UConn v. South Carolina 2025

[Dugway]

Just a few predictions:

It’ll be similar to the ND and the USC games in which we will come out, seem intimidated, and start the game poorly. In the Second Qtr, one of our big three will come on strong, we will hold our own and even get a little bit back. 3rd, unfortunately we get beat up again, and lose what we gained in the 2nd. And the Gamecocks will play the prevent in the 4th in which neither team will play up to expectations.

All in all, we are going to play solid defense, but even so, So Car is going to put 77 on the scoreboard. A big part of that will be due to lack of rebounding and giving up poorly guarded 3-pt shots.

Paige, Sarah & Azzi => Don’t know which, but One of the three will have a good game, 20-pts. One will have a pretty good game, 15-Pts. And one will have a poor game, 5-pts. Between them we score 40-pts in total.

KK & KC => between them we score another dozen pts.

Jana & Aubrey => between them we score another dozen.

Ashlynn => she will be quiet and take just three shots for 2-pts total.

So Car 77
UConn 66
MOV -11

After the game, the Boneyard will have a bunch of really nasty comments posted about how bad we are, how bad the Big East is, and that we will be lucky to make it to the Sweet 16. Another portion of the comments will be pollyannaish in that we are inexperienced, with a bunch of different lineups and have yet to gel it all together, even though this will have been the 27th game of the season. I will be reading them all and thinking that the truth is somewhere in between those extremes and rooting for us regardless.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I have a feeling in the back of my brain, (and at 77 I don't get too many feelings anywhere) that this could be UConn's best game of the year!
The healthy players will step up for Ice and Morgan being out and play their hearts out for a 2 point win!
The talking suits don't think UConn have a chance and Geno and Staff loves the underdog look!
UConn pride takes over and motivates our girls to an outstanding performance!
But then again I'm 77 and I can't remember my name sometimes!

 

[Surly1]

If I was a betting man and not just a UConn fan, SC would be the team to place your bet on. However, there's a reason why they play the game. Streaks are eventually broken. SC's home winning streak will fall - the question is will it be Sunday.

For certain, Dawn will have SC prepared and ready to roll. UConn has the talent and players to compete with anyone in the country, and knocking off SC at home is not out of the realm of possibilities. To do so, UConn needs to play their most complete game of the season. It didn't occur against the Lady Vols, but if not now, then when? How UConn competes on Sunday (not necessarily the outcome) should prove a reliable indicator of UConn's prospects in the Big Dance.

Jana will have to step and stay out of foul trouble. Without her, UConn doesn't have another big body other than Sarah. Sarah has to recover her mojo, and just play her normal, stellar game. It would certainly help if Azzi maintains her torrid stroke. If she's on, it creates spacing for Paige. Speaking of Paige, I would love to see a freshman performance redux against SC. In that game, she shot the ball 26 times. If, for only one game, I would love for her to channel JuJu Watkins and just go and out and ball.

I was encouraged by Aubrey's play against St John's. Offensively, she's still rusty, but I saw flashes of her athleticism - something that can't be replicated by others, and essential in playing against Sc's forwards, particularly an athletic Joyce Edwards.

SC has had UConn's number in recent history, so this game is the opportunity to reverse the trend. I'm ready and I can't wait.

 

[SCyankee]

If I was a betting man and not just a UConn fan, SC would be the team to place your bet on. However, there's a reason why they play the game. Streaks are eventually broken. SC's home winning streak will fall - the question is will it be Sunday.

For certain, Dawn will have SC prepared and ready to roll. UConn has the talent and players to compete with anyone in the country, and knocking off SC at home is not out of the realm of possibilities. To do so, UConn needs to play their most complete game of the season. It didn't occur against the Lady Vols, but if not now, then when? How UConn competes on Sunday (not necessarily the outcome) should prove a reliable indicator of UConn's prospects in the Big Dance.

Jana will have to step and stay out of foul trouble. Without her, UConn doesn't have another big body other than Sarah. Sarah has to recover her mojo, and just play her normal, stellar game. It would certainly help if Azzi maintains her torrid stroke. If she's on, it creates spacing for Paige. Speaking of Paige, I would love to see a freshman performance redux against SC. In that game, she shot the ball 26 times. If, for only one game, I would love for her to channel JuJu Watkins and just go and out and ball.

