No. 7 UConn vs. No. 4 South Carolina takeaways: Huskies have prime-time players like Azzi Fudd … Gamecocks not so much

Connecticut took advantage of its showcase on the first football-less Sunday of the year to make a statement.

The No. 7 Huskies are Final Four contenders peaking at the right time after delivering a devastating blow to reigning national champion South Carolina, 87-58, at the Gamecocks’ Colonial Life Arena.

The game between powerhouses was competitive for about seven minutes before a vintage UConn performance shut down No. 4 South Carolina’s 71-game home winning streak. It was UConn’s first road win over a top-five team since December 2018 and its first 20-plus-point road win against a top-five team since 2014. UConn needed a strong showing to add a flourish to its lacking resume. Its non-conference schedule, which had been so-so, is imperative without much high-level competition in the Big East.

“We had yet to play a full 40 minutes of great basketball,” UConn guard Azzi Fudd said. “And we did that today.”

South Carolina guard Te-Hina Paopao, in sharp contrast, said the Gamecocks “got punked” again, a phrase she used after last week’s loss to No. 3 Texas.

“It was very much embarrassing,” Paopao said Sunday.

The shocking result again mixes up the national title race, which already experienced a shake-up from the other USC, Southern Cal, on Thursday in its takedown of No. 1 UCLA. South Carolina entered Sunday the betting favorite at BetMGM to repeat as national champions, followed closely by UCLA. The last few days showcase how tenuous that spot can be with teams and their star players coming into form at the right time of the season.

There could be more upheaval by day’s end. No. 3 Texas hosts No. 5 LSU in the afternoon national TV showcase. It’s their first SEC meeting.

Here are our takeaways from a marquee day of basketball:

Azzi Fudd hitting peak form

Fudd found her stride in the second half to finish with a game-high 28 points, shooting 50% overall and 60% from 3. It was mostly built in the second half (5-of-7 from 3, 4-of-5 from 2) after a 2-of-10 start from the floor.

Following the loss to Tennessee, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma challenged his star players to live up to those titles and deliver in big games. Fudd is averaging 26.3 points and 6.3 3-pointers in the three games since, including a career-high 34 points (5-of-8 from 3) against St. John’s. Her 28 against South Carolina is her second-best mark of the season.

UConn initially built its lead without much contribution from Fudd or Paige Bueckers, who had one of the least efficient games of her senior season while still nearing a triple-double. She was 3-of-12 for 12 points with 10 assists and seven rebounds. When Bueckers and Fudd begin clicking together, UConn is going to be even more of a buzzsaw than it was on Sunday.

Freshman forward Sarah Strong is the final piece of the main puzzle and had 16 points (6-of-10 shooting) with 13 rebounds, four assists, one block and two steals. Forward Jana El Alfy received praise from Auriemma for playing one of her best games (eight points, 3-of-8 shooting, six rebounds) in a big lineup next to Strong.

“That’s something to build on,” Auriemma said.

Ashlynn Shade’s 3-point shooting the key early

South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley told her team in a first-half timeout it couldn’t let UConn play pretty basketball, according to the broadcast. That’s exactly what the Huskies did.

UConn hit 50% from 3-point range in the first half to open a 45-23 lead. Ashlynn Shade made all three of her attempts, while Fudd, Bueckers, Strong and Kaitlyn Chen added one each. South Carolina made 2-of-9 3s in the half, didn’t make up for it in the paint (losing 20-14 in paint points and 23-13 on the boards) and couldn’t get back in transition (13-5 fast-break points).

The Huskies will need efficiency from the perimeter to compete deeper into the NCAA tournament. In each of their three losses this season to Notre Dame, Tennessee and USC, they made fewer than 27% of their long-range attempts.

Fudd, one of the crispest shooters in the game, draws much of the attention on that front. Shade is equally important. The sophomore is more efficient than a season ago (42.2% now, compared to 34.5%), with her worst perimeter games of the season coming in those three losses.

South Carolina lacking offensive star

Strong announced her commitment to UConn following the program’s Final Four loss to Iowa. The big was also considering South Carolina, where the crowd chanted, “We want Sarah!” during South Carolina’s win over UConn last year. Strong’s mother, Allison Feaster, played in the WNBA with Staley.

The Gamecocks’ lack of a dominant forward continues to hurt them. Freshman Joyce Edwards is developing into that (7-of-10 shooting, 17 points, five rebounds), but isn’t there yet. Losing veteran Ashlyn Watkins to an ACL injury forced South Carolina to recalibrate, and it hasn’t been successful. Chloe Kitts (six points, five rebounds) nor Sania Feagin (four points, four rebounds) could make up the difference. Redshirt freshman Adhel Tac, at 6-foot-5, played two minutes.

That issue is coupled with the lack of any player, no matter the position, who can be a go-to scorer and take over a game. Texas upset South Carolina by feeding Madison Booker. UConn can turn to Fudd or Bueckers or, increasingly, Strong. USC turned to JuJu Watkins to do it all against UCLA. And the Bruins can break in-game scoring skids with plays to Lauren Betts.

There simply isn’t a player like that for South Carolina to lean on when its collective shots aren’t falling (Edwards and MiLaysia Fulwiley were the only players shooting at least 50% from the floor), and things can get ugly quickly. South Carolina has lost three of its five games in which its shooting was worse than 40%. The other two games were two of its closest victories.