The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
No. 1/1 UConn
No. 7 Women's Basketball preview: No. 1 UConn
01.14.2018 | Women's Basketball
The Longhorns and Huskies meet Monday at 6 p.m. CT at the Frank Erwin Center.
No. 7/7 Texas Longhorns (14-2, 5-1 Big 12) vs. No. 1/1 UConn Huskies (15-0, 5-0 AAC)
Time: Monday, January 15, 2018 | 6 p.m. CT
Location: Austin, Texas | Frank Erwin Center (16,540)
TV: ESPN2 (Adam Amin, Rebecca Lobo, Kara Lawson)
Radio: 105.3 FM (Craig Way, Fran Harris)
Game Notes | WatchESPN | Live Stats | Live Audio | Tickets
It's a top-10 Big Monday matchup inside the Frank Erwin Center as No. 7 Texas plays host to No. 1 UConn presented by AT&T. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be nationally televised by ESPN2. It's a meeting of two of the top-five winningest programs in NCAA Division I women's basketball history, as UConn is third all-time with 1,097 victories and Texas is fifth with 1,051 all-time wins.
Tickets still remain for the game and are available for $5. The Longhorns are looking to break the facility's all-time regular-season attendance record of 14,413 set on January 22, 1988 against Ole Miss. Texas is 70-8 (.897) inside the Frank Erwin Center since the start of the 2013-14 season. The Longhorns are 41-4 (.911) at home over the past two-plus seasons, including a pair of NCAA Tournament wins in each of the past two seasons.
For complete important gameday and fan information, please click here.
Doors for Monday's game will open at 4:30 p.m. and the Clear Bag Policy will be in effect. It's Texas Traditions Day and BEVO, Smokey the Cannon and the Texas Cheer and Pom squads will be on the Erwin Center north plaza beginning at 4:30 p.m. CT. Free Defend The Drum t-shirts will be provided for all fans seated in the lower bowl of the arena. The halftime entertainment will feature a six-minute performance from the world-famous Red Panda.
There is a free shuttle available for UT students.
Texas will face an Associated Press No. 1-ranked team for the 29th time in program history. It has a record of 5-23 in those games. The Longhorns' last win against an AP No. 1 team came on November 25, 2004 when No. 4 Texas defeated No. 1 Tennessee 74-59 in Austin. The Longhorns are 3-1 against AP Top-25 teams this season, and have earned 17 wins against ranked opponents since the start of the 2015-16 campaign.
"It will take a really exceptional performance, no question about it," Texas head coach Karen Aston said. "They're so good in so many different ways. They're fast, they're really good in transition and they're solid defensively. I'm really excited that the community has embraced it because it is a great game for women's basketball regardless of what happens."
Texas is led by junior guard Lashann Higgs, who averages a squad-best 15.1 points per game. The reigning Big 12 Player of the Week and USBWA National Player of the Week, Higgs has been impressive in Big 12 Conference play this season. In league games alone, Higgs ranks among the conference's top five in five different statistical categories: points per game (2nd, 20.5), field-goal percentage (2nd, 67.2), three-point field-goal percentage (4th, 44.4), free-throw percentage (5th, 83.3), and fifth in steals per game (2.5).
Senior guard Ariel Atkins follows with 14.6 points per game (all games combined) and has a squad-best 47 steals on the year. She currently ranks second in the Big 12 and 27th in the nation in steals per game at 2.9. Atkins is among the top-20 of nine different Big 12 statistical categories, including points per game, rebounds per game, steals per game, assists per game and blocks per game.
Senior point guard Brooke McCarty, who is expected to make her 100th career start on Monday night, follows with 13.1 points per game and has a team-best 77 assists on the year. She ranks second in the Big 12 Conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.6.
Junior forward Jatarie White is bringing down a squad-best 6.1 rebounds per game, which ranks 16th in the Big 12 Conference. She also adds 10.6 points per game.
Texas and UConn meet for the ninth time in the history of the two programs. The Huskies lead the all-time series 8-0. The two teams have met each of the last three years, including the last meeting on December 4, 2016 at the Mohegan Sun, a game UConn won 72-54. This meeting marks just the second time UConn has visited Austin - the other took place on February 12, 2006 - a 71-58 victory by the Huskies.
The Huskies enter Monday's game with a 15-0 overall record and a 5-0 mark in the American Athletic Conference. UConn is coming off a 95-35 win at Houston on Saturday afternoon. The Huskies enter Monday's contest on a 44-game road win streak and are 60-24 all-time on the road against ranked opponents.
Junior guard/forward Katie Lou Samuelson leads the way for UConn, averaging a squad-best 17.9 points per game. Senior guard Kia Nurse and junior forward Napheesa Collier follow with 15.1 points a game each. Junior Azura Stephens is bringing down a squad-best 9.0 rebounds per game.
QUICK NOTES
- Texas women's basketball is in the midst of its 44th season of intercollegiate basketball.
- Texas is one of just eight programs in NCAA Division I women's basketball history to reach 1,000 all-time wins. Texas ranks fifth all-time in NCAA history with 1,051 all-time victories.
- The Longhorns have made 30 all-time NCAA Tournament appearances, which is fourth-most of any NCAA D-I Women's Basketball program.
- Texas head coach Karen Aston is 128-57 (.692) now in her sixth season at the helm of the Longhorns. She is the program's second-winningest coach in UT history behind Jody Conradt's 783 victories on the Forty Acres.
- The 2016-17 Longhorns tied the school record for most Big 12 wins in a season at 15. The 2002-03 and 2015-16 squads also posted 15 Big 12 victories.
- Texas has advanced to three consecutive NCAA Sweet 16s for the first time since the 2002, 2003 and 2004 campaigns.
- Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Texas has earned 17 wins against foes ranked in the Associated Press Top-25. The Longhorns are 3-1 against AP Top-25 teams this season.
- Dating back to the start of the 2015-16 season, the Longhorns have won the rebound battle in 75 of 86 total games. Texas has held the edge on the boards in 15 of 16 games this season and ranks second nationally in rebound margin (+14.4). The Longhorns are averaging 45.31 rebounds per game, which ranks seventh nationally.
- Texas ranks 11th nationally in scoring offense (85.2 ppg) and 10th in scoring margin (+21.3).
- Senior guard Brooke McCarty has 203 career three-pointers made, which ranks fourth all-time in program history. She is one of only four players in school annals to accomplish that milestone. McCarty needs 20 more three-pointers to surpass Chassidy Fussell (220 career threes) for third place all-time.
- McCarty ranks fourth in program history in three-point percentage at 39.3 percent (203-of-517). Just three players in program history (Jamie Carey, Kathleen Nash and Vicki Hall) have shot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc for her career. Carey is the school's all-time three-point field goal percentage leader at 41.8 percent.
- Senior guard Brooke McCarty leads the Big 12 Conference in free-throw percentage at 93.1 percent (27-of-29).
- McCarty is second in the Big 12 Conference and 33rd nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.57.
- Senior guard Ariel Atkins ranks fourth in program history in free-throw percentage with a 82.9 percent clip (233-of-281).
- Atkins (102) and McCarty (120) have each played in more than 100 career games for the Longhorns.
- Junior guard Lashann Higgs ranks 14th nationally in field-goal percentage at 60.5 percent.
