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For 15 meetings, Syracuse women’s basketball has faced UConn when the Huskies were the No. 1 team in the AP Poll. On Tuesday night, the two will meet for the 16th.

The Orange (15-8, 9-7 Atlantic Coast) have dropped 25 straight against Connecticut (25-1, 18-0 Big East) dating back to 1996. Still, the confidence of head coach Quentin Hillsman and guard Tiana Mangakahia remains undeterred. 

“I always felt we had a good game plan in place to beat those teams,” Hillsman said via Zoom on Monday. “And obviously the last one when they won, they had Breanna Stewart.”

This UConn team has first-team All-American and freshman point guard Paige Bueckers, who totaled 24 points in UConn’s 102-59 win over No. 16 High Point in the first round. 

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Syracuse’s Tuesday night matchup with No. 1 UConn in San Antonio:

All-time

UConn leads the series, 39-12

Last time they played

Syracuse was in a very familiar situation in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, albeit the top-seeded Huskies hosted eight-seed SU at Gampel Pavilion, in Connecticut. UConn coasted past the Orange 94-64, and three Huskies scored over 20 points. 

That game, the Orange shot over 43% from the field — something this 2021 team has done only eight times — but seldom pressed as much. They allowed the Huskies to shoot nearly 63% from the floor. Kia Nurse led the way with 29 points and tied an NCAA Tournament record with nine made 3-pointers. 

The year prior, Syracuse won its Final Four game but suffered a 31-point loss to the Huskies in the title game. It was the closest the Orange have ever come to the program’s first-ever national championship, and they’ll continue that hunt on Tuesday in Texas.

The UConn report

Three Huskies — Bueckers, Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa — earned All-Big East honors, and forward Aaliyah Edwards was the Big East’s Sixth Woman of the Year. 

The Connecticut offense starts with its 5-foot-11 point guard, just the third freshman ever to crack the AP All-America first team. She set the team’s freshman record with 152 assists and can stretch defenses with the ability to score at all three levels, Hillsman said. Both Bueckers (19.9) and Williams (15.6) average upwards of 15 points. 

The Huskies’ only loss came against then-No. 19 Arkansas, who just fell to 13th-seeded Wright State in the first round yesterday. The Razorbacks shot worse than the Huskies’ 55% from the field but turned UConn over 15 times. The Huskies also committed a season-high 23 fouls that game. 

Only once this season has head coach Geno Auriemma’s group shot below 40% as a team. Turnovers (14.3 per game) are a weakness of the nation’s top team, seen most notably in the 20 against Seton Hall in December. 

On offense, Syracuse must make its shots from the perimeter to have a chance. In SU’s three games against the AP top five this season — twice against Louisville and once against No. 2 NC State — it shot under 17% from 3-point range. 

3 things UConn said Monday

No Geno Auriemma

The 11-time national champion will once again be away from the sidelines as he completes his COVID-19 quarantine following a positive test last week. That left assistant coach Chris Dailey and the rest of Auriemma’s staff in charge of the Huskies’ single day of prep for the Orange. 

“As far as being comfortable, I don’t really have a choice, do I?” Dailey said with a laugh on Monday. “But I think we’re going to do what we can do between our staff. We’re prepared. We’re going to be prepared.”

This is the first time Hillsman will face the Huskies without Auriemma on the sideline. SU’s 15-year head coach cited the relationship between the two coaches over time, particularly during the 2016 NCAA Tournament that culminated with UConn topping the Orange 82-51 in the national title. 

“I just respect what he’s done in this game,” Hillsman said, “It’s really hard to win consistently, and he’s done it.” 

Guarding Kamilla Cardoso

When asked about 6-foot-7 freshman center and the ACC’s Freshman of the Year, Dailey said she wasn’t sure if other teams came up with a proper game plan to guard Cardoso all year. 

“I’m not sure that, in one day, we’re going to be able to do that,” she said.

Dailey said it would be difficult to keep the ball away from Cardoso all game, and it would be hard to keep her “off the spot she wants to be on.” 

“Even if she’s not the one taking shots, she’s going to rebound the ball. It is a challenge,” Dailey said. 

UConn’s played tall teams this season, including Tennessee, Dailey said, but no one of Cardoso’s size. The Syracuse freshman could be the key if the Orange want to pull off an upset.

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More on Syracuse women’s basketball:

• Syracuse defeats South Dakota State 72-55 to advance to round of 32
  
• Emily Engstler’s offseason transformation ignites her best year to date
  
• Season-high in blocks, steals propels Syracuse over South Dakota State
  
• Road trip from Greensboro: How far can Syracuse women’s basketball go?
  

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Syracuse’s defense

Dailey highlighted Syracuse’s defense, which features the zone, man matchups and the full-court press. If the Orange play a perfect game, particularly on defense against the No. 5 scoring offense in the country, they could have a shot. SU’s full-court press needs to shorten the shot clock and limit Bueckers from getting open space in transition or becoming comfortable running the point in the halfcourt. 

“They do a lot of different things, they play zone, they matchup, they press, they’ve got a size factor in the middle, so it’s going to be a challenge,” Dailey said.

Hillsman credited SU’s pressure on the length of the floor for its opening-round 72-55 win over ninth-seed South Dakota State, but the Jackrabbits without their best player are a far cry from the nation’s top team. 

Player to watch: Christyn Williams

There was just one game all season in which Bueckers scored less than 10 points per game — Jan. 21 against No. 13 Tennessee. The Huskies trailed nearly the entire game, but Williams came on in the second half to lead the way with 20 points. 

Granted, Bueckers still recorded seven assists, eight rebounds and hit the dagger with under a minute to play. But if Syracuse is able to replicate Tennessee’s success in stifling the freshman, her experienced backcourt mate will dictate UConn’s success. 

Williams has scored as many as 29 points this season, and she’s started all but one game in her three seasons in Storrs. Bueckers has proven time and again that no moment is too big for the nation’s top rookie. But if the Huskies are going to defeat Syracuse, the damage will be orchestrated by Williams. 

Stat to know: 25

Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells says “You are what your record says you are.” Tomorrow has the potential to be one of the great upsets in college basketball, but SU’s recent track record — 25 straight losses to the Huskies — casts doubt. Unless you’re Hillsman. 

“Not at all,” Hillsman said when asked whether past losses against UConn weighed on his mind. “Because at some point, you have to put a one in front of that number. It could be tomorrow.”

No one on SU’s current roster has faced the Huskies, not even fifth-year point guard Mangakahia. On Monday, she mentioned SU’s struggles against top opponents both in her tenure and historically.

“We do need the breakthrough win,” Mangakahia said. “We need to beat these teams so that everyone can see how good we really are, and yeah, I’m very excited and confident in our team.” 

For Mangakahia and the rest of SU’s seniors, it could be their last chance.

Published on March 22, 2021 at 11:50 pm

Contact Tim: tnolan@syr.edu