Huskies Rolling Into the Elite Eight
The Story: Jordan Hawkins scored a game-high 24 points as No. 4 seed UConn continued running roughshod over NCAA Tournament opponents and advanced to the Elite Eight with an impressive 88-65 blowout win over No. 8 Arkansas last night in Las Vegas.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: This was the best performance by the Huskies all season. They suffocated Arkansas defensively, relentlessly got the ball into the paint and never trailed. In fact, they led by as many as 29 points.
• The difference came inside. The Huskies (28-8) outscored Arkansas 42-24 in the paint and got 18 points and nine rebounds from Adama Sanogo. They held a 43-31 rebounding advantage and shot 57 percent, including nine layups and five dunks.
• The offense was on cruise control the entire game. The Huskies, one of the top passing teams, had 22 assists on their 31 baskets. "We tried to cause turnovers and rush the quarterback, but 22 assists is a lot of assists," Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said.
• Hawkins was ultra efficient, scoring his 24 points on only 13 shots and going a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line. Alex Karaban added 11 points and made all five of his shots, and Nahiem Alleyne had 10 points off the bench.
DEFENSE STRANGLES ARKANSAS: The Razorbacks (22-14) have three McDonald's All-Americans and plenty of future NBA players. They couldn't sniff a good shot for the first 25 minutes as the Huskies' defense was stellar.
• UConn held Arkansas to 32 percent shooting. It wasn't just a matter of Arkansas missing shots. There were large stretches when Arkansas couldn't get a clean look at the basket.
THE TOURNAMENT'S MOST IMPRESSIVE TEAM? We can make a case for UConn. Through three games, the Huskies have outscored their opponents by 62 points, with wins by 24 points, 15 points and now 23 points.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? "We got off to a fast start offensively. We were really sharp. Our passing was sharp. And I thought we just had a great mix of creating openings for our shooters, feeding Adama and Donovan [Clingan] in the ball-screen game, in and then the low post. We were coming at them from so many different places offensively. I think we just had them on their heels and when we did get defensive rebound opportunities, we were able to create some things in transition. I just think we were able to get them on their heels like straightaway in the game."
TO THE ELITE EIGHT: UConn will play No. 3 seed Gonzaga, which beat No. 2 seed UCLA 79-76, in the regional final tomorrow night at 8:45 p.m. on TBS.
• The Bulldogs overcame a 13-point halftime deficit, held the Bruins without a field goal for 11 minutes and still had to hang on to win after Julian Strawther mad a 3-pointer with 7.8 seconds left. Senior forward Drew Timme scored 36 points on 16-of-24 shooting and had 13 rebounds.
• UConn's making its 12th appearance in the Elite Eight and the first since it won the NCAA title in 2014. It's 5-6 in Elite Eight games. The last time UConn lost in the regional final and didn't make the Final Four was in 2006, and that's the last we'll speak of that.
• We're having flashbacks to 1999, when UConn beat Gonzaga 69-62 in the West Region final behind 21 points from Richard Hamilton. The schools have played five times and the Huskies won three of them. The other four games were all played in early-season neutral-site exempt tournaments.
• Let's not forget to shout out Jalen Gaffney and No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic, which knocked off No. 4 seed Tennessee at Madison Square Garden last night to also reach the Elite Eight.
— John Silver & Zac Boyer
Fudd’s Return Propels UConn’s Title Hopes
The Story: Beginning with No. 3 seed Ohio State tomorrow in Seattle, the challenges only get tougher as the No. 2 seed UConn women move through the NCAA Tournament toward a 15th straight Final Four appearance. For the first time all season, however, they are doing so at peak strength, buoyed by what we’ll call “The Azzi Fudd Effect.”
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: There was no question the Huskies would be a better team once Fudd recovered from the right knee injury that sidelined her for 22 games overall and 14 consecutively from Jan. 15 to March 4. But how much better?
NUMBERS DON’T LIE: One look at the following statistics will show much Fudd’s return has meant to the Huskies:
• Over the course of the season, the Huskies score seven more points, and their margin of victory is nearly 10 points greater, when Fudd plays. The lone loss came against Notre Dame, the game in which Fudd initially injured the knee and played only 13 minutes.
RECENCY BIAS: The numbers are even more pronounced when you examine the past five games since Fudd returned. UConn has won all five games by an average of 26.4 points. In the 14 games she missed from Jan. 15 to March 4, the Huskies’ average margin of victory was 12.5 points.
FAMILIAR OPPONENTS: UConn has played six of the other 15 teams remaining in the tournament and has a 5-3 record against those teams:
• Villanova (3-0): Fudd only played against Nova once, in the Big East tournament final, and that was the only time the Huskies beat the Wildcats by double digits.
• Tennessee (1-0): Despite not having Fudd or Caroline Ducharme, UConn beat the Vols by 17 on the road. The two teams could face other again Monday for a trip to the Final Four.
• Iowa (1-0): Fudd scored 24 and the Huskies beat Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes by seven in Portland, Oregon.
• Notre Dame (0-1): Fudd hurt her knee; she played only 13 minutes and UConn lost by 14 in South Bend, Ind. Notre Dame point guard Olivia Miles, who had 21 points, is out for the tournament with a knee injury.
• Maryland (0-1): The Huskies had no Fudd or Nika Muhl and still lost by only seven on the road.
• South Carolina (0-1): Probably the closest game the Gamecocks have played all season, and it was without Fudd or Ducharme.
GENO ON THE FUDD EFFECT: “Azzi played 37 minutes [versus Baylor]. That just goes to show how she’s come back and how she feels. There aren’t many players like Azzi in the country. I’m just glad she’s healthy and can play. The impact that she has on the game is just immeasurable, and the impact she has on the rest of the team.”
AND THERE’S MORE: With Indiana and Stanford eliminated from the tournament, UConn is essentially the No. 4 ranked team remaining based on the AP Top 25, which had the Huskies at No. 6 in the final regular-season poll.
• The advanced metrics favor UConn even more than the AP voters. The Huskies sit at No. 2 — behind South Carolina, of course — in Real Time RPI and the NET rankings.
• Although the Gamecocks (-250) remain the overwhelming favorite to repeat as champions, oddsmakers like UConn next (+700), followed by Iowa (+1100) and LSU (+1200).
• ESPN’s Monica McNutt believes UConn has the best chance of unseating South Carolina as champs.
— David Kull
Morning Reads
• The baseball team (13-5) will host Rutgers in a doubleheader this afternoon, followed by the third game in the series on Sunday. (UConnHuskies.com)
• The softball team (15-8, 4-2 Big East) is set for a series against Georgetown, with the first game to be held this afternoon. (UConnHuskies.com)
Top photo: Jordan Hawkins shoots over Akok Akok in UConn’s home game against Georgetown. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
