By R.L. Bynum
No. 15-ranked and No. 4-seed UNC (28–7) vs. No. 1-ranked and No. 1-seed UConn (36–0)
When: 5 p.m. ET Friday
Where: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas (the site of UNC’s epic overtime men’s second-round win over Baylor in 2022)
What: Sweet 16 of NCAA Fort Worth 1 Regional; winner plays Sunday against the winner of the 2:30 p.m. ET game between No. 6-seed Notre Dame and No. 2-seed Vanderbilt
TV: ESPN: Tiffany Greene, Carolyn Peck, Angel Gray and Dee Kantner
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network (streams on the Varsity Network app); Matt Krause play-by-play
Line: UConn -27½
Over/under: 131½
Coaches: Geno Auriemma (1,286–165) and Courtney Banghart (386–172 overall; 142–69 at UNC)
Series: UConn leads 9–5, but UNC won the only previous NCAA tournament meeting, 91–69 in the East Regional final on its way to the 1994 national championship. The Huskies have won the last seven meetings.
Common opponents:
— Both beat Syracuse at home: UNC 77–71 in overtime on Jan 24; UConn 98–45 on Monday in the second round of the NCAA tournament
— Both beat Florida State: UConn 99–67 at home on Nov. 9 and UNC 82–55 at Florida State on Jan. 18.
— UNC lost Jan. 11 on the road against Notre Dame 73–50, and the Huskies beat Notre Dame at home 85–47 on Jan. 19.
UConn resume
— 1 NET ranking, 4 WAB ranking
— 9–0 in Quad 1 games: Home wins over Ohio State, Notre Dame and Tennessee; road wins over USC and Villanova; neutral-site wins over Michigan, Iowa and Louisville
— 6–0 in Quad 2 games; 7–0 in Quad 3 games; 14–0 in Quad 4 games
UConn starters
No. 21 | C | Sarah Strong (top photo) | 6–2 | sophomore
— Team-leading 18.4 points, team-leading 60.0 FG%, team-leading 41.9 3P%, team-leading 85.0 FT%, 7.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.6 blocks, 3.3 steals
— Her hometown is Durham, and she played at Grace Christian School in High Point
— UConn, Duke and UNC were in her final three schools out of high school
— Consensus First Team All-American and ESPN Player of the Year
— 72 career double-digit scoring games, 29 career games with at least 20 points, 21 career games with double-digit rebounds, 23 games with at least five assists and 21 career double-doubles.
No. 35 | G | Azzi Fudd | 5–11 | graduate
— Career-high 17.8 points, 49.5 FG%, 45.4 FT%, 95.1 FT%, 2.6 rebounds 3.0 assists, 2.5 steals
— Consensus first-team All-American
— Has 82 career games with double-digit points, 25 with at lest 20 and five of at least 30; has 12 games with at lesat five assists.
No. 12 | G | Ashlynn Shade | 5–10 | junior
— 7.9 points, 41.6 FG%, 34.3 3P%, 70.6 FT%, 3.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.8 steals
— 2024 Big East Freshman of the Year
No. 2 | G | KK Arnold | 5–9 | junior
— 7.3 points, 57.1 FG%, 33.9 3P%, 69.2 FT%, 2.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 2.7 steals
— All-Big East First Team
— 2023 McDonald’s All-American after producing eight career triple-doubles in high school
No. 22 | G | Serah Williams | 6–4 | senior
— 7.0 points, 59.5 FG%, 70.9 FT%, 4.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3 blocks
— Has 85 career double-digit scoring games, 28 with at least 20 points and five with at least 30 points
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More on Tar Heels
— UNC faces huge challenges stopping UConn All-Americans Fudd, Strong
— Heavy underdog, UNC tunes out noise, focuses on its plan
— Transcript, video from UNC’s pre-Sweet 16 press conference ahead of game with UConn
— UNC faces No. 1 UConn in Sweet 16 after unbeaten Huskies thump Syracuse for 52nd straight win
UNC’s keys to the game
Defensive transition — UConn is devastating when it runs and shares it (23.7 assists per game). Sprint the floor, load to the ball, and build a wall on Sarah Strong. Early, foul‑free set defense is essential.
