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How to Watch
Time: 6:30 PM ET
TV: SNY (local) | FS1 (out of market)
Radio: 97-9 ESPN
Location: Gampel Pavilion
Series History
UConn has dominated the series against DePaul, holding a 17-1 all-time advantage. All 17 wins have come under Geno Auriemma. The lone loss came in December of 1983 and the Huskies won their last matchup by a final score of 84-74 in a game played at DePaul just over a year ago.
The Matchup
The Huskies (5-0, 4-0 Big East) will look to take down DePaul (5-2, 2-0) on Tuesday night.
DePaul, coached by Doug Bruno, present the first real test for the Huskies this season. DePaul has already played three ranked teams this season, losing narrowly to 13th ranked Texas A&M, a lopsided loss to fifth ranked Louisville, and a victory over ninth ranked Kentucky. The Blue Demons have a potent offense that plays at a high pace (84.6 possessions per 40 min, 2nd in the nation per HerHoopStats). The Blue Demons share the ball on offense, averaging 19.1 assists per game. They have six players averaging double figures, led by Sonya Morris with 18.7 PPG. As a team, DePaul is averaging just over 88 PPG (11th in the country) and have an effective field goal percentage of 51.4% (per HerHoopStats). Can the Huskies defense step up and slow down this frenetic offense?
Geno has lamented the Huskies defense after each game this season. He jokingly pointed out how their most effective defense in their last game against Creighton was to sit back in a zone and yell “miss”. Something tells me they will need to do more than that to win tonight. While the Huskies lead the country in many statistical categories on both offense and defense, they have yet to be truly challenged this season, unlike DePaul who is 1-2 against top-15 teams. How will the freshman handle a close contest? Can they play their game, or will they let DePaul speed them up? In five games this season, the closest margin of victory was a narrow 27-point win at Seton Hall. The Huskies will be tested tonight, but I think they will be up to the challenge.
Final Prediction
The Huskies start off slow and take time to adjust on defense but pull ahead in the second half to close out the victory and pass their first test of the young season.