COLUMBUS, Ohio — The UConn Huskies are in search of yet another national championship. They’ll need to advance to the championship game by first getting through the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second game of the night from Columbus, Ohio (9 ET, ESPN2).
Some keys to Friday’s game after sharing the best moment from Thursday’s press conferences:
"You know what, the great thing about it is when the draw comes out, everybody’s like, You want to be opposite UConn. That’s a lie. That’s the worst thing you could ever have happen. How many National Championship games have they lost? You know the answer? Zero.When they lose is in the semis. So you want to play them in the semis because he can’t coach that game very well (laughter). You know, he gets tight. He gets nervous, and he can’t perform. Then finally in the championship game, he lets Chris do it, and he’s 11-0. He gets all the credit, though. So you want to be on the same side of the bracket. This stuff of being on the opposite side is bad business."
That came courtesy of Louisville head coach Jeff Walz. (The remarks were made jokingly and in good fun.) It was a great walkoff for Walz in his time with the media Thursday. Back to the UConn-Notre Dame matchup, featuring two basketball powerhouses hungry to walk off the court Friday night with one more game to play.
Nurse! More twos, please!
The day after UConn’s Kia Nurse was named the WBCA’s Defensive Player of the Year, she’ll be tasked with slowing one of the toughest covers in the country in Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale.
Ogunbowale has a terrific handle and first step. Nurse and her teammates will need to keep Ogunbowale out of the paint and force her to take contested jumpers, shots she’s prone to falling in love with too much at times. She shot 8-25 when these teams met in December. The Irish let that one slip away. They’ll need a more efficient night from their dynamic scoring guard. Count on Nurse to make her earn every bucket.
Azura a head above the rest
UConn fought back into the December game against the Irish and ultimately created separation late in the fourth quarter on the backs of a dominant stretch from Duke transfer Azura Stevens. The 6’6 forward has a distinct height advantage over every rotation player on either team.
Don’t read too much into Stevens’ slight build. She had been known at times to be more of a face up player, but has shown flashes of dominance in the paint on both ends of the floor this season for the Huskies. Notre Dame’s starting frontcourt of Jessica Shepard and Kathryn Westbeld helped the Irish crush Oregon on the offensive glass in the Elite Eight.
Stevens may throw a big wrench into this matchup with her length and rebounding ability. Not only is she a different kind of presence, she ought to really look to be aggressive against this front line because the Irish are relying on a six player rotation at this point in the season. Shepard and Westbeld won’t be able to risk foul trouble; Stevens may be able to do enough damage early on to force their hand.
Air space for Mabrey
Notre Dame guard Marina Mabrey shot 17-27 in her first four NCAA Tournament games. Need we say more?
UConn point guard Crystal Dangerfield will have her work cut out for her defensively. She’ll need to look to steer Mabrey away from her spots, especially when she’s looking for a passing angle to feed Shepard inside. On top of that, just a split second could be the difference between watching Mabrey splash a 26-footer in her face and preventing the shot altogether.
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Tough finishes for Collier and Shepard
UConn’s Napheesa Collier and Notre Dame’s Jessica Shepard are premier players at the forward position. Both players have impressive footwork inside and finish well around the basket. Collier is shooting 62.5% on two-pointers this year, good for 28th in the country. She was the absolute best last year at 70.9%.
Shepard is shooting 56.3% inside the arc this season. She’s asked to create a bit more in one-on-one situations. These players will spend a decent amount of time guarding one another on Friday. In a close game, one or two contested finishes in the paint could make the difference. Collier got off to a hot start when these teams met in December. Pay close attention to see if one gains an edge early on Friday.
Westbeld ought to be mentioned here as well. She’s coming off a 20 point, seven rebound, three assist performance against Oregon. Her confidence stemming from that game to score more herself may help tilt this one in Notre Dame’s favor.
And now I’ll leave you with the second best moment from Thursday’s press conferences, courtesy of Geno Auriemma and a water bottle:
— Cloe Poisson (@cloepoisson) March 29, 2018