Game Analysis - Game 8 - UConn vs South Florida

[cferraro04]

GENERAL COMMENTS:

Moving right along in this year's women's college basketball schedule, it is hard to believe that we are going into game #8. We are beginning to learn some things about this team as UConn is gearing up for the regular season. One of the things that is becoming very clear is that UConn has a very deep bench, which gives Geno plenty of options when it comes to mixing things up. We are also beginning to see that the defensive practice is paying off. The Huskies' defense is causing problems for their opponents. UConn is averaging a ridiculous 23.4 turnovers per game. They are taking good care of the basketball, only averaging 12.5 turnovers themselves. Fudd and Ziebell can shoot the three-ball well. Sarah Strong is a stat stuffer and is a legitimate candidate for Player of the Year. Finally, my preseason claim that it will be difficult to keep UConn under 90 points seems to be playing out as the Huskies are currently averaging 90.3 points per game.

Florida State is a difficult team to scout because it has used three different starting lineups so far this year. Deciding which players to use in the player matchup portion of this analysis had to be made based on what I thought would be South Florida's best matchups against this UConn team. Bottom line is South Florida is going to have matchup problems no matter how you stir the sauce. South Florida has an RPI OF 102 and a SOS of 70, while UConn's RPI is #1 in WBB at the moment. UConn's SOS is currently at 11. South Florida's record is 5 wins and 3 losses, while UConn remains undefeated. To South Florida's credit, they have 3 graduate students in their starting line-up. Two juniors round out their starting five.

PLAYER MATCHUPS:

Serah Williams, 6'4" - Senior Forward vs Fatau Diakite, 6'2" - Junior Forward - Fatau started in South Florida's last two games, and based on the Huskies' height, I am going to guess that she will get the start on Tuesday. Fatau averages 8.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, .9 steals, and .8 blocks per game. Serah is averaging 7.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, .9 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. In recent games, we have been seeing Serah assert herself more. She has been averaging 17.7 minutes per game as Geno has been tinkering with the lineups to get more players into the games. While the on-paper stats look close, Serah has been playing against tougher opponents and has been navigating her way through the Huskie system of basketball. Slight ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Sarah Strong, 6'2" - Sophomore Forward vs L'or Mputu, 6'2" - Graduate Forward - L'or averages 10.0 points, 9.0 rebounds per game. Sarah is filling up the stat sheet, averaging 18.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 3.4 steals, 2.3 blocks, and 1 three-pointer per game. There is just no one on South Florida's roster who would be able to contain Sarah. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Azzi Fudd, 5'11" - Graduate Guard vs Katie Davidson, 5'10" Graduate Guard - We have a pair of graduate guards in this matchup. Katie is averaging a respectable 13 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 three-pointers per game. Azzi is averaging a team-best 19.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.1 steals, and hits 3.9 three pointers per game. Azzi is shooting a sizzling 55 percent from three. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Ashlynn Shade, 5'10" - Junior Guard vs Stefanie Ingram, 5'8" - R-Junior Guard - Stefanie is averaging 10.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6'1 assists, 1.0 steals, and is hitting 1.3 three-pointers per game. Ashlynn seems to have found her stroke in the Xavier game. It would be great to see her build upon her last outing and start to become consistent with her shot. She is averaging 7.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and is currently hitting 1.3 threes per game. Currently, Stefanie has been impacting her team more effectively than Ashlynn, which is why she is averaging 31.5 minutes per game. ADVANTAGE - SOUTH FLORIDA

KK Arnold, 5'9" - Junior Guard vs Edyn Battle, 5'7" Graduate Guard - Edyn is South Florida's best scorer, averaging 14.2 points, 2.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. KK is just fun to watch...she gets into the passing lanes, picks pockets, and is an engine that doesn't quit. She is averaging 7.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.7 steals. This should be a great match-up between two speedy guards. While Edyn has a better stat line, I believe that KK has played against better competition, and Edyn hasn't faced anyone quite like KK. I think Edyn will have her hands full with KK, and that KK will make life difficult for Edyn in this game. ADVANTAGE - EVEN

BENCH:

UConn brings 34.4 points, 15.4 rebounds, 3.6 three-pointers, and 7.6 steals off the bench, while South Florida will bring 33.3 points, 20.7 rebounds, 1.8 three-pointers, and 2.9 steals off the bench. Again, we have South Florida on paper showing better stats than UConn, but it should be noted that they haven't played the competition that UConn has played, and they haven't faced a defense like they are going to see on Tuesday. I just don't think South Florida's bench is better than UConn's. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

COACHING:

Geno and his staff haven't won 12 national championships for nothing. They will get the job done and will come out with a double digit victory.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

INTANGIBLES:

Bigger, more experienced, better coaching, more talent.... ADVANTAGE - UCONN

SCORE:

UCONN - 87
USF - 61
MOV - 26

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Thanks!

