOS is 2. Their projected seasonal RPI is 3 and their projected seasonal SOS is also 3. To date, UConn has faced teams with the following RPIs: 175, 164, 117, 113, 78, 70, 62, 57, 52, 35, 29, 21, 20, 17,13, 9, 7, 3.

The Gamer Winning Odds have this one 7.2 to 1 UConn with a projected score of 86-63.

UConn will need to take care of the basketball as Notre Dame averages 12.4 steals a game with Hannah Hildago playing the role of the “master thief” with 5.5 steals per game. They force 20.7 turnovers per game.

Notre Dame is a pretty good rebounding team averaging 42 rebounds per game. Don’t let Hannah Hildago’s size fool you at 5’6” she would be considered a good rebounding guard averaging 6.6 rebounds per game. Hildago and Citron are a formidable backcourt and they are assisted by two other guards in DeWolfe and KK Bransford

Notre Dame averages 84.4 points per game while giving up 60 on the defensive end. They shoot 47 percent from the floor and 36 percent from three.


ANALYSIS

Scenario 1

Aaliyah Edwards 6’3” vs Maddy Westbeld 6’3” - This will be one heck of a matchup and I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or both of them in foul trouble and have to go to the bench. I hope it is Maddy and not Aaliyah. Maddy averages 13.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Aaliyah averages 16.7 points and 8.1 rebounds against better competition. Aliyah’s footwork around the basket will help her get the advantage over Westbeld.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Paige Bueckers 6’0” vs Kylee Watson 6’4” - I don’t like this match-up but I don’t see anyone else besides Ice Brady matching up with Kylee. Paige gives up 4 inches and as a result, I hope Paige doesn’t find herself in foul trouble as Kylee uses her size to power to the basket. Paige is just too good a basketball player and I would look for Coach Ivy to put KK Bransford in to try and slow down Paige. In any case, if Paige stays out of foul trouble it is a no-brainer here.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Nika Muhl 5’11” vs Hannah Hildago 5’6” - This freshman has come into women’s college basketball on “firah”. Hannah is averaging 23.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.64 assists, and 5.5 steals per game. If she played for UConn and had those numbers we would be proclaiming her “all-everything” and there is a very good chance she will win the FOY when it is all said and done. But, for this game at least Nika will ask for the assignment as she always wants to play their best guard. Her defense will make things tough for Hannah but I think Hannah still manages to put in a solid game.
Once again foul trouble is a concern in this match-up…we simply don’t have enough players to make up for the loss of Nika. She has to stay on the court and not make silly fouls. Some might argue that if Nika can cause Hannah to not play up to her averages then she should be given the credit in this match-up. I don’t think that is the case, therefore,
ADVANTAGE - NOTRE DAME

KK Arnold 5’9” vs Sonia Citron 5’10” - Here is another awesome match-up Sonia averages 18.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. KK averages 9.8 points and 2.2 rebounds. 3.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game. On paper the advantage should go to Citron…however, Sonia has not faced anyone as annoying on defense as KK is. I think KK can pull Citron down from her averages while forcing Citron to play defense. Containing KK may be somewhat of a challenge for Citron.
ADVANTAGE - EVEN

Ashlynn Shade 5’10’ vs Anna DeWolfe 5’8” - Anna averages 9.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 threes per game. Ashlynn averages 11.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists .8 steals, and 1.5 threes per game. On paper this is a very close match, however, based on the level of competition played I will go with a slight…
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Scenario 2

Aaliyah Edwards 6’3” vs Maddy Westbeld 6’3” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

KK Arnold 5’9” vs Sonia Citron 5’10” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - EVEN

Paige Bueckers 6’0” vs KK Bransford 511”- It makes no difference if Paige plays Watson or Bransford the result will be the same. Paige will dominate this match-up. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Nika Muhl 5’11” vs Hannah Hildago 5’6” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - NOTRE DAME

Ashlynn Shade 5’10” vs Anna DeWolf 5’8” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

BENCH

Given the fact that Notre Dame will shorten its bench and the starters will play a lot of minutes in this one…they will bring 15.9 points and 8.7 rebounds off the bench. UConn will bring 11.9 points and 7.7 rebounds off the bench. ADVANTAGE - EVEN

COACHING

Niele Ivey is a good coach she has a good coaching staff with Michaela Mabrey and Charel Allen (no wonder the guards are so good). However, the UConn coaching staff is more experienced and has accomplished more. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

INTANGIBLES

It has been brought to my attention that Marquette has been left out of the top 25 which should cause them to play with a chip on their shoulder, however, UConn is playing at home in Storrs in front of the student body. UConn knows what this game means to the seedings in the NCAA so they will be up for this game. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

SCORE

UCONN - 81
NOTRE DAME - 63

MOV - 18

N.B. Sonia Citron is listed in the N.D. WBB web page 'roster' as SIX FOOT ONE INCH. Where did
the 5' 10" statistic come from??