I was encouraged by Aubrey's play against St John's. Offensively, she's still rusty, but I saw flashes of her athleticism - something that can't be replicated by others, and essential in playing against Sc's forwards, particularly an athletic Joyce Edwards.

SC has had UConn's number in recent history, so this game is the opportunity to reverse the trend. I'm ready and I can't wait.

I agree that SC should be the favorite, particularly due to the fact that SC has not lost a home game in the last 70. However, the SC win streak against UConn coincides with UConn playing with significant injuries to multiple players. Unfortunately, that trend continues with the unavailability of Ducharme, Patterson, Brady, and Cheli. Here in SC Gamecock fans were initially dismayed when one player, Watson, was injured and feared that their run to a championship was jeopardized. The SC strong benched has allayed those fears.

 

[Kat]

Not that Paige Bueckers needs additional incentive but JuJu Watkins just gave her some, by scoring 38 points, pulling down 11 rebounds, and blocking 8 shots against UCLA. Paige saw that, and although she's a team-first player, I think she'd like to shine particularly brightly against South Carolina.

 

[ABCDFE]

My take. 10% chance to win against SC.

We can’t be teams in different ways and Dawn knows that. Therefore they will be aggressive in terms of perimeter defense (ala ND style) and dare us to make jump shotS by players not named Paige and Azzi. AC will also double on Sarah if she’s in post. This means Sarah will need to make outside shots, and Shade/Chen/KK/Aubrey will have to play great which means hit open shots, drive and initiate contact to go to foul line. Since we haven’t seen any players outside of Paige, Sarah and (KK) rise to the occasion against top level competition I will find it hard to put faith that we can succeed.

PLEASE PROVE ME WRONG GIRLS!

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

In the last 5 years UConn has played SCarolina 6 times, losing 5 of the 6. The one win was a 4 point win in OT in 2021. The losses include 18, 16, 15 and 18 point losses. SC rarely loses at home so a win would be a big upset. This team needs to go all out from the opening tip to the final buzzer and make this a competitive game. If that doesn’t happen it might be time to recognize that SC has become the premier program in women’s college basketball.

Well then...it should be a challenging situation for both teams... GO HUSKIES.

 

[PacoSwede]

Not that Paige Bueckers needs additional incentive but JuJu Watkins just gave her some, by scoring 38 points, pulling down 11 rebounds, and blocking 8 shots against UCLA. Paige saw that, and although she's a team-first player, I think she'd like to shine particularly brightly against South Carolina.

you and i and most people would probably feel this way, indeed, but paige really is different: she just wants her team to win, her own heroics/stats are much lower in her list of priorities. she actually is like that, in my opinion, and not just saying the right thing.

 

[JoePgh]

How many people here would have predicted that USC would beat UCLA by 11 points after being down by 5 at the end of three quarters last night? USC won the fourth quarter by 24-8. I succumbed to drowsiness after three quarters, figuring that UCLA had the win in the bag, even though USC had led by as many as 14 in the first half.

Obviously I want to watch the fourth quarter when I can find time. But the commentary said that USC managed to keep Lauren Betts in check in the second half simply by not allowing her to set up in the low post -- and she could not shoot reliably when she was further away from the basket. That's the way Geno usually defends big players, and it works quite well when the opposing big has a questionable jump shot or lacks the mobility to get past a single defender impeding her path to the basket.

Since South Carolina this year does not have a dominant post, that specific strategy will not work for UConn on Sunday. But last night's game on the West Coast does show that unexpected things can happen in basketball if skill, luck, and preparation all converge when they are needed.

 

[huskyd]

Man oh man . Everybody talking about loosing this game. Yeah we lost the past few years and many of those games with a shelton lineup and yes SC had a dominate big and UConn didnt. Things have changed we now have Azzi and Griff. I expect a very competitive game. I hope our girls aint thinkin about losing. I hope theyre thinkin about winnin. What was in the past is in the past. We have the players. All we have to do is put the ball in the basket like we've been doin and keep SC from doin it more then us. We need to go into this game with a winning attitude.

