Analysis and comments - Game 21 - UConn vs Notre Dame

[cferraro04]

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

 

[Tonyc]

Great job Charlie We will beat them with our quickness, speed and defense.

 

[jandab]

UCONN - 87
NOTRE DAME - 67
MOV - 20

 

[YKCornelius]

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

 

[cferraro04]

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

Another factor for the INTANGIBLES category

 

[kidfrom360]

Paige has a GAME!
UCONN 75
ND 63
MOV 12

 

[cferraro04]

Guys remember we have a separate prognosticators’ thread. Make sure to post your scores there.

 

[WLT1717]

I like UCONN but fear a quick whistle “under national scrutiny” will result in a tighter game, in which AE and KK and possibly NM will have some foul issues keeping margin close with UCONN winning by 9.

 

[Bone Dog]

Thanks again, @cferraro04. I love your take on the game, though I'm not as sanguine about the MoV. And I think I disagree with a couple matchups.

If ND starts Westbeld and Watson, I suspect Geno will play Aaliyah and Ice. He won't have Paige defending Watson or Westbeld except on switches. And if Aaliyah and Ice are on the floor together, Paige will sometimes defend like Aubrey at the top of the key. But when she's not out there, she'll be guarding Citron. Hidalgo and DeWolfe will be mainly defended by Nika and KK/Ash.

Geno may play the 4 guard lineup even if Watson and Westbeld are on the floor together, but primarily to press. The thing is, Hidalgo and Citron may prove very difficult to turnover in a press. So I don't think we'll see much of this.

On the other hand, if Ivey plays 4 guards with Westbeld in the post, I think Geno will play his 4 guards and they'll do very well against ND. I like Citron a lot, but our 4 guards are simply better than Hidalgo Citron DeWolfe and Bransford as a group. Hidalgo will be the fastest player on the floor and KK will be the second fastest. But the rest of the lineup is going to be slower and won't be able to stand up to the defensive pressure Nika Ash and Paige will bring to bear.

The prime matchups will be 1) Westbeld on Aaliyah and I think this will turn on who stays out of foul trouble, and 2) Hidalgo on Nika/KK. I don't think it will be possible to stop Hannah's offense completely. But it may be very possible to stop her passing game. If she gets no or few assists and has several turnovers, ND's offense will suffer.

Now to our offense:

Hidalgo is the same sort of defensive menace KK is, so on offense our passing has to be very crisp. Today's game against Marquette showed some very encouraging indications that KK and Ash can do exactly this. Also key will be Ash and Nika and especially Paige hitting from the perimeter. This will open up the paint for Aaliyah and Ice, but also put a lot of pressure on ND to score as quickly as we do. I suspect this may lead Hidalgo into some turnovers of her own. If Nika and Ash get hot from 3, and Paige is freed up to drive the lane and score from the midrange, Aaliyah will be difficult to handle.

This may be one of those games where we can't just approach it in the usual way, trying to get our offense from our defense. We may have to use our offense to power our defense. If they feel they can't stop Paige Nika and Ash, they may be easier to stop.

I'm hoping for a 10 point win in the 80s. But ND will be tough and this game could go south very easily. On the other hand, if our freshmen keep their cool and do what they are capable of, it will mean an enormous confidence boost for them.

 

[Bone Dog]

One thing I wanted to add, is that Hidalgo is susceptible to ball fakes. I noticed this watching replays of their games. Not many opposing teams have exploited this, but Syracuse did to good effect. I think this is the curse of really speedy players. They revel in their quickness and become almost prisoners of it. I imagine Paige will know how to take advantage of this. I hope Nika Ash and KK do as well.

 

[cferraro04]

Great job Bone Dog. In my analysis I too worried about potential foul trouble. I would really be worried if this game was played in South Bend. I also stated that I do not like the Paige vs Watson match-up But I also worry about Ice being ready for “prime time”. If not Ice then Geno will have no choice but to play Bueckers on Watson. I think Paige will quickly make it apparent that Watson can’t handle Paige. Coach Ivey will have to counter with Bransford which will set up a game where both teams run with a 4 guard line-up.