 

[Centerstream]

INTANGIBLES

It has been brought to my attention that Marquette has been left out of the top 25 which should cause them to play with a chip on their shoulder, however, UConn is playing at home in Storrs in front of the student body. UConn knows what this game means to the seedings in the NCAA so they will be up for this game. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

SCORE

UCONN - 81
NOTRE DAME - 63

Once again I am going to nitpick.
Totally disagree with your Intangibles for the Golden Domers game.

 

[omshanti]

Great analysis as usual. The biggest concern I see is potential foul trouble for Arnolds and Edwards. KK and Aaliyah tend to get predictable offense fouls and that is the main reason for their foul trouble. Pass the ball back out and stop trying to force yourself into a spot and know when to pull up and shoot or pass. the four guard line is working So I doubt the starting line up will change. Looking fo to this one!

 

[Rb335]

Not sure why y’all are putting Paige on 6’5 Watson and not 6’3 Westbeld. To me it’s very obvious that she will be Westbeld prime defender. KK will be on Hildago and Nika will be on Citron.

Agreed. To me I’d suspect Geno applies defensive quickness in KK on Hidalgo, Nika on Citron since she has a bit more size, and Ashlynn on DeWolfe. Aaliyah should match up with the biggest player, and Paige gets whoever is left. See Paige splitting time between Westbeld, Bransford, and possibly Marshall.

Will be important for Ice to contribute quality minutes in this one.

 

[Bone Dog]

KK and Aaliyah tend to get predictable offense fouls and that is the main reason for their foul trouble.

Yup. The last few games opponents have made a concerted effort to draw charges. Some of them have been flops, of course, but all of them require effort to get into position. It must be suggested by the scouting those coaches done. I expect Geno is thinking about what to do about it

In the end, I don’t think it’s a great strategy. But Michigan used it to good effect against Cotie McMahon in their upset win over tOSU.

 

[cferraro04]

N.B. Sonia Citron is listed in the N.D. WBB web page 'roster' as SIX FOOT ONE INCH. Where did
the 5' 10" statistic come from??

You are right the ND website roster list has Citron at 6'1"...I guess I mixed her up with Olivia Miles who is 5'10"...however, Watson is listed at 6'4" not 6'5" (not that it makes that much difference).

 

[Cornell Lt]

Let's hope the game is not officiated by the "Final 4 " group from the Marquette. game. I think this will be a close game (single digits), I believe the Huskies need to be in a nail biter for the experience.

 

[DallasDomer]

COMMENTS

This is a game we have been waiting for. I am really glad that we are playing this one at Storrs. This will pit Notre Dame’s exceptional back-court and Westbeld against UConn’s 4 guard line-up which features the NCAA’s most efficient player in Paige Bueckers and an emerging All-American Aaliyah Edwards. To say that I am not excited to see this one would be a gross understatement.

Last year UConn went to South Bend without Paige and Dorka. Azzi Fudd only played 13 minutes in that one and was an “ofer”. Aubrey had an off game only scoring 3 points and Ducharme also had an off game only playing 13 minutes as well she only had 2 points. Thank God for Lou Lopez-Senechal who had 21 points. We took a beating 74 to 60. With Miles going for 21 points and 8 rebounds. Westbeld had 17 and 9; Citron had 10 and 6. Lauren Ebo went for 12 and 4. While Dara Mabrey contributed 10 points.

Notre Dame will shorten its bench to 7 players in close tough games. They will start: Maddy Westbeld 6’3” F, Sonia Citron 5’10 G, Hannah Hildago 5’6” G, Anna DeWolfe 5’8” G and Kylee Watson 6’4” F. KK Bransford 5’11” G will be first off the bench and will likely see about 20 minutes. The only other player who will see significant minutes (roughly about 10 minutes) is Nataliia Marshall 6’5” F.

