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Message: [QUOTE="bballnut90, post: 2564126, member: 2117"] UCONN is more talented across the board, but Mississippi State is such a complete team. Most of their offense flows through McCowan and Vivians, but Johnson is a capable playmaker who can go for 20 any given night, Schaefer is a good shooter who does a lot of things well, and Morgan William is also a capable scorer. The 4 man backcourt of Schaefer, Johnson, William, and Holmes are all outstanding defensively and take care of the ball. William/Holmes split PG duties and combine for 7.3 assists to just 2.2 turnovers, and Schaefer/Johnson each have 2:1 A/TO ratios. Vivians can score in a variety of ways and McCowan dominates the glass and can finish inside. Off the bench they have 2 high energy spark plug players to spot the starters, both can provide a major boost on any given night. They are also very good defensively, giving up 55ppg (about the same as UCONN) and they rarely have players in foul trouble. If you pull McCowan away from the basket, it puts her in a tough spot since she isn't quick, but on the flip side UCONN doesn't have anyone who can match her size and strength inside if she plays aggressively. Their bench isn't thin either-- they have a set 7 man rotation that will play almost the entire game. Players are conditioned to play the full 40 if needed. You saw a big girl like McCowan running back defensively every possession and battling hard in the 4th while she played 39 minutes against A'ja Wilson much of the night. That's impressive for someone her size. No one I saw on Ms St looked winded besides Vivians who carried the team in the first half. I agree that UCONN will be the favorite if they meet, but after seeing Texas and Notre Dame step up and nearly beat the Huskies, I think Mississippi State is a much tougher matchup than either of those teams, so they'll definitely challenge UCONN. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach