Round of 32 NCAA Tournament Preview: No. 1 UConn vs. No. 9 Quinnipiac
By Ben Dull
The undefeated UConn Huskies, the No. 1 seed in the Albany Region, left little to the imagination in their opener against St. Francis. The Huskies put up a preposterous 55 points in the opening 10 minutes. Napheesa Collier scored 25 points in 17 minutes. Not to be outdone, Azura Stevens had 26 in 15 minutes for the Huskies. UConn will take on the Quinnipiac Bobcats in round two, who defeated Miami 86-72 in round one.
Six played scored in double figures for Quinnipiac against Miami. Jen Fay led the way with 19. Aryn McClure added 13 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, three steals and three blocks. The Bobcats trailed by one heading into the final period on Saturday, then went on to outscore Miami 33-18 in the fourth.
Quinnipiac shot 20-25 at the free throw line Saturday (inflated some by late game fouling). They won’t be as likely to get as many chances there on Monday. UConn leads the nation in both points scored and allowed per 100 possession. No surprise there.
One key aspect of UConn’s historical dominance has been their ability to defend at an elite level without fouling. They committed the fewest fouls in the country (12.0) and posted the lowest foul rate (16.5%) this season.
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With the help of HerHoopStats, here’s a look at the Four Factors (defined in their glossary) for each team:
Quinnipiac’s identical turnover rate of 14.4% is promising. Live ball turnovers or carelessness in transition defense are death against the Huskies. Their six best players can all lead the break and are good passers.
It’s one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament. Expect most Quinnipac possessions to be of the same variety. McClure makes for an interesting matchup. She’ll start all the way out on the perimeter sometimes and just start backing her defender down then let the defense make her next decision for her — hit the open shooter or work her way right to the front of the rim.
That strategy may work against Crystal Dangerfield, 5’5 point guard, if they can even generate that matchup enough to attack it. Even still, UConn’s got the length and athleticism to challenge her at the rim and recover in time to challenge shooters on the perimeter.
Last season, we saw UConn head coach Geno Auriemma in a Quinnipiac t-shirt at a press conference. One year later, these two teams will face off for a spot in the Sweet 16.