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The UConn Daily Tournament Challenge
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The UConn Daily’s NCAA tournament pools are well underway!
See where you stack up in each of our competitions:
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UConn Ready to Chase Next National Title
The Story: The women’s basketball team will begin its pursuit of a 12th national championship this evening when it hosts No. 15 seed Towson at Gampel Pavilion to start its 31st consecutive NCAA tournament appearance (6:30 p.m., ESPN2).
SAMUELSON BACK: Katie Lou Samuelson should be ready to play for the first time since she injured her lower back while diving for a loose ball in the Huskies’ win against Houston on March 2. She was held out of the regular-season finale against USF as a precaution, then missed the entire AAC tournament, cheering her teammates on from the bench as they won their sixth tournament title in as many years.
Should Samuelson return to the court, she’ll have not played in a game for 20 days. It could be a blessing in disguise as the senior, like many of the Huskies’ starters, logged big minutes during the regular season, averaging 32.8 per game. A game against Towson could allow her to ease back into the swing of things before the physical demands of the tournament catch up.
“It’s pretty rough to be sitting out at the end of your senior year, but I’m very lucky to be getting another chance to play,” she said yesterday.
BIG CHANGES: Although Geno and the players said after the AAC win that playing without Samuelson forced them to come together and play more as a team, there’s no doubt that they missed her on the court. Not only is she a reliable scorer, averaging 18.9 points per game during the regular season, she’s also their most reliable outside shooter and forces defenders out of the paint and away from Napheesa Collier.
The Huskies went with Olivia Nelson-Ododa in the starting lineup in Samuelson’s absence, and the two couldn’t be more different players; now, Geno can go back to turning to Nelson-Ododa for a rebounding spark off the bench, potentially providing Collier a few (additional) minutes of rest.
ABOUT TOWSON: The CAA champions, Towson (20-12, 11-7) defeated Drexel in the conference title game to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time. They’re led by sophomore guard Kionna Jeter, who is averaging a team-high 17.3 points per game, and junior guard Nukiya Mayo, who has 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds a game. The Tigers were the worst 3-point shooting team in the CAA, making just 28.1 percent of their attempts this season, but with their size — they have five players taller than 6 feet — they will try to pound the ball inside.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “We don’t necessarily have a plethora of scorers on our team, especially people that can make shots the way Lou can. Not many people in the country do. So, when you take her out of the lineup and you’re taking out who you use as your backup point guard and backup power forward, whatever we use her as, you just don’t know how your players are gonna respond. … [Now] with Lou back in the lineup, I think we’re better equipped to deal with some things that might happen that maybe we weren’t as equipped to deal with before that happened. So, I do think, in theory, we’re a much better team today than we were when we played Central Florida two weeks ago.”
TODAY’S SCHEDULE (All games broadcast regionally by ESPN2):
| No. 16 Robert Morris vs. No. 1 Louisville, noon |
| No. 13 Belmont vs. No. 4 South Carolina, 1:45 p.m. |
| No. 15 Mercer vs. No. 2 Iowa, 2 p.m. |
| No. 12 Rice vs. No. 5 Marquette, 2 p.m. |
| No. 9 Kansas State vs. No. 8 Michigan, 2 p.m. |
| No. 13 Wright State vs. No. 4 Texas A&M, 4 p.m. |
| No. 12 Bucknell vs. No. 5 Florida State, 4 p.m. |
| No. 10 Drake vs. No. 7 Missouri, 4 p.m. |
| No. 10 Buffalo vs. No. 7 Rutgers, 4:30 p.m. |
| No. 15 Towson vs. No. 2 UConn, 6:30 p.m. |
| No. 12 UCF vs. No. 5 Arizona State, 7 p.m. |
| No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 7 Texas, 7 p.m. |
| No. 9 Clemson vs. No. 8 South Dakota, 7 p.m. |
| No. 16 Southern vs. No. 1 Mississippi State, 9 p.m. |
| No. 15 Portland State vs. No. 2 Oregon, 9 p.m. |
| No. 13 Florida Gulf Coast vs. No. 4 Miami, 9 p.m. |
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Games will be broadcast regionally by ESPN2, much like NFL games on Sundays, so not everyone will see every game. Some of the country’s best teams and best players will be in action this afternoon, starting with Louisville, the top seed in UConn’s region, facing Robert Morris at noon. Iowa, led by center Megan Gustafson, will take on Mercer this afternoon, and Oregon and Sabrina Ionescu will open against Portland State tonight. UCF, the only other AAC team to make the NCAA tournament, will also be in action when it faces Arizona State.
UPSET ALERT: We’re not going to go out on a limb and specifically call it, but keep an eye on Belmont’s game against South Carolina. The Gamecocks, who lost by 18 to UConn last month, lost three of their final five games, including the SEC quarterfinal meeting with Arkansas. The talent disparity is still alive and well, but this isn’t the South Carolina of years past.
NCAA Day 1: All About Morant
The Story: There weren’t many upsets or shockers on the first day of the NCAA tournament but a lot of close calls with Auburn winning by a point and Bradley pushing No. 2 seed Michigan State. The one big upset? It was No. 12 seed Murray State in Hartford taking out No. 5 seed Marquette. It wasn’t that big a surprise. This first weekend might be known as the day the world discovered Ja Morant.