Because Notre Dame will start 6’3”, 6’4”, 5’10’, 5’8”, and 5’6”…I think that Ice Brady may see a start in this game or she will be called into the game early. For the Analysis, I will go with prior practice which will be Geno starting: Aaliyah Edwards, Paige Bueckers, Nike Muhl, Ashlynn Shade, and KK Arnold. However, I would not be surprised to see Ice in the starting line-up.

Notre Dame has played a pretty weak schedule to date. Their current RPI is 27 and their SOS is 52. Their projected seasonal RPI is 39 and their SOS is 55. To date, they have faced teams with the following RPIs: 351, 287, 269, 240, 208, 188, 165, 126, 118, 77, 76. 52, 47, 37, 29 (North Carolina), 23 (Tennessee), 4 (South Carolina).

On the other hand, UConn has not shied away from the tough competition. Their current RPI is 2 and their current SOS is 2. Their projected seasonal RPI is 3 and their projected seasonal SOS is also 3. To date, UConn has faced teams with the following RPIs: 175, 164, 117, 113, 78, 70, 62, 57, 52, 35, 29, 21, 20, 17,13, 9, 7, 3.

The Gamer Winning Odds have this one 7.2 to 1 UConn with a projected score of 86-63.

UConn will need to take care of the basketball as Notre Dame averages 12.4 steals a game with Hannah Hildago playing the role of the “master thief” with 5.5 steals per game. They force 20.7 turnovers per game.

Notre Dame is a pretty good rebounding team averaging 42 rebounds per game. Don’t let Hannah Hildago’s size fool you at 5’6” she would be considered a good rebounding guard averaging 6.6 rebounds per game. Hildago and Citron are a formidable backcourt and they are assisted by two other guards in DeWolfe and KK Bransford

Notre Dame averages 84.4 points per game while giving up 60 on the defensive end. They shoot 47 percent from the floor and 36 percent from three.


ANALYSIS

Scenario 1

Aaliyah Edwards 6’3” vs Maddy Westbeld 6’3” - This will be one heck of a matchup and I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or both of them in foul trouble and have to go to the bench. I hope it is Maddy and not Aaliyah. Maddy averages 13.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Aaliyah averages 16.7 points and 8.1 rebounds against better competition. Aliyah’s footwork around the basket will help her get the advantage over Westbeld.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Paige Bueckers 6’0” vs Kylee Watson 6’4” - I don’t like this match-up but I don’t see anyone else besides Ice Brady matching up with Kylee. Paige gives up 4 inches and as a result, I hope Paige doesn’t find herself in foul trouble as Kylee uses her size to power to the basket. Paige is just too good a basketball player and I would look for Coach Ivy to put KK Bransford in to try and slow down Paige. In any case, if Paige stays out of foul trouble it is a no-brainer here.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Nika Muhl 5’11” vs Hannah Hildago 5’6” - This freshman has come into women’s college basketball on “firah”. Hannah is averaging 23.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.64 assists, and 5.5 steals per game. If she played for UConn and had those numbers we would be proclaiming her “all-everything” and there is a very good chance she will win the FOY when it is all said and done. But, for this game at least Nika will ask for the assignment as she always wants to play their best guard. Her defense will make things tough for Hannah but I think Hannah still manages to put in a solid game.
Once again foul trouble is a concern in this match-up…we simply don’t have enough players to make up for the loss of Nika. She has to stay on the court and not make silly fouls. Some might argue that if Nika can cause Hannah to not play up to her averages then she should be given the credit in this match-up. I don’t think that is the case, therefore,
ADVANTAGE - NOTRE DAME

KK Arnold 5’9” vs Sonia Citron 5’10” - Here is another awesome match-up Sonia averages 18.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. KK averages 9.8 points and 2.2 rebounds. 3.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game. On paper the advantage should go to Citron…however, Sonia has not faced anyone as annoying on defense as KK is. I think KK can pull Citron down from her averages while forcing Citron to play defense. Containing KK may be somewhat of a challenge for Citron.
ADVANTAGE - EVEN

