UCLA Basketball: Third time can be a charm against UCONN

The UCLA basketball women’s team is meeting the Connecticut Huskies for the third time in two years and are looking to have a different result from the previous two meetings.

One might call this the start of a rivalry between the UCONN and UCLA basketball women’s teams, but in all truth, that might be a bit one-sided.

Though the Bruins remember their previous two matchups with UCONN, it is possible that the Huskies might not. And this is not a shot at UCLA, but when you are at the top of your game as UCONN has been for the last decade, everyone comes at you with the ferocity of a rival.

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But things have started to change, especially this year. UCONN is “down” this season (if you can call it that) while UCLA is on the rise. The Huskies have lost two games this season, which matches their loss total for the three previous years. They are down, but not by much.

As for UCLA, they ended their non-conference schedule with more losses than they hoped for, but they have since turned things around in Pac-12 play. They went 12-6 in conference, they have won 13 of their last 16 and they went 7-2 on the road in Pac-12 play… and this is a conference that has had their top three teams in and out of the Top 10 all season long.

The last two times UCLA took on UCONN, the Huskies gave the Bruins an 86-71 Sweet 16 exit in the 2017 NCAA Tournament and eight months later, a 78-60 non-conference loss at the start of the 2017-18 season. But things are different heading into this game as the Bruins have been playing some of their best basketball in the Cori Close era.

Now, will this lead to a win? I’m not saying “no” but I am not saying “yes” either. Though UCONN head coach Geno Auriemma has said that this team does not have the defensive presence of year’s past, he still has a lot of talent on this team, especially on offense. The Huskies are putting up 83.4 points per game (4th most in the nation) which is being fueled by senior Napheesa Collier who is scoring 21.1 points and adding 10.7 rebounds.

And Collier is just the start. UCONN has four other players that are averaging double-digits this season. Additionally, UCONN is 5-0 against UCLA all time, so when it comes to predicting a Bruin win, as the old saying goes, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

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But that is what has made this season so interesting as we have seen a lot of progress with UCLA. In addition to the stats I mentioned above, you have to understand that all of this has been possible because the team has come together at just the right time. Even in their conference losses, they have kept the games close. The thing to know about this year’s UCLA women’s basketball team is that they fight, fight, fight until the very end.

There is no quit in this team and if someone is having a bad game, another Bruin will step up in her place. That is how in tune with each other they are.

UCLA is led by their triple-threat of Michaela Onyenwere (the Baller), Kennedy Burke (the Experience) and Japreece Dean (the Facilitator), all of whom have made incredible strides in their development, which has helped UCLA to develop as a team. This, in turn, has made the Bruins one of the hottest teams in the country and why UCONN should not take Close’s Bruins lightly.

Next. UCLA Basketball’s triple threat of Onyenwere, Burke and Dean. dark

So can UCLA beat UCONN? Yes, they absolutely can but it has to be a total team effort, which has defined who they are the last few months. Will they? We find out starting at 4 p.m. on Friday evening.