MORANT WOWS HARTFORD: We knew that Morant was a potential top-five NBA pick and now we see why. What he did in Hartford was spectacular. Morant had a triple-double with 17 points, 16 assists, and 11 rebounds. A wild Morant stat: He created 55 points (points + assists), the most in the last 10 NCAA tournaments. Morant only took nine shots. Poor Marquette was a No. 5 seed and had to face perhaps one of the top five players in America. Murray State will play against Florida State tomorrow at the XL Center in a must-watch game.
LSU ESCAPES: Tremont Waters scored 15 points and had seven assists as LSU, the No. 3 seed in the East Region, survived a late scare from No. 14 seed Yale to win, 79-74. The Bulldogs made just 8 of 37 3-pointers but made four within the final minute to pull within three points with eight seconds left.
WOODY HAYES OF EAST LANSING? Michigan State coach Tom Izzo had to be held back by his players from going after Aaron Henry. We get it, State was in danger of going down to a No. 15 seed in Bradley. But can the pressure be that much?
POOR OLD BIG EAST: On a day when nostalgia reigned with the NCAA tournament back at Hartford, leave it to some of UConn’s old foes to find the exits early. In addition to Marquette, Louisville, Seton Hall and Syracuse were all knocked out in the first round, with only Villanova living to fight another day. We’d feel sorry for Jim Boeheim and the Orange, losing in the first round yet again, but — no, who are we kidding? Sucks for them.
YESTERDAY’S SCORES:
TODAY’S SCHEDULE:
| No. 10 Iowa vs. No. 7 Cincinnati, 12:15 p.m., CBS |
| No. 9 Oklahoma vs. No. 8 Ole Miss, 12:40 p.m., truTV |
| No. 14 Northern Kentucky vs. No. 3 Texas Tech, 1:30 p.m., TNT |
| No. 13 UC Irvine vs. No. 4 Kansas State, 2 p.m., TBS |
| No. 15 Colgate vs. No. 2 Tennessee, 2:45 p.m., CBS |
| No. 16 Gardner-Webb vs. No. 1 Virginia, 3:10 p.m., truTV |
| No. 11 Arizona State vs. No. 6 Buffalo, 4 p.m., TNT |
| No. 12 Oregon vs. No. 5 Wisconsin, 4:30 p.m., TBS |
| No. 9 Washington vs. No. 8 Utah State, 6:50 p.m., TNT |
| No. 16 North Dakota State vs. No. 1 Duke, 7:10 p.m., CBS |
| No. 14 Georgia State vs. No. 3 Houston, 7:20 p.m., TBS |
| No. 12 Liberty vs. No. 5 Mississippi State, 7:27 p.m., truTV |
| No. 16 Iona vs. No. 1 North Carolina, 9:20 p.m., TNT |
| No. 9 UCF vs. No. 8 VCU, 9:40 p.m., CBS |
| No. 11 Ohio State vs. No. 6 Iowa State, 9:50 p.m., TBS |
| No. 13 Saint Louis vs. No. 4 Virginia Tech, 9:57 p.m., truTV |
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: First off, if Virginia loses to a No. 16 seed again, we think we should sponsor legislation eliminating them from college basketball. They famously lost to Division II Chaminade as the No. 1 team in the nation with Ralph Sampson and last year, became the first men’s team to ever lose to a No. 16 seed in UMBC. Virginia plays Gardner-Webb at 3:10 p.m. Zion Williamson, and allegedly the rest of Duke, will play at 7:10 p.m. against North Dakota State. This might be an interesting football game, but on the basketball floor, this one should follow a mercy rule. The upsets didn’t flow yesterday, meaning we may be looking at a crazy run of upsets and buzzer beaters today.
UPSET WATCH: Keep an eye on Bobby Hurley and Arizona State, which won a play-in game on Wednesday against St. John’s and will get relatively untested No. 6 seed Buffalo this afternoon. Hurley was the Buffalo coach before he took the ASU job, so this one has some added juice. AAC champion Cincinnati could be in danger against Iowa because that is what the Bearcats do in March. We really liked Iowa when UConn played them in November.
Morning Read
THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR: The firing of Phil Martelli at St. Joseph’s this week was a shocker for his close friend, Geno Auriemma, who said he’d love to have Martelli helping coach his team. (Hearst Connecticut Media)
SEAL OF APPROVAL: Although Barack Obama is no longer the president, he’s still making his tournament picks public. Who does he have winning it all in the women’s tournament? UConn, of course. (SI.com)
CONFERENCE PLAY BEGINS: The baseball team will open AAC play this weekend with a three-game series at Houston. Mason Feole will be on the mound today, followed by Jeff Kersten tomorrow and a starter TBA on Sunday. (UConnHuskies.com)
LOOKING FOR NO. 2: The women’s lacrosse team, still seeking its second win of the season, will host Delaware tomorrow at the Sherman Complex. (UConnHuskies.com)