Ashlynn Shade 5’10’ vs Anna DeWolfe 5’8” - Anna averages 9.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 threes per game. Ashlynn averages 11.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists .8 steals, and 1.5 threes per game. On paper this is a very close match, however, based on the level of competition played I will go with a slight…
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Scenario 2

Aaliyah Edwards 6’3” vs Maddy Westbeld 6’3” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

KK Arnold 5’9” vs Sonia Citron 5’10” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - EVEN

Paige Bueckers 6’0” vs KK Bransford 511”- It makes no difference if Paige plays Watson or Bransford the result will be the same. Paige will dominate this match-up. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Nika Muhl 5’11” vs Hannah Hildago 5’6” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - NOTRE DAME

Ashlynn Shade 5’10” vs Anna DeWolf 5’8” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

BENCH

Given the fact that Notre Dame will shorten its bench and the starters will play a lot of minutes in this one…they will bring 15.9 points and 8.7 rebounds off the bench. UConn will bring 11.9 points and 7.7 rebounds off the bench. ADVANTAGE - EVEN

COACHING

Niele Ivey is a good coach she has a good coaching staff with Michaela Mabrey and Charel Allen (no wonder the guards are so good). However, the UConn coaching staff is more experienced and has accomplished more. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

INTANGIBLES

It has been brought to my attention that Marquette has been left out of the top 25 which should cause them to play with a chip on their shoulder, however, UConn is playing at home in Storrs in front of the student body. UConn knows what this game means to the seedings in the NCAA so they will be up for this game. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

SCORE
UCONN - 81
NOTRE DAME - 63

MOV - 18

Sonia Citron is 6'1". I think you confused her height with Jenna Brown who hasn't played this year.

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fightingirish.com

 

[cferraro04]

Sonia Citron is 6'1". I think you confused her height with Jenna Brown who hasn't played this year.

Women's Basketball

The Official Athletic Site of The Fighting Irish. The most comprehensive coverage of Notre Dame Women’s Basketball on the web with highlights, scores, game summaries, and rosters. Powered by WMT Digital.

fightingirish.com

No, I think I confused her height with Olivia MIles...another potent guard for ND. Either way, suffice to say I was confused. lol

 

[VA Huskie]

UVA didn’t have much difficulty against ND’s size. And UVA’s biggest regulars are 6’2”. They did have a tough time with ND’s driving guards, which contributed to 44 foul shots by the Irish. I would think Nika guards Citron and KK is on HH. I can easily see KK getting into foul trouble. Should be a great game!

 

[my2cents]

Good analysis , but its missing one HUGE advantage for UCONN. GAMPEL....there will be 10,000 screaming UCONN fanatics rooting our team on.

 

[Zarathustra]

N.D. cannot look past Syracuse 16- 2 and 6 -1 in the ACC. Notre Dame is 14 -3 and
5 -2. N.D. cannot afford to lose another IN CONFERENCE game. Syracuse and Dyaisha
Fair beat N.D. in Syracuse on Dec. 31st 86 - 61. So, hopefully with a tough game
at South Bend, the Irish might be somewhat "spent" for the Sat game at Gampel.
On the other hand if N.D. loses again to The Orange they could be EXTRA scrappy
not to lose two in a row! I'm calling it UCONN OVER N.D. by 10. I 'll be watching for
the N.D. / Syr score from Thursday night.

 

[Zonepress]

COMMENTS

This is a game we have been waiting for. I am really glad that we are playing this one at Storrs. This will pit Notre Dame’s exceptional back-court and Westbeld against UConn’s 4 guard line-up which features the NCAA’s most efficient player in Paige Bueckers and an emerging All-American Aaliyah Edwards. To say that I am not excited to see this one would be a gross understatement.

Last year UConn went to South Bend without Paige and Dorka. Azzi Fudd only played 13 minutes in that one and was an “ofer”. Aubrey had an off game only scoring 3 points and Ducharme also had an off game only playing 13 minutes as well she only had 2 points. Thank God for Lou Lopez-Senechal who had 21 points. We took a beating 74 to 60. With Miles going for 21 points and 8 rebounds. Westbeld had 17 and 9; Citron had 10 and 6. Lauren Ebo went for 12 and 4. While Dara Mabrey contributed 10 points.