Make it a half‑court game — UConn’s efficiency spikes with pace; UNC’s best path is long, physical possessions that test the Huskies’ patience. Use the shot clock with purposeful cuts/screening with no bad early-clock jumpers.
Lock down defense on Azzi Fudd — Deny her 3-point attempts off of kick-outs and pin-downs, and force her to bounce into 2-point attempts and finish against length.
Strong defense on Strong without overhelping — Strong punishes single coverage on the mid‑post and elbows. Mix body types — Nyla Harris, Ciera Toomey and Blanca Thomas — and rotate out to shooters.
Protect the ball against active hands — UConn averages 15.7 steals per game, and its steal rate turns live-ball mistakes into layups. It will be a particularly long day if UNC commits more than 12 turnovers.
Own the glass to steal possessions — The numbers are close, with UNC averaging 39.7 rebounds and UConn 37.8. Harris must box out Serah Williams on the weak side, and guards must get long rebounds.
Notes
— UConn has won 52 consecutive games and entered the NCAA tournament unbeaten for the 17th time, and is seeking back-to-back titles to add to its 12 national championships.
— The Huskies won the last meeting with UNC in Greensboro 69–58 on Nov. 15, 2024, with Sarah Strong collecting 14 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five blocks.
— Azzi Fudd matched her career-highs with 34 points and eight 3-pointers in UConn’s 98–45 home win Monday over Syracuse in an NCAA tournament second-round game, when the Huskies went on a 31–0 first-half run.
— Sarah Strong is the Huskies’ two‑way centerpiece, leading the team in scoring and rebounding.
— UNC is in the Sweet 16 for the 20th time, and is one of nine programs with at least 20 appearances and one of three ACC schools.
— Carolina is meeting a No. 1-seed in the NCAA tournament for the 14th time, but hasn’t beaten a top-four seed since beating South Carolina 65–58 in the 2014 Sweet 16 in Palo Alto, Calif. That was also the Tar Heels’ last Sweet 16 win.
— When Elina Aarnisalo and Lanie Grant both scored at least 20 points against Maryland, it was the first time two Tar Heels have scored at least 20 points in a game since the 2023–24 ACC opener against Clemson. Two or more Tar Heels had not scored 20 or more points in an NCAA tournament game since Stephanie Mavunga and Allisha Gray in the second round of the 2016 tournament.
UNC season statistics
UConn season statistics
Statistical comparison
| UConn | Statistic | UNC |
|---|---|---|
| 89.1 | Scoring Offense | 75.6 |
| 50.3 | Scoring Defense | 58.9 |
| 38.8 | Scoring Margin | 16.6 |
| 0.525 | Field Goal Pct | 0.456 |
| 0.335 | Field Goal Pct. Defense | 0.365 |
| 0.392 | 3-PT Field Goal Pct | 0.356 |
| 0.271 | 3-PT Field Goal Pct. Defense | 0.279 |
| 0.74 | Free Throw Pct | 0.69 |
| 37.8 | Rebounding Avg | 39.7 |
| 31.3 | Rebounds Against Avg | 32.3 |
| 6.4 | Rebounding Margin | 7.5 |
| 23.7 | Assists/Game | 15.7 |
| 12.7 | Turnovers/Game | 14.1 |
| 24.5 | Turnovers Forced/Game | 16.1 |
| 11.7 | Turnover Margin | 1.9 |
| 15.7 | Steals/Game | 8.7 |
| 4/9 | Blocks/Game | 3.6 |
All-time series: UConn 9, UNC 5
Jan. 12, 1980 — UNC 84, UConn 51 Chapel Hill
March 26, 1994 — No. 4 UNC 81, No. 3 UConn 69, Piscataway, N.J.
Dec. 2, 1995 — No. 2 UConn 77, No. 24 UNC 62, Richmond, Va.
Nov. 15, 2001 — No. 1 UConn 94, UNC 74, Storrs, Conn.
Nov. 21, 2004 — No. 9 UNC 71, No. 4 UConn 65, Raleigh
Dec. 5, 2005 — No. 7 UNC 77, No. 8 UConn 54, Hartford, Conn.
Jan. 15, 2007 — No. 2 UNC 82, No. 6 UConn 76, Chapel Hill
Jan. 21, 2008 — No. 1 UConn 82, No. 3 UNC 71, Storrs, Conn.
