What better to see than the University of Connecticut vs. Stanford and LSU vs. Tennessee in the women’s Final Four.
But the University of Connecticut seems to have the upper hand when playing Stanford in the Final Four.
Not only does the University of Connecticut have the coach, but they have the players. Renee Montgomery along with Ketia Swainger showed off their shooting skills and, combined, gave the University of Connecticut 45% of their winning score.
Even with those two players, you have to add Maya Moore, the Big East player of the year, in the mix of things .
Ranked No. 1, University of Connecticut entered the NCAA tournament with a 36-1 season, winning against Stanford in the regular season 66-54.
Now, let’s look at their opponent, Stanford.
Entering into the NCAA tournament as the number two seed, Stanford leaves the regular season with a 34-3 record.
But I have to admit, Stanford has seen the worst side of player injury for this season. Point Guard JJ Hones had an ACL injury from last season and Michelle Harrison started the season off with a torn ACL as well.
Stanford’s bench is not as deep as Coach Tara VanDerveer would like to see, but they still have the PAC 10’s all time leading scorer Candice Wiggins who scores more than 19 points per game.
So, who’s going to win? The University of Connecticut, of course. They have more depth, talent, and had a better season than Stanford.
Candice Wiggins cannot carry Stanford to the championship by herself. Connecticut’s all around talent can and will bring them to the championships and beyond.
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6 months ago
I think one can safely say that Stanford is not a one woman show as seems to be implied above. Looking at season stats, you'll find that three of Stanford's starters are putting up big numbers - and it's not Wiggins who is likely the biggest matchup problem for the Huskies. Sophomore Jayne Appel (15ppg, 9rpg, 3apg) and frosh Kayla Pederson (13ppg, 8rpg) routinely cause big problems inside. Although the Huskies have the depth and talent inside to contain Appel and Pederson, it will likely come at the expense of leaving someone open on the outside. For this reason, the real keys for the Cardinal are therefore likely going to be Rosalyn Gold-Onwude and JJ Hones: if they can keep the shooting touch that each has displayed in the tournament, then except 80-90 points from the Cardinal. On the other end of the floor, the Huskies can also score in bunches, but the key for them will be taking care of the ball and spreading the floor. All that being said, this may end up being a shooting gallery of a game - more like Stanford's Elite Eight game against Maryland than the grind out game that UConn experienced against Rutgers. Prediction: If Hones and Gold-Onwude combine for more than 20 points - Stanford advances to its first national championship game since they won it all in 1992. If not, then the Huskies move on to give Maya Moore a chance at her first national title.
6 months ago
Ok, I can safely agree to an extent. You're right, it is going to be an up and down game. And it may be close because it's going to be a shooting frenzy. But at the end of the day when buzzard goes off, UConn will be in the championships. I'm not saying that Candice Wiggins can make or break Stanford's team, rather saying that they rely on Wiggins. However, lets look at some more of the stats:
Team Scoring Offense:
1. North Carolina 87.9 ppg
2. Maryland 82.2 ppg
3. Connecticut 81.5 ppg
18. Stanford 74.4 ppg
Team Scoring Defense:
1. Connecticut 30.5 ppg
2. North Carolina 23.6 ppg
3. LSU 20.0 ppg
4. Stanford 19.2 ppg
With this being said, how do you think Stanford is really going to match up against UConn? If Stanford wins, it will be a real upset for UConn. In the regular season, Stanford lost by eight to UConn, with more injured players Stanford has there is no match. Don't get me wrong, I think Stanford has the potential, just not this year.
6 months ago
I assume that the stat you refer to as Team Scoring Defense is actually the scoring differential such that the actual team scoring defense stats would be: UConn 57.4 and Stanford 55.4. Not that it actually makes much of a difference in my analysis, but the difference in the season stats has been an issue of offensive productivity and not defense. In the tourney, however, Huskies (O:80.5, D:55.2) vs. Cardinal (O:85.8, D:60.2) and that's pretty similar. Overall, I still think the key factor in the game will be productivity from "role players", thus my focus on Hones and Gold-Onwude (Huskies are generally more balanced so it's less of an issue on that side of the ball). Of course, I should include a caveat for foul trouble, which is more likely to be a problem for Stanford than UConn. On the whole, I think both teams can win with a slight edge to the Huskies but Stanford winning should not be a shock...
6 months ago
Correction to my previous comment: for the season, UConn Defensive stat would be 51ppg.
6 months ago
I was wrong - Harmon stepped up with JJ Hones to fine Stanford the necessary production to put them over the top. Gold-Onwude had her shooting woes but came up big defensively. Stanford-Tennessee for the championship. UConn will be there next year - they should be congratulated for an awesome season.
6 months ago
Oops. find, not fine
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