Notre Dame will shorten its bench to 7 players in close tough games. They will start: Maddy Westbeld 6’3” F, Sonia Citron 5’10 G, Hannah Hildago 5’6” G, Anna DeWolfe 5’8” G and Kylee Watson 6’4” F. KK Bransford 5’11” G will be first off the bench and will likely see about 20 minutes. The only other player who will see significant minutes (roughly about 10 minutes) is Nataliia Marshall 6’5” F.

Because Notre Dame will start 6’3”, 6’4”, 5’10’, 5’8”, and 5’6”…I think that Ice Brady may see a start in this game or she will be called into the game early. For the Analysis, I will go with prior practice which will be Geno starting: Aaliyah Edwards, Paige Bueckers, Nike Muhl, Ashlynn Shade, and KK Arnold. However, I would not be surprised to see Ice in the starting line-up.

Notre Dame has played a pretty weak schedule to date. Their current RPI is 27 and their SOS is 52. Their projected seasonal RPI is 39 and their SOS is 55. To date, they have faced teams with the following RPIs: 351, 287, 269, 240, 208, 188, 165, 126, 118, 77, 76. 52, 47, 37, 29 (North Carolina), 23 (Tennessee), 4 (South Carolina).

On the other hand, UConn has not shied away from the tough competition. Their current RPI is 2 and their current SOS is 2. Their projected seasonal RPI is 3 and their projected seasonal SOS is also 3. To date, UConn has faced teams with the following RPIs: 175, 164, 117, 113, 78, 70, 62, 57, 52, 35, 29, 21, 20, 17,13, 9, 7, 3.

The Gamer Winning Odds have this one 7.2 to 1 UConn with a projected score of 86-63.

UConn will need to take care of the basketball as Notre Dame averages 12.4 steals a game with Hannah Hildago playing the role of the “master thief” with 5.5 steals per game. They force 20.7 turnovers per game.

Notre Dame is a pretty good rebounding team averaging 42 rebounds per game. Don’t let Hannah Hildago’s size fool you at 5’6” she would be considered a good rebounding guard averaging 6.6 rebounds per game. Hildago and Citron are a formidable backcourt and they are assisted by two other guards in DeWolfe and KK Bransford

Notre Dame averages 84.4 points per game while giving up 60 on the defensive end. They shoot 47 percent from the floor and 36 percent from three.


ANALYSIS

Scenario 1

Aaliyah Edwards 6’3” vs Maddy Westbeld 6’3” - This will be one heck of a matchup and I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or both of them in foul trouble and have to go to the bench. I hope it is Maddy and not Aaliyah. Maddy averages 13.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Aaliyah averages 16.7 points and 8.1 rebounds against better competition. Aliyah’s footwork around the basket will help her get the advantage over Westbeld.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Paige Bueckers 6’0” vs Kylee Watson 6’4” - I don’t like this match-up but I don’t see anyone else besides Ice Brady matching up with Kylee. Paige gives up 4 inches and as a result, I hope Paige doesn’t find herself in foul trouble as Kylee uses her size to power to the basket. Paige is just too good a basketball player and I would look for Coach Ivy to put KK Bransford in to try and slow down Paige. In any case, if Paige stays out of foul trouble it is a no-brainer here.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Nika Muhl 5’11” vs Hannah Hildago 5’6” - This freshman has come into women’s college basketball on “firah”. Hannah is averaging 23.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.64 assists, and 5.5 steals per game. If she played for UConn and had those numbers we would be proclaiming her “all-everything” and there is a very good chance she will win the FOY when it is all said and done. But, for this game at least Nika will ask for the assignment as she always wants to play their best guard. Her defense will make things tough for Hannah but I think Hannah still manages to put in a solid game.
Once again foul trouble is a concern in this match-up…we simply don’t have enough players to make up for the loss of Nika. She has to stay on the court and not make silly fouls. Some might argue that if Nika can cause Hannah to not play up to her averages then she should be given the credit in this match-up. I don’t think that is the case, therefore,
ADVANTAGE - NOTRE DAME

KK Arnold 5’9” vs Sonia Citron 5’10” - Here is another awesome match-up Sonia averages 18.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. KK averages 9.8 points and 2.2 rebounds. 3.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game. On paper the advantage should go to Citron…however, Sonia has not faced anyone as annoying on defense as KK is. I think KK can pull Citron down from her averages while forcing Citron to play defense. Containing KK may be somewhat of a challenge for Citron.
ADVANTAGE - EVEN

