The top-ranked UConn women’s basketball team (6-0) had a week to recover after last weekend’s 48 hour stretch that included a harrowing win over No. 6 Michigan and a romp of Utah at Mohegan Sun Arena.
No Feast Week action. No PlayersEra Festival. Only tryptophan and mac and cheese.
“I don’t remember the last time we were home for Thanksgiving,” Geno Auriemma said with a smile. “It was quite nice, to be honest with you.”
Sure, Thanksgiving gave the Huskies a time to reflect on what they’re grateful for; Sarah Strong’s conference-leading 58.2% mark from the field, 9.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game; Azzi Fudd’s 54.8% mark from three – yes, from three – and 21 points per game.
But it also gave them time to prepare for the beginning of Big East play, which starts with Xavier (4-2) in Cincinnati on Sunday.
“We’ve tried to get better at some of the things that we felt were there last weekend,” Auriemma said of what his team did during their week off. “Obviously, from a technical standpoint, how we can better get our message across, be better prepared for some things and not relaxed when get a big lead.”
Below are two storylines to watch for the Huskies and a scout of the Musketeers.
Storylines to Watch for No. 1 UConn
The start of Big East play: Analytic gurus cover your eyes – UConn is about to dip in strength of schedule ratings. And strength of record. And the starter’s stats likely won’t overflow the box score like previous games. The world is ending.
Just kidding, it isn’t. They’ll be fine.
Yes, the Big East isn’t as raucous or treacherous as the SEC or Big 10, which are laden with some of the other top ranking teams in the country. But the conference is still more than capable of sending multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament and fielding a competitive atmosphere.
“Marquette has their whole core back,” Auriemma said. “Marquette can very easily be an NCAA Tournament team. Seton Hall, Villanova, St. John’s come to mind based on what happened last year and how close they were.”
So yes, UConn will drop below South Carolina, Texas and UCLA in strength of record. But no, that does not mean the Huskies are inferior from a wholistic standpoint.
“There’s a lot of Big 10 teams, a lot of ACC teams, a lot of SEC teams that have never played in a Final Four,” Auriemma said. “Being in a conference doesn’t necessarily do anything to help them… we can’t worry about that.”
Depth off the bench: It’s been – for the most part – a steady nine-deep rotation for the Huskies through six games. Ice Brady (who isn’t available on Sunday as she continues to deal with knee inflammation) and Jana El Alfy have split the ninth spot at about 10 minutes per game while Allie Ziebell, Blanca Quiñonez and Kayleigh Heckel all average between 15 and 19 minutes, respectively.
Sunday’s game against Xavier will serve as an opportunity for the second tier of depth to get valuable on-court experience. Caroline Ducharme, Ayanna Patterson and Kelis Fisher have all seen spot work late in games but could be in line for larger roles.
Can Ducharme find her stroke from three? It feels tantalizingly close. Can Patterson find the basket more consistently? Can Fisher run the offense?
It never hurts to be deep (just ask Auriemma) and giving experience to depth pieces can only help come March.
Opponent Scout: Xavier Musketeers (4-2)
Bill Chambers’ third Musketeer squad is headed by the scoring duo of Mariyah Noel and MacKenzie Givens, who combine to average 29.5 of Xavier’s 63.2 nightly points.
Noel leads the team in points (18.5) and rebounds (7.2) from her guard position in five starts. The Ole Miss transfer has already notched two double-doubles and was one rebound away from a third.
Givens, a 6-foot-0 sophomore, has scored in double figures in three of her first five games and completes the backcourt tandem.
Meri Kanerva has started every game so far and has averaged over 37 minutes a game as a true sophomore. She went for 23 points on the wing in Xavier’s loss to Kent State two weeks ago.
As a team, the Musketeers like to slow the game down with half court sets and dice apart a defense with less isolation and more facilitating. Xavier currently ranks 89th nationally in assist rate (59.4) and 272nd in tempo (69.5).
Opponents have struggled to score inside (evidenced from a 26th ranking 13.8% block rate) but have been able to get shots off from the perimeter.
If Connecticut can unlock the game in transition and keep Xavier off the offensive glass, three pointers will be open on the other end.
Mounting an early lead will also be paramount for the Huskies, with Xavier ranking 333rd in three point percentage nationally (23.1).