The UConn Huskies look to start the season 2-0 with a win over Coppin State of the MEAC. But could an upset be in the cards?
TV Schedule: Saturday, November 13, 12:00 PM FS2
Location: XL Center, Hartford, CT
KenPom Rankings: UConn (21), Coppin State (351)
The UConn Huskies take on Coppin State in their second game of the season. The Huskies dominated Central Connecticut in their first game from the tip, ultimately winning by 51, and looked sharp doing so. If all goes according to plan, it should be much of the same against Coppin State.
Coppin State is coached by former Maryland star Juan Dixon, who led Maryland to their first NCAA Championship in 2002. The team is 33-85 since Dixon took over in 2017, although they turned things around last season tying for 1st in the MEAC. The Eagles were picked to finish 4th in the conference, but have started the season 0-2 in non-conference play with back-to-back losses on back-to-back nights against Loyola Chicago and DePaul. They also play Rider Friday before heading to Connecticut. Four games in five days is a rough start for any team.
Coppin State played poorly to open the season against Loyola Chicago. Give Loyola some credit, but Coppin State scored just 45 points on a bad shooting night. They’re a team that loves to hoist up threes so going 2-25 isn’t going to cut it no matter who the opponent is.
The Eagles found some momentum early in their second game. They played a solid first half before DePaul pulled away for the easy win. Through their first two games, 40% of the Eagles’ shots have come from beyond the three-point line. They shot 11-22 from deep against DePaul, a team that truly will live and die by the three. Will they be able to hit consistently from outside against UConn?
Unfortunately for Dixon and Coppin State, it likely won’t get any easier against the Huskies. Against Central Connecticut, UConn’s defense looked impenetrable. Central shot just 33% from three-point range and it didn’t get much better inside, where they shot 36%. Coppin State has some skilled guards in Nendah Tarke (MEAC Preseason First Team), Kyle Cardaci (MEAC Preseason Second Team) and Jesse Zarzuela.
However, the Huskies can afford to play defense well above the 3-point line thanks to their interior size. Against Central, UConn had 15 steals, forced 29 turnovers, and had nine blocked shots. Look for more of this against a smaller team like Coppin State.
I don’t want to spend too much time rehashing the first game since I’ve already done that here, but, the Huskies also had a balanced offensive attack in their first game. UConn had eight players chip in at least 8 points, with five scoring in double figures. This will be a good chance for the freshmen to continue to get acclimated to the college game and the veterans to gain some more confidence. We may even get to see Jordan Hawkins this time.
It’s hard to take away much from these early games, but UConn dominated a much weaker opponent in all facets of the game. I would look for the Huskies to replicate this performance against Coppin State.