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Message: [QUOTE="cferraro04, post: 4792777, member: 267"] [B][SIZE=5][COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)]COMMENTS:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B] [SIZE=4]Minnesota is a very young team: (7) Freshman; (3) Sophomores; (2) Juniors; (1) Senior: (1) Graduate. Their starter's heights are 5'10"; 5'11"; 6'0"; 6'1" and 6'5". Minnesota's go-to scorer is Mara Braun who also plays the most minutes. Sophia Hart is their biggest player at 6'5" however she only averages 19 minutes per game. Minnesota's rebounding is spread out between Mallory Heyer's 9.0, Sophia Hart's 4.7, and Niamya Holloway's 5.3. Minnesota averages 41.7 rebounds a game. Their best 3-point threat is Mara Braun. Mara takes roughly 10 threes per game and averages about 35 percent (11-28 in 3 games). As a team, Minnesota averages 16.0 turnovers per game but, I expect that the number will go up against UConn's smothering defense. They average a very respectable 52% from the floor and they shoot foul shots at about 70%. UConn will need to take care of the basketball as Minnesota gets about 16 steals per game. If UConn gets to 80 they should win the game as Minnesota averages close to 70 per game. Given UConn's vaunted defense, that number could be much lower. [/SIZE] [B][SIZE=5][COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)]MATCH-UPS:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B] [COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)][B][SIZE=5]Aaliyah Edwards 6'3" vs Sophia Hart 6'5"[/SIZE][/B][/COLOR][B][COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)] [/COLOR][/B]- Sophia will not play a lot of minutes more than likely Maggie Czinano and Ayianna Johnson will assist in trying to slow down Aaliyah Edwards. In this match-up Aaliyah will prove to be too much for Sophie and crew. I don't think Minnesota's substitution strategy will change Aaliyah's dominance in this position. [B][SIZE=5][COLOR=rgb(85, 57, 130)]ADVANTAGE - UCONN[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B] [SIZE=5][COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)][B]Caroline Ducharme 6'2" vs Mallory Heyer 6'1"[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE] - It is hard to tell what is going on with Caroline. The ice pack, while she is on the bench, could be a precautionary part of concussion protocols or it could be a necessary treatment for an ongoing situation. Mallory is almost a double-double player, averaging 8.3 and 9.0. Caroline has not been herself as she is usually a stat stuffer. This year has been a challenge for Caroline and it is fair to say that she has not as of yet rounded herself into her traditional role on the team. Her offensive and defensive production is off and if it continues against Mallory look for a quick substitution with Ice Brady. Due to the uncertainty of Caroline's play and the college game-time inexperience of Ice Brady this match-up is a bit sketchy. [B][SIZE=5][COLOR=rgb(85, 57, 130)]ADVANTAGE - MINNESOTA[/COLOR][/SIZE] [COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)][SIZE=5]Aubrey Griffin 6'1" vs Grace Grocholski 5'10"[/SIZE][/COLOR][/B] - Given the uncertainty of Azzi's availability in this game I will assume that Aubrey will get the start. Aubrey is playing quite well considering she only started in one game, she is doing her usual stat-stuffing. Aubrey is averaging 7+ in both points and rebounding. Aubrey's defense is stellar and her athleticism will produce steals and will probably prove too much for Grace. [B][COLOR=rgb(85, 57, 130)][SIZE=5]ADVANTAGE - UCONN[/SIZE][/COLOR][/B] [COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)][SIZE=5][B]Paige Bueckers 6'0" vs[/B] [/SIZE][/COLOR][B][COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)][SIZE=5] Mara Braun 6'0" [/SIZE][/COLOR][/B][COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)][SIZE=5][B]-[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)][SIZE=5] [/SIZE][SIZE=4]This match-up should be the marque match-up of the game. As we saw with the Maryland game Paige's competitiveness has put her recovery and limited minutes in the proverbial rearview mirror and she is off the charts good. C'mon the kid gets poked in the eye, goes to the bench and when she comes back into the game she plays like a demon-possessed. Mara Braun, likewise is Minnesota's stud and she is having a tremendous year. This match-up should be exciting but with Azzi being possibly side-lined I expect that Paige will put the team on her back and do whatever it takes for UConn to prevail. [/SIZE][/COLOR][COLOR=rgb(85, 57, 130)][SIZE=5][B]ADVANTAGE - UCONN[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)] [SIZE=5][B]Nika Muhl 5'11" vs Amaya Battle 5'11" - [/B][/SIZE][/COLOR][COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)][SIZE=4]This last match-up puts Minnesota's sophomore point guard against UConn's senior point guard. Amaya Battle has been having a great year averaging a respectable 11.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7 assists per game. However, Amaya will face incredible pressure from Nika and UConn's suffocating defense. Nika as well as UConn's team defense will disrupt Amaya and make it difficult for her to do what she wants to do. [/SIZE][/COLOR][COLOR=rgb(85, 57, 130)][SIZE=5][B]ADVANTAGE - UCONN[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)][SIZE=5][B]BENCH[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)][SIZE=4]UConn's bench is more productive than Minnesota's as UConn averages 35 points and 9.5 rebounds while Minnesota's bench averages 23.3 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. I expect UConn's bench will get a lot of minutes in this game as the scoring gap begins to widen. [/SIZE][/COLOR][COLOR=rgb(85, 57, 130)][SIZE=5][B]ADVANTAGE - UCONN[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)][SIZE=5][B]INTANGIBLES[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)][SIZE=4]While this is a home game for Minnesota, UConn averages 87.7 points per game and Minnesota averages 70 points per game. Look for UConn to use its offensive advantage to push this game to 80 plus territory while playing suffocating defense. [/SIZE][/COLOR][COLOR=rgb(85, 57, 130)][SIZE=5][B]ADVANTAGE - UCONN[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)][SIZE=5][B]COACHING[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=rgb(0, 0, 0)][SIZE=4]I will keep saying this over and over again, "we are truly blessed to have the coaching staff that we have". Geno, Chris, Jamelle Tonya, Morgan, and Ben as as good as it gets. When compared to Minnesota's coaching staff they simply have much more experience. Dawn Plitzuweit and Jason Jeschke have been together for about 7 years now...starting at South Dakota where they coached together for 5 years before moving on to West Virginia for a year and getting them into the NCAAs. Now Dawn is Minnesota's newly named coach and Jason is her Associate Coach. Dawn has amassed a 158-36 win-loss record but still while it is a good start she and Jason are far less experienced than Geno's and Chris's 11 national championships. [/SIZE][/COLOR][COLOR=rgb(85, 57, 130)][SIZE=5][B]ADVANTAGE - UCONN[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=rgb(226, 80, 65)][SIZE=5][B]SCORE[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=rgb(85, 57, 130)][SIZE=5][B]UConn - 105 Minnesota - 59 MOV - 46[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR] [/QUOTE]

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