Ashlynn Shade 5’10’ vs Anna DeWolfe 5’8” - Anna averages 9.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 threes per game. Ashlynn averages 11.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists .8 steals, and 1.5 threes per game. On paper this is a very close match, however, based on the level of competition played I will go with a slight…
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Scenario 2

Aaliyah Edwards 6’3” vs Maddy Westbeld 6’3” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

KK Arnold 5’9” vs Sonia Citron 5’10” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - EVEN

Paige Bueckers 6’0” vs KK Bransford 511”- It makes no difference if Paige plays Watson or Bransford the result will be the same. Paige will dominate this match-up. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Nika Muhl 5’11” vs Hannah Hildago 5’6” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - NOTRE DAME

Ashlynn Shade 5’10” vs Anna DeWolf 5’8” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

BENCH

Given the fact that Notre Dame will shorten its bench and the starters will play a lot of minutes in this one…they will bring 15.9 points and 8.7 rebounds off the bench. UConn will bring 11.9 points and 7.7 rebounds off the bench. ADVANTAGE - EVEN

COACHING

Niele Ivey is a good coach she has a good coaching staff with Michaela Mabrey and Charel Allen (no wonder the guards are so good). However, the UConn coaching staff is more experienced and has accomplished more. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

INTANGIBLES

It has been brought to my attention that Marquette has been left out of the top 25 which should cause them to play with a chip on their shoulder, however, UConn is playing at home in Storrs in front of the student body. UConn knows what this game means to the seedings in the NCAA so they will be up for this game. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

SCORE

UCONN - 81
NOTRE DAME - 63

MOV - 18

Barring injury Ice Brady will not start silly to suggest it would happen
Trying to match another teams strength is foolish
Let a player like Westbeld try and guard Paige or
Ashlyn
That’s the mismatch

 

[cferraro04]

Good analysis , but its missing one HUGE advantage for UCONN. GAMPEL....there will be 10,000 screaming UCONN fanatics rooting our team on.

Under the INTANGIBLES heading is the following words and it would seem like we are both on the same page: "UConn is playing at home in Storrs in front of the student body. UConn knows what this game means to the seedings in the NCAA so they will be up for this game."

 

[Ron and Vida]

I’ll be on pins and needles waiting for Shade to take her early threes that her confidence will overcome any heebie jeebies in such an emotional game

 

[cferraro04]

I’ll be on pins and needles waiting for Shade to take her early threes that her confidence will overcome any heebie jeebies in such an emotional game

Muhl brings the ball up past the half-court line...she passes it to Paige, who passes it to Aaliyah in the paint, Aaliyah passes it back out to KK on the perimeter who hands off to Muhl who fires a bullet pass to Ashlynn Shade in the corner. Shade shoots...Threeeeeee!

 

[Dillon77]

N.D. cannot look past Syracuse 16- 2 and 6 -1 in the ACC. Notre Dame is 14 -3 and
5 -2. N.D. cannot afford to lose another IN CONFERENCE game. Syracuse and Dyaisha
Fair beat N.D. in Syracuse on Dec. 31st 86 - 61. So, hopefully with a tough game
at South Bend, the Irish might be somewhat "spent" for the Sat game at Gampel.
On the other hand if N.D. loses again to The Orange they could be EXTRA scrappy
not to lose two in a row! I'm calling it UCONN OVER N.D. by 10. I 'll be watching for
the N.D. / Syr score from Thursday night.

A few things on that game:

• Yes, it's an important game for ND in the ACC.
• Believe you me, the Irish were not happy to lose for the first time ever to the 'Cuse. They'll be juiced.
• And, perhaps most importantly, Sonia Citron didn't play in that game. I can't emphasize how much Citron means to all aspects of the Irish. They are a much, much better team when she plays.

 

[Ouremblem]

We have to get Shade more shots. She’s too good a shooter to only get 7 shots.

 

[DEpup]

Another consideration: Notre Dame plays a fast paced Syracuse team Thursday evening. Presuming Friday is a travel day, not much time for the Irish.

That was going to be my intangible. ND has a short bench too so a tough game with Syracuse could have impacts.