 

[Bone Dog]

Excellent analysis, Sensei! Thanks again.

And the sign of a good analysis is that it makes disagreements possible. The matchups for Ash and KK are the most interesting ones. As you say in your bench analysis, "they haven't played the competition that UConn has played, and they haven't faced a defense like they are going to see on Tuesday." I'd say this applies even more to Battle and Ingram. I have a feeling KK and Ash, with the assistance of Kayleigh, Blanca and Allie will eat the USF guard corps for lunch.

For me, the most interesting question is whether Serah will come into her own against USF. This is better competition than Xavier, but no better than she was used to in the B1G. I hope the challenge will awaken her inner beast.

 

[Golden Husky]

@cferraro04: I rely on your analysis to familiarize me with the opposition before watching the game and I appreciate your effort.

 

[Next 12]

This game is a no brainer. USF has never beaten Uconn and most of Uconn's wins were in 30/40 point debacles. The end result will be a 35/40 point win for Uconn as usual. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!

 

[YKCornelius]

As a USF season ticket holder and watching every game, here's my take on the Bulls:

L'hor Mputu is their starting center and will be matched against Serah Williams from the tip-off. Although undersized at 6'2", she is EXTREMELY wiry, has springs in her legs, and runs like a deer. She also has huge hands that allow her to get rebounds against taller opponents that, quite frankly, she has no business getting. Due to her slim build, it is very difficult for her (and other USF bigs) to defend against tall and or strong opponents, and is therefore prone to foul trouble. This will be the first opponent that Serah Williams will be facing that is decidedly quicker than her. Fatou Diakite is rarely on the court with Mputu, but will platoon with each other throughout the game. If either/both get into foul trouble, Ines Piper will take the court as the now even smaller Bulls play zone defense. All said, this is a clear advantage to UConn.

For match-up discussions, Sarah Strong will be paired with Pre-season American Conference POY and Bulls team captain, Carla Brito, who just returned to the starting line-up two games ago after sustaining a leg injury right before the season. She has only appeared in the last four games, but she is the heart/soul of this year's team. Carla does a lot of things slightly above average, but nothing stand-out. She hustles a lot, and is not afraid to mix it up with the opponents best player(s). She will often play to the crowd, and enjoys trying to sell calls to the officials. I expect to see her in a leg brace, which affects her mobility. Although Carla is a grit and grime player, this is a huge advantage to UConn.

I am going to group the USF guards together since (1) they are interchangable and (2) because Edyn Battle might not be available. Simply put, the Bulls guards are quick and they run ALL the time. This, in my opinion, is the biggest difference between this year's team and that of the last few years (and what makes them fun to watch). Stefanie Ingram is the quickest and is the primary point guard. Edyn Battle (if she plays) is deceptively quick, as is the primary sub Kristen Lewis-Williams. All three will shoot whenever open, and all three will drive into the lane repeatedly to try to draw fouls. The third starting guard is Katie Davidson, easily the best shooter in the line-up. Although Davidson is not as quick as her backcourt mates, she makes up for speed with her hustle and court vision. All four guards are transfers this year from D-I programs where they were starters on their teams and, in the case of Battle/Davidson and Lewis-Williams, primary scorers as well. Hence, they will not hesitate to shoot when open. That said, whereas none of the Bulls guards are better scorers than the UConn guards (who is?), their pace of play should be a very good test for UConn. Decided advantage to UConn.

Every year it seems the USF Bulls have to rebuild their team due to the large amount of international players they bring in (this year they have ten). Like many programs, the transfer portal has had a significant impact as well. So what folks will see tomorrow is a team of experienced players from other programs - and different corners of the world - coming together to try their best to win the American conference, and then their conference tourney in order to qualify for the NCAAs. In that sense, they are very new to each other and, with Jose Fernandez now gone, learning to play under a new coach who has decided to increase the pace of the game - a lot. They do not full court press like Ohio State or Tennessee, but are not afraid to switch back and forth from man to zone coverage on defense, which is impressive given their lack of time playing together. Personally, I will be very interested to see how the USF seasoned guards handle the Huskies' press.

