WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
No. 2 UCONN vs. MINNESOTA
What: First round of Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament
When: Saturday, noon
Where: Paradise Island, The Bahamas Records: UConn (1-0), Minnesota (3-1) TV: FloHoops
Radio: UConn Sports Network
KEEP AN EYE ON
Cleaning up defense: In the eyes of coach Geno Auriemma, UConn struggled defensively in its season opener against Arkansas. The Razorbacks were able to get around the Huskies’ bigs, shave down UConn’s lead and get within three points of the Huskies. While Auriemma attributed the team’s defensive struggles to the unequal size matchup, the Huskies need to work on creating efficient stops. Two teams they could face in the three-day Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament will have more size than Arkansas, yes, but also have more potent offenses. Both No. 1 South Carolina and No. 9 Oregon have gone undefeated to start the season and average 73 and 88 points per game, respectively.
Azzi watch: After an explosive performance in UConn’s exhibition against Fort Hays State — when she drained three consecutive 3-pointers — Azzi Fudd didn’t make much of an impact against Arkansas. The freshman admitted to being nervous before games, and that was evident on Sunday when she sometimes passed on shots. With the potential for strong competition this weekend, UConn needs the freshman to get comfortable and be confident in making her shots so she can become a consistent offensive option.
“Azzi looked like she was a little bit too passive and too tentative,” Auriemma said after the Arkansas game. “I don’t know why she would ever even think about having to make a pass and she did that a couple times and I thought, ‘Why? Just shoot it.’ Azzi will score more points.”
Familiar foes loom: If UConn defeats Minnesota, it will face either Syracuse or No. 23 South Florida in the second round. If the Huskies win and advance to Monday’s championship, they will most likely play either No. 1 South Carolina or No. 9
Oregon for the tournament’s title. All four teams have recent history with the Huskies — UConn defeated Syracuse in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament and lost at home to Oregon in 2020. If South Carolina advances and meets UConn in the championship, we’ll get our first glimpse of how the nation’s top two teams match up against each other two months before they’ll meet again in Columbia, S.C.
Facing both familiar and unfamiliar opponents is a great early-season test for UConn as it continues to gel with a rotation that includes new players.
“Most tournaments kind of have that feel of, how are you going to navigate the tournament. The interesting thing sometimes you’re playing teams you don’t know and here that’s the case with Minnesota. We don’t know them, they don’t know us,” Auriemma said Friday. “And then whether it’s South Florida, Syracuse ... we have a lot of familiarity with them. Whether it’s Oregon or South Carolina, we have recent familiarity with both of them. Other than Minnesota there’s a lot of familiar faces here.”
UConn is 2-0 all-time against Minnesota, with the last meeting in the 2004 Final Four. The Gophers are led by fourth-year coach Lindsay Whalen, the former Connecticut Sun guard who played for Geno Auriemma on the 2012 and 2016 Olympic teams.