I do not think that Citron will have it easy with KK. If KK stays out of foul trouble she will make life difficult for Citron. I can’t wait for this game it will tell us exactly where we are in this season.

 

[Bone Dog]

I do not think that Citron will have it easy with KK. If KK stays out of foul trouble she will make life difficult for Citron.

I don't think Citron can stay with KK. She doesn't have the quickness, which is why that won't be her defensive assignment. The flip side of this coin is that KK may not be able to handle Sonia's size at 6'1". She is a heady veteran who knows how to get a defender on her hip and ride them to the rim, and she is a good outside shooter. In better times, this would have been Aubrey's assignment (sigh) or Caroline's (double sigh).

I assume Ivey will do everything she can to force mismatches through screens and to get KK or Ash on Sonia, or Ash on Hannah. I suspect she'll think she can win those matchups. The weak spot will always be DeWolfe and Bransford, who are capable players but not able to out play Nika or Ash.

The other wild card I left out above is Q. Her defense and her scrappiness pursuing rebounds and loose balls has improved significantly. I don't know who she'd guard -- maybe Sonia -- and she'd force someone to stay with her on the perimeter.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

Thanks again, @cferraro04. I love your take on the game, though I'm not as sanguine about the MoV. And I think I disagree with a couple matchups.

If ND starts Westbeld and Watson, I suspect Geno will play Aaliyah and Ice. He won't have Paige defending Watson or Westbeld except on switches. And if Aaliyah and Ice are on the floor together, Paige will sometimes defend like Aubrey at the top of the key. But when she's not out there, she'll be guarding Citron. Hidalgo and DeWolfe will be mainly defended by Nika and KK/Ash.

Geno may play the 4 guard lineup even if Watson and Westbeld are on the floor together, but primarily to press. The thing is, Hidalgo and Citron may prove very difficult to turnover in a press. So I don't think we'll see much of this.

On the other hand, if Ivey plays 4 guards with Westbeld in the post, I think Geno will play his 4 guards and they'll do very well against ND. I like Citron a lot, but our 4 guards are simply better than Hidalgo Citron DeWolfe and Bransford as a group. Hidalgo will be the fastest player on the floor and KK will be the second fastest. But the rest of the lineup is going to be slower and won't be able to stand up to the defensive pressure Nika Ash and Paige will bring to bear.

The prime matchups will be 1) Westbeld on Aaliyah and I think this will turn on who stays out of foul trouble, and 2) Hidalgo on Nika/KK. I don't think it will be possible to stop Hannah's offense completely. But it may be very possible to stop her passing game. If she gets no or few assists and has several turnovers, ND's offense will suffer.

Now to our offense:

Hidalgo is the same sort of defensive menace KK is, so on offense our passing has to be very crisp. Today's game against Marquette showed some very encouraging indications that KK and Ash can do exactly this. Also key will be Ash and Nika and especially Paige hitting from the perimeter. This will open up the paint for Aaliyah and Ice, but also put a lot of pressure on ND to score as quickly as we do. I suspect this may lead Hidalgo into some turnovers of her own. If Nika and Ash get hot from 3, and Paige is freed up to drive the lane and score from the midrange, Aaliyah will be difficult to handle.

This may be one of those games where we can't just approach it in the usual way, trying to get our offense from our defense. We may have to use our offense to power our defense. If they feel they can't stop Paige Nika and Ash, they may be easier to stop.

I'm hoping for a 10 point win in the 80s. But ND will be tough and this game could go south very easily. On the other hand, if our freshmen keep their cool and do what they are capable of, it will mean an enormous confidence boost for them.

Geno’s not changing his main line up. Period.

Put Paige on Westbeld and live with the results on defense but bank on Westbeld not being able to guard any of our guys o the perimeter. That’s the gamble we’ll have to make imo.