Despite the Bulls beating Duke handily, USF rightfully will be huge underdogs to UConn. Massey has the Bulls losing by 27, but I expect it to be more than that. Nonetheless, I also expect the Bulls to play hard throughout and will be very disappointed if they go quietly into that good night. Although I am a diehard UConn fan, I am bullish on the Bulls and am hoping they bring their best game so that they can learn and grow as much as possible.

Go Huskies!

 

[cferraro04]

As a USF season ticket holder and watching every game, here's my take on the Bulls:

L'hor Mputu is their starting center and will be matched against Serah Williams from the tip-off. Although undersized at 6'2", she is EXTREMELY wiry, has springs in her legs, and runs like a deer. She also has huge hands that allow her to get rebounds against taller opponents that, quite frankly, she has no business getting. Due to her slim build, it is very difficult for her (and other USF bigs) to defend against tall and or strong opponents, and is therefore prone to foul trouble. This will be the first opponent that Serah Williams will be facing that is decidedly quicker than her. Fatou Diakite is rarely on the court with Mputu, but will platoon with each other throughout the game. If either/both get into foul trouble, Ines Piper will take the court as the now even smaller Bulls play zone defense. All said, this is a clear advantage to UConn.

For match-up discussions, Sarah Strong will be paired with Pre-season American Conference POY and Bulls team captain, Carla Brito, who just returned to the starting line-up two games ago after sustaining a leg injury right before the season. She has only appeared in the last four games, but she is the heart/soul of this year's team. Carla does a lot of things slightly above average, but nothing stand-out. She hustles a lot, and is not afraid to mix it up with the opponents best player(s). She will often play to the crowd, and enjoys trying to sell calls to the officials. I expect to see her in a leg brace, which affects her mobility. Although Carla is a grit and grime player, this is a huge advantage to UConn.

I am going to group the USF guards together since (1) they are interchangable and (2) because Edyn Battle might not be available. Simply put, the Bulls guards are quick and they run ALL the time. This, in my opinion, is the biggest difference between this year's team and that of the last few years (and what makes them fun to watch). Stefanie Ingram is the quickest and is the primary point guard. Edyn Battle (if she plays) is deceptively quick, as is the primary sub Kristen Lewis-Williams. All three will shoot whenever open, and all three will drive into the lane repeatedly to try to draw fouls. The third starting guard is Katie Davidson, easily the best shooter in the line-up. Although Davidson is not as quick as her backcourt mates, she makes up for speed with her hustle and court vision. All four guards are transfers this year from D-I programs where they were starters on their teams and, in the case of Battle/Davidson and Lewis-Williams, primary scorers as well. Hence, they will not hesitate to shoot when open. That said, whereas none of the Bulls guards are better scorers than the UConn guards (who is?), their pace of play should be a very good test for UConn. Decided advantage to UConn.

Every year it seems the USF Bulls have to rebuild their team due to the large amount of international players they bring in (this year they have ten). Like many programs, the transfer portal has had a significant impact as well. So what folks will see tomorrow is a team of experienced players from other programs - and different corners of the world - coming together to try their best to win the American conference, and then their conference tourney in order to qualify for the NCAAs. In that sense, they are very new to each other and, with Jose Fernandez now gone, learning to play under a new coach who has decided to increase the pace of the game - a lot. They do not full court press like Ohio State or Tennessee, but are not afraid to switch back and forth from man to zone coverage on defense, which is impressive given their lack of time playing together. Personally, I will be very interested to see how the USF seasoned guards handle the Huskies' press.

Despite the Bulls beating Duke handily, USF rightfully will be huge underdogs to UConn. Massey has the Bulls losing by 27, but I expect it to be more than that. Nonetheless, I also expect the Bulls to play hard throughout and will be very disappointed if they go quietly into that good night. Although I am a diehard UConn fan, I am bullish on the Bulls and am hoping they bring their best game so that they can learn and grow as much as possible.

Go Huskies!

Great job, YK! It is always helpful to get the perspective of someone familiar with the team. Your insights are very helpful, and I can see where not knowing who is healthy and who has recently returned can cause matchup analysis problems...In this case, if I had gone by position and matched the UConn platoon against the USF platoon at every position, I probably would have come closer to your analysis. I think I am on the same page with USF's guards...I think they will cause the most problems for UConn; however, at the end of the day, I think UConn's guards have been tested by better competition thus far in the season and will prevail. As fast as USF's guards are, I have to wonder if they are as fast as KK, Kelis, and Heckel. I think there will be a lot of speed on both sides of the court tomorrow.