 

[Zarathustra]

N.D. cannot look past Syracuse 16- 2 and 6 -1 in the ACC. Notre Dame is 14 -3 and
5 -2. N.D. cannot afford to lose another IN CONFERENCE game. Syracuse and Dyaisha
Fair beat N.D. in Syracuse on Dec. 31st 86 - 61. So, hopefully with a tough game
at South Bend, the Irish might be somewhat "spent" for the Sat game at Gampel.
On the other hand if N.D. loses again to The Orange they could be EXTRA scrappy
not to lose two in a row! I'm calling it UCONN OVER N.D. by 10. I 'll be watching for
the N.D. / Syr score from Thursday night.

My mistype on my note! The Winning Syracuse score was SYRACUSE 86
N.D. 81. At Syracuse, the Orange won the fourth quarter 25 -16 in a
come from behind win. Hildalgo for N.D. had 32 points and D. Fair had
27 for the home team. South Bend will really be rocking tonight.
Gampel and the Huskies will ROCK the IRISH! GO UCONN!

 

[huskeynut]

Muhl brings the ball up past the half-court line...she passes it to Paige, who passes it to Aaliyah in the paint, Aaliyah passes it back out to KK on the perimeter who hands off to Muhl who fires a bullet pass to Ashlynn Shade in the corner. Shade shoots...Threeeeeee!

Now per Q's request, the student body will go BOOM on every 3 UConn makes.

It is going to be very very loud come game time.

 

[Rowdy831]

COMMENTS

This is a game we have been waiting for. I am really glad that we are playing this one at Storrs. This will pit Notre Dame’s exceptional back-court and Westbeld against UConn’s 4 guard line-up which features the NCAA’s most efficient player in Paige Bueckers and an emerging All-American Aaliyah Edwards. To say that I am not excited to see this one would be a gross understatement.

Last year UConn went to South Bend without Paige and Dorka. Azzi Fudd only played 13 minutes in that one and was an “ofer”. Aubrey had an off game only scoring 3 points and Ducharme also had an off game only playing 13 minutes as well she only had 2 points. Thank God for Lou Lopez-Senechal who had 21 points. We took a beating 74 to 60. With Miles going for 21 points and 8 rebounds. Westbeld had 17 and 9; Citron had 10 and 6. Lauren Ebo went for 12 and 4. While Dara Mabrey contributed 10 points.

Notre Dame will shorten its bench to 7 players in close tough games. They will start: Maddy Westbeld 6’3” F, Sonia Citron 5’10 G, Hannah Hildago 5’6” G, Anna DeWolfe 5’8” G and Kylee Watson 6’4” F. KK Bransford 5’11” G will be first off the bench and will likely see about 20 minutes. The only other player who will see significant minutes (roughly about 10 minutes) is Nataliia Marshall 6’5” F.

Because Notre Dame will start 6’3”, 6’4”, 5’10’, 5’8”, and 5’6”…I think that Ice Brady may see a start in this game or she will be called into the game early. For the Analysis, I will go with prior practice which will be Geno starting: Aaliyah Edwards, Paige Bueckers, Nike Muhl, Ashlynn Shade, and KK Arnold. However, I would not be surprised to see Ice in the starting line-up.

Notre Dame has played a pretty weak schedule to date. Their current RPI is 27 and their SOS is 52. Their projected seasonal RPI is 39 and their SOS is 55. To date, they have faced teams with the following RPIs: 351, 287, 269, 240, 208, 188, 165, 126, 118, 77, 76. 52, 47, 37, 29 (North Carolina), 23 (Tennessee), 4 (South Carolina).

On the other hand, UConn has not shied away from the tough competition. Their current RPI is 2 and their current SOS is 2. Their projected seasonal RPI is 3 and their projected seasonal SOS is also 3. To date, UConn has faced teams with the following RPIs: 175, 164, 117, 113, 78, 70, 62, 57, 52, 35, 29, 21, 20, 17,13, 9, 7, 3.

The Gamer Winning Odds have this one 7.2 to 1 UConn with a projected score of 86-63.

UConn will need to take care of the basketball as Notre Dame averages 12.4 steals a game with Hannah Hildago playing the role of the “master thief” with 5.5 steals per game. They force 20.7 turnovers per game.