Jan. 19, 2009 — No. 1 UConn 88, No. 2 UNC 58, Chapel Hill
Jan. 9, 2010 — No. 1 UConn 88, No. 7 UNC 47, Storrs, Conn.
Jan. 17, 2011 — No. 3 UConn 83, No. 10 UNC 57, Chapel Hill
Jan. 16, 2012 — No. 3 UConn 86, No. 24 UNC 35, Storrs, Conn.
Dec. 6, 2023 — No. 17 UConn 76, No. 24 UNC 64, Uncasville, Conn.
Nov. 15, 2024 — No. 2 UConn 69, No. 14 UNC 58, Greensboro
Fort Worth 1 Regional
FIRST ROUND
Last Friday’s results
Chapel Hill
No. 5 Maryland 99, No. 12 Murray State 67
No. 4 North Carolina 82, No. 13 Western Illinois 51
Last Saturday’s results
Storrs, Conn.
No. 1 UConn 90, No. 16 UTSA 52
No. 9 Syracuse 72, No. 8 Iowa State 63
Columbus, Ohio
No. 3 Ohio State 74, No. 14 Howard 54
No. 6 Notre Dame 79, Fairfield 60
Nashville, Tenn.
No. 2 Vanderbilt 102, No. 15 High Point 61
No. 7 Illinois 66, No. 10 Colorado 57
SECOND ROUND
Last Sunday’s result
Chapel Hill
North Carolina 74, Maryland 66
Monday’s results
Columbus, Ohio
Notre Dame 83, Ohio State 73
Storrs, Conn.
UConn 98, Syracuse 45
Nashville, Tenn.
Vanderbilt 75, Illinois 57
REGIONAL SEMIFINALS
Fort Worth, Texas
Friday’s results
Notre Dame 67, Vanderbilt 64
UConn 63, North Carolina 42
REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday’s result
UConn 70, Notre Dame 52
NCAA bracket
| Date | Day/month | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 4 South Carolina in Atlanta | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 90–42 | vs. N.C. Central | 1–0 |
| 6 | Thursday | W, 71–37 | vs. Elon | 2–0 |
| WBCA Challenge Las Vegas | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | L, 78–60 | vs. No. 2 UCLA | 2–1 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 82–68 | vs. Fairfield | 3–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 20 | Thursday | W, 85–50 | at N.C. A&T | 4–1 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 94–48 | vs. UNCG | 5–1 |
| Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico | ||||
| 27 | Thursday | W, 83–48 | vs. South Dakota St. | 6–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 85–73 | vs. Kansas State | 7–1 |
| 29 | Saturday | W, 80–63 | vs. Columbia | 8–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 79–64 | at No. 3 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 13 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 93–74 | vs. Charleston Southern | 11–3 |
| 29 | Monday | W, 90–38 | at Boston College | 12–3, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at No. 22 Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 61–59 | at N.C. State | 18–5, 7–3 |
| 5 | Thursday | W, 53–44 | vs. Clemson | 19–5, 8–3 |
| 8 | Sunday | W, 84–56 | vs. Wake Forest | 20–5, 9–3 |
| 12 | Thursday | W, 94–42 | vs. SMU | 21–5, 10–3 |
| 15 | Sunday | L, 72–68 | at No. 8 Duke | 21–6, 10–4 |
| 19 | Thursday | W, 66–63, OT | at Virginia Tech | 22–6, 11–4 |
| 22 | Sunday | W, 78–50 | vs. Pittsburgh | 23–6, 12–4 |
| 26 | Thursday | W, 82–70 | at Virginia | 24–6, 13–4 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 72–69 | vs. No. 8 Duke | 25–6, 14–4 |
| ACC tournament | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 85–68 | Quarterfinal vs. Va. Tech | 26–6 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 65–57 | Semifinal vs. No. 13 Louisville | 26–7 |
| NCAA tournament Fort Worth 1 Regional | ||||
| 21 | Friday | W, 82–51 | First round in Chapel Hill: vs. Western Illinois | 27–7 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 74–66 | Second round in Chapel Hill: No. 17 Maryland | 28–7 |
| 27 | Friday | L, 63–52 | Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, Texas: vs. No. 1 UConn | 28–8 |
Photo via uconnhuskies.com
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