You've touched on something very important, Tony: expecting to win vs expecting to lose. At the moment, SC is expected to win this game. Even in key games when UConn was favored (eg, all the games so far this season), they acted as if they expected to lose. That's crazy, and totally unlike any Husky bunch I remember. Tony is correct: we need to get back to believing in the UConn mystique. We are about WINNING: doesn't matter how often we're in the top 10, or how often we get to the Final Four, or how many games we once won in a row, or even how many NCs we've gotten. Once you start thinking about losing instead of KNOWING you're going to win, nothing good is likely to come. Ask Vince Lombardi about second place. It doesn't exist.
Anyone who is comfortable with the Huskies losing on Sunday better find another team.

 

[Bald Husky]

We need this game to maintain our bracketology ranking at 2. If we beat SC, that will not give us a #1 seed because of the loss to Tennessee. If we win, we may get the best #2 seed which is just as good as the worst #1 seed. A loss will drop us down to a bad #2 seed, meaning we probably will have to beat 2 of the top 4 just to get to the final 4. Huge game for us, hopefully the kids will step up and win the game. Hey, if we do win, I won't complain if somebody prints t-shirts for the occasion. LOL

 

[Nolefan]

If it was a home game I would give UConn a slight chance to win being away away game I don’t think we have a chance at all .. I don’t like SC or their coach but she has owned Geno on the court .. based on recruiting rankings we should have a edge but she seems to get the most out of her athletes than UConn does and they are physical and fast and deep .. but stranger things have happened ..

 

[SCyankee]

You've touched on something very important, Tony: expecting to win vs expecting to lose. At the moment, SC is expected to win this game. Even in key games when UConn was favored (eg, all the games so far this season), they acted as if they expected to lose. That's crazy, and totally unlike any Husky bunch I remember. Tony is correct: we need to get back to believing in the UConn mystique. We are about WINNING: doesn't matter how often we're in the top 10, or how often we get to the Final Four, or how many games we once won in a row, or even how many NCs we've gotten. Once you start thinking about losing instead of KNOWING you're going to win, nothing good is likely to come. Ask Vince Lombardi about second place. It doesn't exist.
Anyone who is comfortable with the Huskies losing on Sunday better find another team.

IMHO it's not about expecting to lose, but fear of losing. UConn like my baseball team the Yankees have a long history of winning. Every year a championship is expected and anything else is considered a failure, which is absurd. It does lead to a lot of whiny fans who are "embarrassed " when a championship is not achieved. It took me a while, but I've learned to enjoy the journey.

 

[Skeets]

After the game, the Boneyard will have a bunch of really nasty comments posted about how bad we are, how bad the Big East is, and that we will be lucky to make it to the Sweet 16. Another portion of the comments will be pollyannaish in that we are inexperienced, with a bunch of different lineups and have yet to gel it all together, even though this will have been the 27th game of the season. I will be reading them all and thinking that the truth is somewhere in between those extremes and rooting for us regardless.

The only thing I agree with you are your comments about what will happen on the BY.

 

[Skeets]

Anyone who is comfortable with the Huskies losing on Sunday better find another team.

Or another board.

I agree with everything that has been said about what UConn needs to do to win. Let me add 1 more thing. Too often a player, and not necessarily the other team's star, goes absolutely bananas and has a career game never to be seen again. UConn cannot let that happen on Sunday. If someone scores a couple of early, unexpected baskets, UConn has to jump on that kid. Thay cannot let it become 4, 6, 8 baskets before they recognize "holy cow", she's having a career game. Very likely it's too late then.

 

[Jim R]

I will be looking to see whether (1) the refs call it tight, which would favor UCONN (but is unlikely given few refs stand up to Dawn), (2) Sarah regains her mojo, (3) UCONN can reasonably match SC on the boards, (4) Azzi manages to step up against a top 10/non-Big East opponent, and (5) KK plays more minutes than Kaitkyn.

