I’m surprised at the number of respected and knowledgeable posters here that think UConn will lay an egg tomorrow night. UConn is on a nice roll coming into this game, as opposed to playing poorly, erratic or in a shooting slump. UConn has proven they don't do well coming off of long layoffs this season in games against Oklahoma and Baylor. Their last game was only 4 days ago. Geno and staff will have them ready. All of LV's wins have not been blowouts. There was a 5 pt. win over #19 Kentucky, and a 4 pt. win over unranked Central Michigan.
Right now, UConn's starters are on the same page playing good defense, and with the exception of Williams, their shots are falling. At one point against UCF, UConn was shooting 80% from the field in the first half. If UConn can start the game on a run, feathers will be flying all over the Yum Center, as the Cardinals will be frantically trying find and plug the hole in the dike, and playing catch up all evening. LV's worst nightmare would be for UConn to begin the game on a 8-0 or 10-0 run like they did against UCF. UCF never recovered.
However if both teams come out tight, it could very well be a low scoring first half/game. LV wants to dictate the pace of the game. They want to slow the game down, run their half court offense and limit UConn’s possessions. They do not want to get into a track meet with the Huskies.
It appears that some BY'ers assume that Louisville is going hit the ground running with their A game in tow. That may not be the case. The question is can they slow down or stop the Husky express that is firing on all cylinders, and is finally in sync. If UConn goes down, they're not going down easily.
Aside from maybe Notre Dame, Louisville has not seen the type of defense that UConn will bring. Limited offensive rebounds for LV (second chance points), a number of forced turnovers on defense along with 4-5 blocked shots will help UConn limit LV’s point production.
UConn will focus on stopping or slowing down their team leader and best scorer Asia Durr. I predict she is held below her season average (21ppg).
Prediction - The big 4 show up big time contributing to a 12 point Husky win, 73-61.