One thing I forgot to mention...I wonder if UConn being on a three-day road trip and playing one game in Chicago and one in Florida two days apart will have any effect on the players.

 

[Pharos]

Disagree with the assessments of Ashlynn and KK.

 

[MooseJaw]

GENERAL COMMENTS:

Moving right along in this year's women's college basketball schedule, it is hard to believe that we are going into game #8. We are beginning to learn some things about this team as UConn is gearing up for the regular season. One of the things that is becoming very clear is that UConn has a very deep bench, which gives Geno plenty of options when it comes to mixing things up. We are also beginning to see that the defensive practice is paying off. The Huskies' defense is causing problems for their opponents. UConn is averaging a ridiculous 23.4 turnovers per game. They are taking good care of the basketball, only averaging 12.5 turnovers themselves. Fudd and Ziebell can shoot the three-ball well. Sarah Strong is a stat stuffer and is a legitimate candidate for Player of the Year. Finally, my preseason claim that it will be difficult to keep UConn under 90 points seems to be playing out as the Huskies are currently averaging 90.3 points per game.

Florida State is a difficult team to scout because it has used three different starting lineups so far this year. Deciding which players to use in the player matchup portion of this analysis had to be made based on what I thought would be South Florida's best matchups against this UConn team. Bottom line is South Florida is going to have matchup problems no matter how you stir the sauce. South Florida has an RPI OF 102 and a SOS of 70, while UConn's RPI is #1 in WBB at the moment. UConn's SOS is currently at 11. South Florida's record is 5 wins and 3 losses, while UConn remains undefeated. To South Florida's credit, they have 3 graduate students in their starting line-up. Two juniors round out their starting five.

PLAYER MATCHUPS:

Serah Williams, 6'4" - Senior Forward vs Fatau Diakite, 6'2" - Junior Forward - Fatau started in South Florida's last two games, and based on the Huskies' height, I am going to guess that she will get the start on Tuesday. Fatau averages 8.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, .9 steals, and .8 blocks per game. Serah is averaging 7.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, .9 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. In recent games, we have been seeing Serah assert herself more. She has been averaging 17.7 minutes per game as Geno has been tinkering with the lineups to get more players into the games. While the on-paper stats look close, Serah has been playing against tougher opponents and has been navigating her way through the Huskie system of basketball. Slight ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Sarah Strong, 6'2" - Sophomore Forward vs L'or Mputu, 6'2" - Graduate Forward - L'or averages 10.0 points, 9.0 rebounds per game. Sarah is filling up the stat sheet, averaging 18.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 3.4 steals, 2.3 blocks, and 1 three-pointer per game. There is just no one on South Florida's roster who would be able to contain Sarah. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Azzi Fudd, 5'11" - Graduate Guard vs Katie Davidson, 5'10" Graduate Guard - We have a pair of graduate guards in this matchup. Katie is averaging a respectable 13 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 three-pointers per game. Azzi is averaging a team-best 19.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.1 steals, and hits 3.9 three pointers per game. Azzi is shooting a sizzling 55 percent from three. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

Ashlynn Shade, 5'10" - Junior Guard vs Stefanie Ingram, 5'8" - R-Junior Guard - Stefanie is averaging 10.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6'1 assists, 1.0 steals, and is hitting 1.3 three-pointers per game. Ashlynn seems to have found her stroke in the Xavier game. It would be great to see her build upon her last outing and start to become consistent with her shot. She is averaging 7.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and is currently hitting 1.3 threes per game. Currently, Stefanie has been impacting her team more effectively than Ashlynn, which is why she is averaging 31.5 minutes per game. ADVANTAGE - SOUTH FLORIDA

KK Arnold, 5'9" - Junior Guard vs Edyn Battle, 5'7" Graduate Guard - Edyn is South Florida's best scorer, averaging 14.2 points, 2.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. KK is just fun to watch...she gets into the passing lanes, picks pockets, and is an engine that doesn't quit. She is averaging 7.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 2.7 steals. This should be a great match-up between two speedy guards. While Edyn has a better stat line, I believe that KK has played against better competition, and Edyn hasn't faced anyone quite like KK. I think Edyn will have her hands full with KK, and that KK will make life difficult for Edyn in this game. ADVANTAGE - EVEN

BENCH:

