Living well is the best revenge, goes George Herbert’s old adage.
The 400-year-old English poet was referring to UConn women’s basketball’s overwhelming success since it lost to Tennessee last February, of course.
Connecticut (22-0) has added (another) National Championship banner to the overflowing Gampel Pavilion rafters since it last lost to the Lady Vols (14-4) in Knoxville 360 daysago. It’s riding the nation’s longest active winning streak (38 games) and has crushed its opponents by an average of 39.7 points thanks in part to the herculean efforts of Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd.
Living luxuriously.
But it still stings – the bitterness of defeat. It’s not something UConn had tasted in its storied rivalry with Tennessee, which dates back to 1995, since the first week of 2007.
“Angry. Frustrated. Embarrassed,” said Fudd, referring to last year’s loss in Knoxville. “As individuals and as a team, we all felt like no one really did their part.”
Things have tempered since the rivalry’s hay day, when the Huskies and Lady Vols would duel for national titles on a seemingly annual occurrence, but that doesn’t meanSunday’s top 15 showdown in PeoplesBank Arena is any less significant.
“Every great scenario is sports generally involves two teams that manage to create these big moments: two fighters, two golfers, two swimmers,” Geno Auriemma said. “Somebody that they respect a lot and that they’re fighting with all the time… things have changed, a lot has happened since then, but they’re still a really good team and they beat us last year at their place.”
So, who are these infamous Lady Volunteers?
Opponent Profile: No. 15 Tennessee Lady Volunteers (14-4, 6-1 SEC)
It’s hard to get a pulse on Kim Caldwell’s second squad on Rocky Top. Through 17 games, the Lady Vols have sported 15 different starting lineups, with no player starting more than 15 games apiece.
Caldwell’s hockey-style substitutions spread minutes 12-deep; no player averages more than 26 minutes per game while 12 average more than nine.
Spearheading the Lady Vols’ rotation-by-committee is the scoring quartet of Talaysia Cooper, Janiah Barker, Mia Pauldo and Lazaria Spearman, who combine to average 65% of the team’s 78.4 points per game. Cooper, the former South Carolina transfer, is the head of the snake offensively, averaging a team-leading 14.4 points and 4.1 assists.
The Vols play fast (28th in adjusted tempo nationally) and are fantastic in transition, ranking 15th in the country in fast break points per game (15.2). They score off turnovers (9thnationally) and force tough shots on the defensive end. They get 3-pointers, and they get them in earnest; Tennessee ranks third in the nation in 3-point attempts per game (31.9).
What to Watch For:
The Injuries (and/or sickness): Six Huskies missed Wednesday’s game against Xavier with a wide array of injuries and illnesses. Blanca Quiñonez (shoulder) and Serah Williams (ankle), two vital rotational fixtures and stalwart defenders, headlined the bunch.
Quiñonez still needs “a few more days” to heal and will remain out Sunday. Williams, meanwhile, is a “full-go,” Auriemma told the media Saturday. Caroline Ducharme (migraine) and Gandy Malou-Mamel (illness) remain day-to-day.
“It’s not long term for sure,” Auriemma said Wednesday of Quiñonez’s shoulder – the same one she tweaked before the season opener. “Serah just drove in the lane. She had this Giannis moment, she thought ‘I’m going to go in there and do this and that’ and just tweaked her ankle a little bit.”
Fudd, who exited to the tunnel early in the second quarter before returning, “wasn’t all there,” either.
“I don’t know that she’s 100% all there right now,” Auriemma said of Fudd Wednesday. “Stuff runs through your team throughout the season. She didn’t look like she was all there.”
Fudd didn’t seem too worried when asked about her condition on Saturday.
“I feel great,” Fudd said with a smile. “Incredible – on top of the world. I’m fine, I was fine.”
It’s certainly something to keep an eye on for a team overfamiliar with thin rotations, especially against a Tennessee team whose hockey-style substitutions aim to whittle at opponents’ depth.
Transition Play: It’s never been more vital. On one end, Tennessee ranks top 15 in the nation, scoring nearly 20% of its points in transition. On the other, the Vols have shown to be susceptible to breakneck styles, allowing nearly six baskets a game in transition. Connecticut’s backcourt, headed by the bouncy KK Arnold, must take advantage of Tennessee’s miscues and execute off the defensive glass.
Seeing more small-ball lineups, much like the ones Auriemma utilized Wednesday against Xavier, could be the solution. Four guard sets with Strong as the post player spaces the court offensively and gives Connecticut the requisite speed to run with the Vols defensively.
This article was updated on January 31st to include quotes from the Women’s Basketball media.
Author’s Note: This article will be updated on Saturday.