Finally, UConn and Vols Meet Again
The Story: Thirteen years after their last game, No. 3 UConn and No. 23 Tennessee will once again play a rivalry game at the XL Center tonight (6 p.m., ESPN).
THE PHONE CALL THAT STARTED IT ALL: Where did the UConn and Tennessee women’s basketball rivalry and yearly game come from? Sometimes all it takes is a simple call, and for more than a decade, it became one of the great rivalry games in all of college basketball. The beauty of the game and why it became what it was is that it happened out of desperation. In 1995, UConn was coming off a regional final appearance and hadn’t yet won an NCAA title. ESPN needed a Big East team to host a Martin Luther King Jr. Day game, so the Huskies were naturally chosen, and once North Carolina said no, Pat Summitt said yes. It became No. 2 UConn versus No. 1 Tennessee. Tennessee, of course, was the standard, and little did anyone know that it would be the year Rebecca Lobo would lead the Huskies to an undefeated season and their first national title. UConn also became No. 1 for the first time following its win.
GENO ISN’T NOSTALGIC: Our favorite Italian curmudgeon, Geno Auriemma, doesn’t really think the game is a big one. He has said that on numerous occasions and refuses to hype the game or bring up old memories. Does it hurt to just fib a little and get the juices flowing? We would say not, and I guess we shouldn’t be excited about the game. Unfortunately, we do like the game and hope there is a near sellout crowd for the revival at the XL Center. Every UConn-Tennessee game in Connecticut has been sold out, but tickets remain available tonight. We agree with Geno on one thing: Not having Summit on the sideline is a shame. She and Geno were great foils.
… BUT SALES IS: The game absolutely has had some of the most iconic moments in women’s basketball history, and Nykesha Sales, who played Tennessee seven times, reminds us of all the big ones.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “Every time you play a really, really good team, you want to make sure you’re in a position to win the game at the end and that you have what it takes to close it out. Nothing less, nothing more. Be in a position to win the game, and then be in a position to close it out.”
NOW, THE GAME: So much has been written about the past. What about the present? The Huskies are coming off a tough road stretch in which they had to fight to win games in the AAC before a blowout of Tulsa on Sunday. The Huskies could use Anna Makurat to continue the scoring off the bench that she had against the Golden Hurricane as they will need it against the resurgent Lady Vols. We’ll also be watching the play of center Olivia Nelson-Ododa intently. Nelson-Ododa had a nightmare in the last “big game” against Baylor earlier this month and finished with zero points. She hasn’t really bounced back in wins over Houston, Memphis, UCF and Tulsa and has scored in double figures only once in the last five games. She is going to have to have a breakout game against a high-profile team to get that monkey off her back. Is it unfair? Yes, she’s a sophomore and has a ways to go to reach her potential. But, at UConn, everything is magnified and we aren’t used to losing games and blow everything out of proportion.
ABOUT TENNESSE: The Vols are 15-3 and 5-1 in the SEC and are coached by Kellie Harper, who replaced Holly Warlick, Summit’s longtime assistant, after last season. Harper’s first year at the helm of Tennessee, where she once played, has put the Lady Vols back near the top of the SEC. Rennia Davis is leading the Vols in scoring at 17.6 points per game and Jordan Horston is second at 11.6 points per game. The Lady Vols’ three losses this season were against a pair of ranked teams in Stanford and Kentucky and to once-ranked Texas.
SHOULD WE BE WORRIED? Yes. Of course, UConn fans should be worried. UConn has played only one other ranked team this season and was destroyed at home against Baylor. The Huskies didn’t look great in road wins over Memphis and UCF and UConn doesn’t have much depth to work with. The Lady Vols are a good team but are not near the top 10. The Huskies have to go out of the conference to be challenged, and this is a good measuring stick at where the Huskies are.
Be Ready To Mix It Up In Houston
The Story: The men’s basketball team will play its third straight top-25 opponent tonight when it faces No. 25 Houston on the road (9 p.m., ESPNU).
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The road isn’t a good place for Huskies. They are 0-3 on the road this season and 2-2 on neutral floors. Why is that the case? We don’t know, but at 1-3 and 11th in the AAC, the Huskies could sorely use a win to help stem the tide. It’s going to be difficult against a very good team that recently whipped Wichita State. It is the toughest stretch of the season and the first time in 21 years the Huskies have faced three ranked teams in a row in the regular season.
WHO SHOOTS THE 3? Tyler Polley was a 40 percent shooter for the Huskies but is out for the year. Don’t expect anyone to take his place and expect a lot of misses. Christian Vital is now the best 3-point shooter on the Huskies and is the one go-to guy from the perimeter at 32.2 percent on 87 shots. Vital’s shooting has declined across the board from his junior year, when he shot 45 percent and 40 percent from 3. He’s at 39 percent overall and 32 percent from 3 this year. Vital remains a great free throw shooter and we are betting he has a hot streak from 3-point range coming. After that? Not many good options. Alterique Gilbert is shooting below 30 percent from 3-point range and James Bouknight is 7-of-21 and that isn’t his game. What we do like? UConn defends the 3 very well, holding teams to 31 percent from 3-point range.
SPEAKING OF DEFENSE: The Huskies don’t have much of an offense but defensively are second in the nation with 7.1 blocks per game and are holding teams to 39.8 percent shooting.
ABOUT HOUSTON: The Cougars (14-4, 4-1 AAC) are hot, having won eight of nine. Their plus-11 rebounding margin per game is the best in the nation. Houston displays all the hallmarks of Kelvin Sampson‘s coaching: It’s tough and physical and is near the top of the AAC in nearly all defensive categories. The Cougars’ offense is spread out with Caleb Harris leading them with 12.1 points per game Nate Hinton adding 11.6 points per game. Keeping the Cougars off the offensive glass is paramount to any chance at the upset for the Huskies. Expect a low scoring defensive game with points hard to come by.
Morning Reads
MOORE SITTING OUT AGAIN: Maya Moore didn’t play last year and will sit out a second WNBA season — and the Olympics — as she continues to push for reform of the criminal justice system. (New York Times)
NELSON BACK ON THE BUS: Defenseman Bryan Nelson, a senior who played four games as a freshman before leaving to focus on academics, is back on the men’s hockey team as concerns about depth have the IceBus looking for players as the semester begins. (The UConn Blog)