UConn brings 34.4 points, 15.4 rebounds, 3.6 three-pointers, and 7.6 steals off the bench, while South Florida will bring 33.3 points, 20.7 rebounds, 1.8 three-pointers, and 2.9 steals off the bench. Again, we have South Florida on paper showing better stats than UConn, but it should be noted that they haven't played the competition that UConn has played, and they haven't faced a defense like they are going to see on Tuesday. I just don't think South Florida's bench is better than UConn's. ADVANTAGE - UCONN

COACHING:

Geno and his staff haven't won 12 national championships for nothing. They will get the job done and will come out with a double digit victory.
ADVANTAGE - UCONN

INTANGIBLES:

Bigger, more experienced, better coaching, more talent.... ADVANTAGE - UCONN

SCORE:

UCONN - 87
USF - 61
MOV - 26

While I usually agree with most you write I have to call BS on your matchups.

 

[YKCornelius]

On a tangential note, here are some additional thoughts to consider related to the make-up of this year's USF team. IMO these points are often a counterbalance to other WCBB fans' opinions throughout the year on why players enter the transfer portal.

1. As I indicated in my previous post, the four portal transfers into the Bulls team this year were starters who averaged a lot of minutes on their previous teams. So it is easy to dismiss any notion these players transferred to increase their playing time.

2. As also mentioned previously, three of the four transfers were their previous team's primary scorer, and the fourth (Ingram) was earmarked to be the same this year as well as the primary point guard. So it is also easy to dismiss any notion that they were unsatisfied with how they were previously being utilized.

3. USF does not have a lot of NIL dollars to throw around. Like many universities, their NIL allocation is aimed primarily at strengthening their growing football program and, to a lesser degree, their men's basketball program. The women's basketball program is not high in the pecking order, so suffice to say the six transfer portal players (two from previous years) are not chasing the money.

4. Since UConn left the American Conference, the pathway to the NCAA tournament has been a little wider for the remaining teams. USF has now been one of the conference "favorites" the last few years. So, although the transfers are not competing for Final Fours - much less national championships - there is a lure for any players who still desire to compete for something meaningful.

5. The past two years, USF has averaged ~3,300 fans per home game (this year they are at ~2,500 through four games). Although this seems meager compared to attendance at UConn and the other elite WCBB program venues, it is actually quite a bit better than many of the P4 bottom feeders, and other programs that have been in existence for many decades. For many of the recent transfers into USF, they are now able to play in front of crowds that are two to five times greater than what they were previously used to. This increased exposure is often brought up by new players during postgame Bulls Radio interviews early in the season.

6. I will be the first to admit that I was very skeptical of the team Jose brought together for this year. It is a fascinating blend of players: an amalgamation of senior players grown through the USF system (Brito, Mputu, Aarnio), new upperclassmen transfers with leadership experience (Davidson, Ingram, Battle, Lewis-Williams), returning upperclassmen transfers who are reaping the benefits of patience and diligence (Diakite, Piper), and freshmen/sophomore international players chomping at the bit (all the rest). There are no stars/egos on this team (well, maybe a little bit of ego with Brito ).

7. The new coach (Michele Woods-Baxter) was actually Jose's long-time Assistant (2008-18) and Associate Head Coach (2018-25). She assumed the helm on October 23, just ten days before the first game of the season. She has a court-side demeanor far different than Jose - much more animated, although closer to Lindsey Gottlieb and Dawn Staley than to Cori Close or that flamboyant lady in Baton Rouge. The jury is obviously still out on whether she can bring this team together to win the American, but so far I would give her high marks. She inherited a brutal OOC schedule (a good thing) and has managed playing time admirably - eleven players are averaging double digit minutes. Still ahead after the Huskies are Vanderbilt and South Carolina before the American Conference schedule arrives after Christmas. Hey, ya gotta deal with the lions, tigers and bears if you want to get to the Emerald City....

Finally, for those attending the game this afternoon, Jose Fernandez will be in attendance, ostensibly to evaluate UConn for the upcoming draft (his words to Bulls Radio, not mine). He should be sitting away from both teams, up in the press area between the lower and upper levels. No doubt he and Geno synced up yesterday as well.

Go Huskies!

 

[Centerstream]

@YKCornelius very good insight!

 

[Centerstream]

One thing I forgot to mention...I wonder if UConn being on a three-day road trip and playing one game in Chicago and one in Florida two days apart will have any effect on the players.

Isn't Xavier located in Cincinnati?
I think being in warm Tampa temps yesterday and today could be of benefit for the Huskies?

 

[and one]

Isn't Xavier located in Cincinnati?
I think being in warm Tampa temps yesterday and today could be of benefit for the Huskies?

