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Round of 32 NCAA Tournament Preview: No. 2 Texas vs. No. 7 Arizona State

By Ben Dull

KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 10: Texas Longhorns guard Ariel Atkins (23) pushes the ball up the court during a game between the Texas Longhorns and Tennessee Lady Volunteers on December 10, 2017, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. Tennessee defeated Texas 82-75.(Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 10: Texas Longhorns guard Ariel Atkins (23) pushes the ball up the court during a game between the Texas Longhorns and Tennessee Lady Volunteers on December 10, 2017, at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. Tennessee defeated Texas 82-75.(Photo by Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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The Texas Longhorns, the No. 2 seed in the Kansas City Region, defeated Maine 83-54 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. They’ll take on the Arizona State Sun Devils in round two, who beat Nebraska 73-62 in their opener.

A look at the numbers for this second round matchup:

  • These two teams profile very similarly. Charnea Johnson-Chapman just had one of her best games of the season battling inside with Oregon State’s Marie Gulich in the Pac-12 Conference Tournament. ASU will need a repeat of that performance to keep Texas off the offensive glass. Johnson-Chapman is averaging 6.6 rebounds in just 21.5 minutes per game this season.
  • Texas is 16th nationally in offensive rebound rate (40.5%) and ninth in defensive rebound rate (74.5%). They get it done collectively — five Longhorns average 4+ rebounds per game.
  • Courtney Ekmark shot over 40% from deep in the Pac-12 this season. ASU’s 24.5 3PT rate falls in the 12th percentile nationally, though Ekmark can do plenty of damage from deep on her own if she gets going.

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With the help of HerHoopStats, here’s a look at the Four Factors (defined in their glossary) for each team:

Players to watch in this one:

  • Robbi Ryan scored a team-high 16 points against Nebraska. She’s their best late-clock creator. What she does with the ball in her hands in late clock situations will heavily influence the outcome of this game.
  • Kianna Ibis had 14 points and eight rebounds in the opener. She missed her three 3PT attempts. She’s 16-42 from deep this season (38.1%). Ibis has a nice back to the basket game and can attack slower bigs off the bounce. The Sun Devils will need her jumper to be on against this top tier opponent.
  • Ariel Atkins and Brooke McCarty are Texas’ leading scorers. Both shoot 38+% from deep and have more than 100 assists apiece this season.

Stats obtained via HerHoopStats.

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