Game Info: 2:00 pm EST Sat Jan 8, 2005
This national championship game rematch does not look like a national championship game preview.
Both teams are struggling more than they have in years as 10th-ranked Tennessee and No. 15 Connecticut renew the biggest rivalry in women's basketball Saturday at the Hartford Civic Center.
In a series that started 10 years ago, the Lady Vols (9-3) and Huskies (8-3) are meeting for the 20th time. Seven games have come in the NCAA tournament, with Connecticut improving to 4-0 in national championship game meetings with last season's 70-61 victory.
Neither team is playing as if it will advance that far in this year's postseason.
The Huskies' three losses are the most they have had this early in a season since 1992-93. The Lady Vols have their lowest ranking since the 1996-97 season. This is the first meeting between the teams when at least one isn't ranked in the top three.
``I'm sure we'll go in Saturday and play hard,'' UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. ``I'm sure we'll be in the game. They're struggling too. They are having some of the similar problems. I think Saturday's going to be an interesting game.''
The Huskies have been unable to replace superstar Diana Taurasi, who led them to the last three national championships. UConn has yet to defeat a quality opponent this season, going 0-3 against teams that have been ranked at some point.
Taurasi had a knack for playing her best in big games, and no team knows that better than Tennessee. She averaged 21.6 points in eight games against the Lady Vols, with the Huskies winning seven of them.
``People talk about her as being one of the greatest ever,'' Tennessee coach Pat Summitt said. ``There is no doubt in my mind about that, just in playing against her. You lose a player like that and it is incredibly different.''
While graduation has hurt UConn, it is injuries that have slowed Tennessee.
Freshman Candace Parker, the two-time high school player of the year, has yet to play this season while recovering from a pair of offseason knee surgeries. Point guard Loree Moore is set to return after missing four weeks due to a tonsillectomy she underwent on Dec. 10.
Summitt didn't have her entire team -- voted No. 1 in the preseason poll -- together for a practice until Jan. 3, and even then it was only for about 10 minutes before center Tye'sha Fluker was poked in the eye and had to leave the floor.
``I guess when that happened, I thought, 'this is so typical of our year,''' Summitt said. ``You just have to handle the injuries and the adversity, and long term, from my experiences, it makes you a little bit tougher and probably better.''
While Summitt is having trouble getting players on the floor, Auriemma is still trying to figure out who he wants there. He used his seventh different starting lineup of the season in Tuesday's 83-33 rout of Providence. Starting forward Barbara Turner sat out with a sore foot, but is expected to play Saturday.
UConn has won the last six meetings by an average of 11 points to take a 13-6 lead in the series. Only Louisiana Tech, with 17 victories, has more wins over Tennessee under Summitt.
``We need to make shots and finish shots. I just do not feel like we have competed and been able to make shots (against Connecticut),'' Summitt said. ``They are a great defensive team, and they have no weaknesses.''
No comments:
Post a Comment