Believe if we take care of #3, we’ll win the game. It’s been our “achilles heel” against them recently. Think the the other points (maybe not #1 - Staley is the modern day Summit when it comes to officiating) will be fine.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

In 2023, Lou and the Huskies lost by 4 points. The was a questionable inbounds play where the So Carolina player handed the ball to a teammate, which should have been a turnover. However, it wasn’t called. I’m not saying the Huskies would have won the game if it were called but it was a point of discussion here.

Nika, Aaliyah, and Lou willed that team to be in a position to potentially win. If this year’s team can show that same fortitude, they have a chance

View attachment 106975

It might have been the 6 fouls on Cardoso that might have been the tipping point, when Nike & Lou 'only' got 5 fouls...

 

[David54]

Shouldn’t really be a ton of pressure today a road game we are not expected to win. I’m not even sure it will matter much regarding seeding as the s curve not strictly followed . So hope they can play loose.

 

[azfan]

In the last 5 years UConn has played SCarolina 6 times, losing 5 of the 6. The one win was a 4 point win in OT in 2021. The losses include 18, 16, 15 and 18 point losses. SC rarely loses at home so a win would be a big upset. This team needs to go all out from the opening tip to the final buzzer and make this a competitive game. If that doesn’t happen it might be time to recognize that SC has become the premier program in women’s college basketball.

A glaring insight into the obvious.

 

[azfan]

All in all, we are going to play solid defense, but even so, So Car is going to put 77 on the scoreboard. A big part of that will be due to lack of rebounding and giving up poorly guarded 3-pt shots.

Paige, Sarah & Azzi => Don’t know which, but One of the three will have a good game, 20-pts. One will have a pretty good game, 15-Pts. And one will have a poor game, 5-pts. Between them we score 40-pts in total.

KK & KC => between them we score another dozen pts.

Jana & Aubrey => between them we score another dozen.

Ashlynn => she will be quiet and take just three shots for 2-pts total.

So Car 77
UConn 66
MOV -11

After the game, the Boneyard will have a bunch of really nasty comments posted about how bad we are, how bad the Big East is, and that we will be lucky to make it to the Sweet 16. Another portion of the comments will be pollyannaish in that we are inexperienced, with a bunch of different lineups and have yet to gel it all together, even though this will have been the 27th game of the season. I will be reading them all and thinking that the truth is somewhere in between those extremes and rooting for us regardless.

A structural challenge given the roster which accounts for the Huskies current and anticipated position heading into the big dance.

 

[azfan]

Shouldn’t really be a ton of pressure today a road game we are not expected to win. I’m not even sure it will matter much regarding seeding as the s curve not strictly followed . So hope they can play loose.

You are correct, it won't

 

[Linart]

The problem with relying on three point shooters is that they frequently blow hot and cold. Post players tend to be more reliable scorers if not as flashy. I just hope Azzi is blowing "hot" today.

 

[Cornell Lt]

You've touched on something very important, Tony: expecting to win vs expecting to lose. At the moment, SC is expected to win this game. Even in key games when UConn was favored (eg, all the games so far this season), they acted as if they expected to lose. That's crazy, and totally unlike any Husky bunch I remember. Tony is correct: we need to get back to believing in the UConn mystique. We are about WINNING: doesn't matter how often we're in the top 10, or how often we get to the Final Four, or how many games we once won in a row, or even how many NCs we've gotten. Once you start thinking about losing instead of KNOWING you're going to win, nothing good is likely to come. Ask Vince Lombardi about second place. It doesn't exist.
Anyone who is comfortable with the Huskies losing on Sunday better find another team.

If they give it their all and come up short, well that's reality and I I would be comfortable with a Huskie loss.

 

[jaydee602]

Here are the refs for today's games:

• Brenda Pantoja
• Pualani Spurlock
• Katie Lukanich

 

[Basingstoke]

Pre game on ABC has been interesting. Possibly because of time constraints (or laziness) they really don't delve into availability other than Watkins and Fudd. No mention of lack of Aubrey in UCONN early losses or UCONN being without two of their "bigs" currently (Ice being a true big and Morgan being that small lineup hybrid big)...