Xavier is in Cincinnati however in all fairness I would point out Cincinnati is almost in Indiana and Chicago is almost in Indiana and both cities start with C and are cold places so are almost the same place.

 

[WiseWillie]

As a USF season ticket holder and watching every game, here's my take on the Bulls:

L'hor Mputu is their starting center and will be matched against Serah Williams from the tip-off. Although undersized at 6'2", she is EXTREMELY wiry, has springs in her legs, and runs like a deer. She also has huge hands that allow her to get rebounds against taller opponents that, quite frankly, she has no business getting. Due to her slim build, it is very difficult for her (and other USF bigs) to defend against tall and or strong opponents, and is therefore prone to foul trouble. This will be the first opponent that Serah Williams will be facing that is decidedly quicker than her. Fatou Diakite is rarely on the court with Mputu, but will platoon with each other throughout the game. If either/both get into foul trouble, Ines Piper will take the court as the now even smaller Bulls play zone defense. All said, this is a clear advantage to UConn.

For match-up discussions, Sarah Strong will be paired with Pre-season American Conference POY and Bulls team captain, Carla Brito, who just returned to the starting line-up two games ago after sustaining a leg injury right before the season. She has only appeared in the last four games, but she is the heart/soul of this year's team. Carla does a lot of things slightly above average, but nothing stand-out. She hustles a lot, and is not afraid to mix it up with the opponents best player(s). She will often play to the crowd, and enjoys trying to sell calls to the officials. I expect to see her in a leg brace, which affects her mobility. Although Carla is a grit and grime player, this is a huge advantage to UConn.

I am going to group the USF guards together since (1) they are interchangable and (2) because Edyn Battle might not be available. Simply put, the Bulls guards are quick and they run ALL the time. This, in my opinion, is the biggest difference between this year's team and that of the last few years (and what makes them fun to watch). Stefanie Ingram is the quickest and is the primary point guard. Edyn Battle (if she plays) is deceptively quick, as is the primary sub Kristen Lewis-Williams. All three will shoot whenever open, and all three will drive into the lane repeatedly to try to draw fouls. The third starting guard is Katie Davidson, easily the best shooter in the line-up. Although Davidson is not as quick as her backcourt mates, she makes up for speed with her hustle and court vision. All four guards are transfers this year from D-I programs where they were starters on their teams and, in the case of Battle/Davidson and Lewis-Williams, primary scorers as well. Hence, they will not hesitate to shoot when open. That said, whereas none of the Bulls guards are better scorers than the UConn guards (who is?), their pace of play should be a very good test for UConn. Decided advantage to UConn.

Every year it seems the USF Bulls have to rebuild their team due to the large amount of international players they bring in (this year they have ten). Like many programs, the transfer portal has had a significant impact as well. So what folks will see tomorrow is a team of experienced players from other programs - and different corners of the world - coming together to try their best to win the American conference, and then their conference tourney in order to qualify for the NCAAs. In that sense, they are very new to each other and, with Jose Fernandez now gone, learning to play under a new coach who has decided to increase the pace of the game - a lot. They do not full court press like Ohio State or Tennessee, but are not afraid to switch back and forth from man to zone coverage on defense, which is impressive given their lack of time playing together. Personally, I will be very interested to see how the USF seasoned guards handle the Huskies' press.

Despite the Bulls beating Duke handily, USF rightfully will be huge underdogs to UConn. Massey has the Bulls losing by 27, but I expect it to be more than that. Nonetheless, I also expect the Bulls to play hard throughout and will be very disappointed if they go quietly into that good night. Although I am a diehard UConn fan, I am bullish on the Bulls and am hoping they bring their best game so that they can learn and grow as much as possible.

Go Huskies!

Thanks for that extensive scouting summary, Yukon. You must have done some scouting before, either that or many hours sitting in the stands )

 

[RockyMTblue2]

For what seems like forever as we try to predict games scores there is this added dimension in many games: when will Geno call off the dogs? It is good for the other team's psychie and it is good for strengthening the bench players.. But it really wreaks havoc on my crystal ball! And I must confess, and I know it's shameful, I love blow outs. Those two against South Carolina last season may have ruined me for life.

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

Live Stats &1:

• 12/2/2025: UConn at South Florida

&1 Live Stats for yet-to-be-played games (through 12/31/2025) are available via this schedule.

• The link is removed for played games.
• The schedule links are useful as to when pre-published links don’t work (as the case was for MI and Utah) as the game is in-progress.