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Message: [QUOTE="JoePgh, post: 2663267, member: 1131"] I just re-watched the first half of the December game last night. Notre Dame did two things really well on offense: (a) they got a ton of offensive rebounds, including a number by Mabrey and other guards; and (b) they got backdoor baskets that you hardly ever see against UConn, taking advantage of UConn overplaying the shooters. They were able to do the offensive rebounding without giving up a lot of transition baskets, which is hard to do against UConn. During the tournament, I've heard announcers refer to Notre Dame as a "big team", and "tough on the boards". In physical height, they are in fact a small team -- smaller than UConn (never mind Baylor / Texas / Oregon State) at least when Azura is on the floor. But they are very determined rebounders. Jessica Shepherd in particular plays much bigger than her size. I think ND will try to do pretty much the same thing in Friday's game as they did in December, but I think Geno will have countermeasures ready. (Don't ask me what they are.) There may be less switching than usual by UConn to keep defensive rebounders under the basket, as was the case against South Carolina. I think UConn will pick up the guards high, to make passing into the post more difficult. But that is a risky strategy with someone who can penetrate as well as Ogunbowale. I expect both teams to be offensively successful and defensively vulnerable, so I wouldn't be at all surprised by a final score such as 85-70. Even when ND was blown out by Louisville, they scored in the seventies. I think UConn will be less vulnerable defensively than ND, so I think UConn will be on the high end of that score. But it may come down to 3-point shooting: if UConn goes 1-10 in the first half so that their two-game average is 50%, and/or if ND goes 9-10 or something like that, UConn could lose the game. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach