Game Day! Against Duke at 8:00 pm on ESPN

[BBallF]

It's Paige time. We also need our smart, switching, suffocating defense and solid games from all especially Aaliyah and Nika to beat a tough Duke team. Let's go!

 

[Kaizen]

8 PM eastern time, 5 PM pacific time.

 

[RoadMaster]

 

[Zarathustra]

Note to all Husky Players: We have a short bench today, limited substitutions.... Please take off all jewelry.

 

[Kaizen]

No. 7 seed Duke Blue Devils vs. No. 3 UConn Huskies​

Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, (Region 3 in Portland)
Why UConn will win: The Huskies have three seniors -- Paige Bueckers, Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Muhl -- who have been on this stage (and bigger) before and were on the team last year when UConn was stunned by Ohio State in the Sweet 16. Even if it was to a different opponent, the pain of that loss in this round is still fresh on their minds, only further motivating the Huskies heading into Saturday. Bueckers might be having the best postseason of any player in the nation, and with her well-rounded impact on the game will do whatever it takes to get UConn one step closer to Cleveland. She doesn't have to do it alone, either, with strong starts to postseason play from Edwards and freshman Ashlynn Shade.
Why Duke will win: The Blue Devils boast one of the best defenses in the country, a unit that can cause fits for UConn's offense. They haven't allowed an opponent to score more than 63 points since Feb. 19. While they didn't have a ton of consistent offensive firepower during the regular season, they now have one of the hottest players in the tournament in junior Reigan Richardson, who's averaging 12.4 points per game on the season but scored 25 and 28 points against Richmond and Ohio State, respectively. Duke's prowess on the offensive glass, spurred by freshman Oluchi Okananwa, also gives the Blue Devils an edge over an opponent with a dearth of frontcourt options.
What's the X factor: Syracuse did a good job for the most part of neutralizing UConn's post play. Can Duke do the same? The Blue Devils allow just 23.4 points in the paint per game and have posts Kennedy Brown (6-6) and Camilla Emsbo (6-5) protecting the rim (the team averages 5.6 rejections per game). Edwards is one of the top players left in the tournament, and last time these two programs met in November 2022, she tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds. -- Philippou
Which team will advance?
Adelson: UConn 66, Duke 60
Creme: UConn 70, Duke 56
Pelton: UConn 71, Duke 60
Philippou: UConn 67, Duke 59
Voepel: UConn 79, Duke 65

 

[MSGRET]

Play smart, play safe, play fast, play to win and move on. I hope the ESPN pundits are correct on the winner of today's game.

 

[and one]

We need to win to advance and if I were a betting man (I'm not) the odds are with us to get that win. Fingers crossed.

A bonus if (when) we win: Geno is 5 behind Tara and he can make up some ground.

 

[David54]

Geno and the staff need to say something to Ice that makes her really angry. If she’s angry she won’t be able to focus on being scared.

 

[Ron and Vida]

We need to win to advance and if I were a betting man (I'm not) the odds are with us to get that win. Fingers crossed.

A bonus if (when) we win: Geno is 5 behind Tara and he can make up some ground.

Right
But this is going to be decided by longevity
The first to retire comes in second

 

[RoadMaster]

Swipe

 

[MSGRET]

Right
But this is going to be decided by longevity
The first to retire comes in second

I think that Tara will have more losses going to the ACC next year. Their travel alone will be more than double then what they are used to. They will be playing in a completely different environments and will take some lumps along the road.

 

[Jackalope]

I think that Tara will have more losses going to the ACC next year. Their travel alone will be more than double then what they are used to. They will be playing in a completely different environments and will take some lumps along the road.

Not too long ago......

Inside Stanford's nine-week road trip: Six states, 12 flights and DIY haircuts

Forced to leave campus by COVID-19 protocols, the Cardinal became basketball nomads, gaining (and losing) the No. 1 ranking along the way.

www.espn.com

Opinion: Stanford's title a culmination of hard roads — weeks, decades and generations in making

Stanford's title, its first since 1992, comes the same year Tara VanDerveer became Division I basketball's all-time winningest women's coach.

www.usatoday.com

 

[David54]

Pre game press conf. Paige. Asked; if you could have any other player from any team be on UConn who would you pick? I guarantee that question would NOT be asked of any other team in the country. Paige’s answer. ‘ there are a lot of good players” then named all our injured players who are out for the season. Paige’s best block of the year!

 

[David54]

x.com

x.com

 

[FormerCTrez]

Swipe

I’m hoping Q gets some playing time today.

 

[RoadMaster]

 

[RoadMaster]

 

[RoadMaster]

Swipe

 

[TN-Gamecock]

GO Huskies!!!

 

[DRR25]

If UConn wins, we'll have an all 1s vs 3s Elite Eight.

 

[Kaizen]

The delay the game to 5:30 PM..

 

[kidfrom360]

Here at the game! Go Huskies!!!

 

[todbo]

Aaugh. ESPN is in the studio, not broadcasting the game. But online, ESPN has the Huskies up.