On Tuesday, Dec. 29, the No. 3 seeded UConn Huskies will host the No. 18 DePaul Blue Devils at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. UConn enters the contest with a perfect 5-0 record (4-0 Big East) while DePaul boasts a respectable record of 5-2 (2-0 Big East).
Though the Blue Devils have had a nice start to their season, UConn will be their toughest matchup yet. The Huskies have won 16 games in a row against DePaul, with their only loss coming in the first ever matchup between the two teams back in 1983. UConn has never lost to DePaul at home.
While UConn is favored to win, DePaul is certainly no slouch offensively. Through seven games, the Blue Devils are averaging 88.3 points-per-game. Meanwhile, UConn is averaging 89.4 points-per-game, barely a one-point difference. No, UConn’s real advantage lies on the defensive end. Their 49.2 points-allowed-per-game are far superior to DePaul’s mark of 79.9.
If UConn hopes to outscore the Blue Devils, they will need to take away their primary scoring threat, Junior Sonya Morris. Morris leads DePaul in scoring with 18.7 points-per-game. That being said, DePaul has six players averaging over 10 points-per-game, so UConn will need to play a strong defensive game.
For UConn, they will need another balanced offensive performance. The Huskies have three players in Paige Bueckers, Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa averaging over 17 points-per-game.
The game will begin at 6:30 p.m. EST at the Gampel Pavilion.
