WBB Notes - 2.4 Update
All Eyes On Milwaukee
Following Wednesday wins, Friday night’s BIG EAST women’s basketball game between No. 3/5 UConn and Marquette will be a battle for first place. The Huskies improved to 10-0 in league action with a win over St. John’s on Wednesday night, holding a one-game lead in the standings over the second-place Golden Eagles, who won at Georgetown on Wednesday afternoon to improve to 9-1 in conference play. A win for UConn on Friday would give them a two-game cushion atop the standings, while a Marquette win would move the Golden Eagles into a first-place tie with the Huskies with matching 10-1 marks. MU is riding a BIG EAST-best six-game winning streak, with five of those victories coming on the road. UConn is the first team to win its first 10 BIG EAST games of the season since 2018-19, when Marquette won its first 12 league contests. Tipoff at the Al McGuire Center between UConn and Marquette is set for 7 p.m. ET, and will air on SNY.
UConn-Marquette Key Stats
In The NET: The Huskies (No. 2) and Golden Eagles (No. 41) have the top two NCAA NET rankings in the BIG EAST as of Feb. 3. Additional top-100 BIG EAST NET teams include No. 55 DePaul, No. 57 Seton Hall and No. 70 Villanova.
Wins on the Year: Both have 12 wins on the season, with UConn 12-1 and Marquette 12-2. Almost equally as important, both teams have reached the 13-games played minimum to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
Hot Shooting: UConn and Marquette have not only two of the best field goal percentages in the BIG EAST, but nationally. The Huskies lead all Division I teams with a .530 shooting clip, while the Golden Eagles list 11
th nationally with a .476 mark. MU is 11-1 this season when shooting at least 40 percent from the field; UConn has shot over 50 percent 10 times this season, including two games north of 60 percent.
Defensive Leaders: UConn and Marquette also rank 1-2 in the BIG EAST in scoring defense. The Golden Eagles have allowed just one team to score more than 70 during their current six-game winning streak, with four teams being held below 60 during that stretch. The Huskies rank 13
th nationally with their defensive average (54.2) on the year, allowing just one team all season to score above 70.
On The Boards: UConn and Marquette rank 1-2 in the BIG EAST in rebounding offense, rebounding defense and rebounding margin. Both teams’ rebounding margin ranks in the top 15 nationally (UConn, 10
th; Marquette, 14
th), as each squad has been beaten on the glass just once this year.
Players To Watch: UConn’s Paige Bueckers has been on fire lately, including last night’s 32-point outing against St. John’s. She’s the No. 2 scoring rookie in the nation and ranks No. 3 overall in the BIG EAST with a 19.6 average. Marquette’s Selena Lott leads the squad with a 16.1 scoring average. She’ll look to shrug off a pair of quiet outings and return to previous form, which included a 30-point showing against the Red Storm and 27 at Villanova.
Last Night In #BIGEASTWBB: 3/5 UConn 94, St. John's 62 | Marquette 55, Georgetown 48
Paige Bueckers scored a career-best 32 points and dished seven assists while Aaliyah Edwards added a career-high 22 points as third-ranked UConn (12-1, 10-0 BIG EAST) remained undefeated in BIG EAST play. Bueckers' 32 points were only two-points shy of Tina Charles' single-game freshman program record, which was set during the 2006-07 season. Leilani Correa reached the 30-point mark for the BIG EAST-leading fourth time this season with a game-high 33 points to lead St. John’s (5-10, 2-8), which shot 50-percent from the field but struggled with 27 turnovers. The Huskies never trailed in the contest, shooting .538 from the field and winning the battle of the boards 30-21. In D.C., the Golden Eagles (12-2, 9-1) avoided the upset in the standings, overcoming an uncharacteristic off shooting night thanks to 17 points from sophomore Jordan King. MU committed just 10 turnovers on the afternoon. Georgetown (1-8, 1-8), which was led by Graceann Bennett’s 12 points, shot .438 for its second straight game of over 40-percent shooting. The Hoyas were within five with 93 seconds to go before Chloe Marotta sealed the Marquette win with free-throws down the stretch.
Full Recaps: MU-GU | SJ-UConn
This Week In The BIG EAST
Friday
3/5 UCONN at MARQUETTE, 7 p.m.^
Sunday
20/21 DePAUL at MARQUETTE, Noon#
All Times Eastern
^SNY
#FS1