Aaliyah will be matched up with Watson. She needs to start knocking down that 15 footer again and no time like the present. Put Nika on Citron and KK on Hildago.

Ice comes in to refresh Aaliyah, this is not the game to go small imo. Our advantage lies in the mismatches.

I agree with you offensive analysis though.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

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.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

IMO ND will have more problems with UConn than UConn will have with ND!
UConn is playing so well as a unit! Where ND has just gotten several starters back from injuries!
I hope UConn doesn't come out too psyched up in the 1st period! They should play like they have for the last 13 games!
UConn being home will be a huge factor as the crowd will be all jacked up honoring those 4 past teams!

 

[Huskee11]

I don`t think anyone has mentioned that UConn should be back from Milwaukee tonight and will likely have Wednesday off, with practices to prepare for ND Thursday and Friday. Notre Dame, on the other hand, has a difficult home game against Syracuse on Thursday night, and then has to get to UConn. So the calendar/logistics gives UConn a big advantage.

A Saturday night game at Gampel is a rarity for UCWBB. When was the last time? The student section will be nutso. Huge homecourt advantage.

Nice to see UConn shot it well from three against Marquette after struggling in that area against DePaul. That should help their confidence.

 

[cferraro04]

Thanks to all the great comments on this thread. I may be wrong but the player profiles have Ciron at 5’10” and Watson at 6’4”.

 

[Cuango]

Have to agree. Citron is simply better at this point of their careers.

 

[Boreifs]

Matchups are so overrated when trying to predict this game. UConn switches on every screen and ND plays a lot of zone. I also find it hard to believe that anyone would expect Geno to change the starting lineup.

 

[Notyetready]

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.

So, we've got it covered.

And they will never match up with our quick starting five. If we sre shooting 50%, bye bye N.D.

 

[Next 12]

This game if you go by both teams numbers, Uconn wins every category but steals and free throws, Uconn has scored more points, more rebounds, baskets made( the team is over over 50% ), more assists, less turnovers, Has made 43 more 3pointers and is even in rebounds. I would call that statistically a wash that Uconn will win. Plus our 39-13 win ratio to me, means we have ND's No. Our team has just about reached the point where we can control every game to our advantage and the season will be one to marvel at. GO FRESHMEN!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!

 

[Cuango]

The biggest concern I have for this game is foul trouble! Hidalgo is really good and I‘m also afraid Paige and/or Ice are going to have problems with their size. Ice because of inexperience and Paige because of size. Knowing Paige, she is likely to rise to the occasion but I’m pretty worried about Ice and Q getting in foul trouble in this game. I can easily see a scenario where those two are in major foul trouble and if that happens Aaliyah is going to be under some serious pressure! Of course, it could go the other way too! That would be even worse! I realize we usually do pretty well with staying out of foul trouble and we’ll probably be fine, but nevertheless, I’m really worried about this game.

If, and it’s a big if, we can stay out of foul trouble I think we win this game pretty handily but I think some of my fellow Boneyarders are not giving HH the respect she is clearly due. I realize she’s “just” a freshman but she is far from an ordinary one! I know the basketball world is gaga over JuJu and Mikayla Williams (and rightfully so) but imo HH is at least on the same level as both of them and could be better.

Let’s just say I’m very glad we have Geno, and several days to get ready for this game! This is a big game for us!

 

[mhshuskies]

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

A lot of analysis, but to make it simple: “we have Paige, they don’t “!

 

[UConnCat]

Matchups are so overrated when trying to predict this game. UConn switches on every screen and ND plays a lot of zone. I also find it hard to believe that anyone would expect Geno to change the starting lineup.

Like Muffet, Niele does have them play what looks like a 3-2 zone. Dewolfe is the weak link defensively on the perimeter. I’m thinking Geno may flash Paige to the middle of that zone and let her shoot or make plays for her teammates.