Notre Dame is a pretty good rebounding team averaging 42 rebounds per game. Don’t let Hannah Hildago’s size fool you at 5’6” she would be considered a good rebounding guard averaging 6.6 rebounds per game. Hildago and Citron are a formidable backcourt and they are assisted by two other guards in DeWolfe and KK Bransford

Notre Dame averages 84.4 points per game while giving up 60 on the defensive end. They shoot 47 percent from the floor and 36 percent from three.


ANALYSIS

Scenario 1

Aaliyah Edwards 6’3” vs Maddy Westbeld 6’3” - This will be one heck of a matchup and I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or both of them in foul trouble and have to go to the bench. I hope it is Maddy and not Aaliyah. Maddy averages 13.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Aaliyah averages 16.7 points and 8.1 rebounds against better competition. Aliyah’s footwork around the basket will help her get the advantage over Westbeld.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Paige Bueckers 6’0” vs Kylee Watson 6’4” - I don’t like this match-up but I don’t see anyone else besides Ice Brady matching up with Kylee. Paige gives up 4 inches and as a result, I hope Paige doesn’t find herself in foul trouble as Kylee uses her size to power to the basket. Paige is just too good a basketball player and I would look for Coach Ivy to put KK Bransford in to try and slow down Paige. In any case, if Paige stays out of foul trouble it is a no-brainer here.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Nika Muhl 5’11” vs Hannah Hildago 5’6” - This freshman has come into women’s college basketball on “firah”. Hannah is averaging 23.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.64 assists, and 5.5 steals per game. If she played for UConn and had those numbers we would be proclaiming her “all-everything” and there is a very good chance she will win the FOY when it is all said and done. But, for this game at least Nika will ask for the assignment as she always wants to play their best guard. Her defense will make things tough for Hannah but I think Hannah still manages to put in a solid game.
Once again foul trouble is a concern in this match-up…we simply don’t have enough players to make up for the loss of Nika. She has to stay on the court and not make silly fouls. Some might argue that if Nika can cause Hannah to not play up to her averages then she should be given the credit in this match-up. I don’t think that is the case, therefore,
ADVANTAGE - NOTRE DAME

KK Arnold 5’9” vs Sonia Citron 5’10” - Here is another awesome match-up Sonia averages 18.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. KK averages 9.8 points and 2.2 rebounds. 3.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game. On paper the advantage should go to Citron…however, Sonia has not faced anyone as annoying on defense as KK is. I think KK can pull Citron down from her averages while forcing Citron to play defense. Containing KK may be somewhat of a challenge for Citron.
ADVANTAGE - EVEN

Ashlynn Shade 5’10’ vs Anna DeWolfe 5’8” - Anna averages 9.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.3 threes per game. Ashlynn averages 11.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists .8 steals, and 1.5 threes per game. On paper this is a very close match, however, based on the level of competition played I will go with a slight…
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Scenario 2

Aaliyah Edwards 6’3” vs Maddy Westbeld 6’3” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

KK Arnold 5’9” vs Sonia Citron 5’10” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - EVEN

Paige Bueckers 6’0” vs KK Bransford 511”- It makes no difference if Paige plays Watson or Bransford the result will be the same. Paige will dominate this match-up. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Nika Muhl 5’11” vs Hannah Hildago 5’6” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - NOTRE DAME

Ashlynn Shade 5’10” vs Anna DeWolf 5’8” - See above.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

BENCH

Given the fact that Notre Dame will shorten its bench and the starters will play a lot of minutes in this one…they will bring 15.9 points and 8.7 rebounds off the bench. UConn will bring 11.9 points and 7.7 rebounds off the bench. ADVANTAGE - EVEN

COACHING

Niele Ivey is a good coach she has a good coaching staff with Michaela Mabrey and Charel Allen (no wonder the guards are so good). However, the UConn coaching staff is more experienced and has accomplished more. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

INTANGIBLES

It has been brought to my attention that Marquette has been left out of the top 25 which should cause them to play with a chip on their shoulder, however, UConn is playing at home in Storrs in front of the student body. UConn knows what this game means to the seedings in the NCAA so they will be up for this game. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

SCORE

UCONN - 81
NOTRE DAME - 63

MOV - 18

Citron is listed as 6'1 on ND site and would post up KK all night long if that is who guards her but I would think that KK would match up with Hidalgo and Nika would take the taller Citron. The small lineup vs the tall lineup, should be a good one.