Providence Preview: Azzi Fudd has been dominant in the second half

The sophomore has been one of the best players in the country so far, but she's been particularly unstoppable in the final 20 minutes.

Ian Bethune

How to watch

Date: Friday, Dec. 2

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET

Location: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, CT

TV: SNY

Stream: SNY.tv or the SNY app (in-market) | FoxSports.com or the Fox Sports App (out of market)

Radio: UConn Sports Network (97.9 ESPN and affiliates)

---

Providence Friars

Record: 6-2 (0-0 Big East)

Location: Providence, Rhode Island

Head coach: Jim Crawley (seventh season)

The numbers behind Azzi Fudd’s second-half dominance

Through five games, Azzi Fudd has been one of the best players in the country. She’s reached double-figures in every contest and is averaging 25.6 points per game, fifth-most nationally. Fudd has led the Huskies in scoring all but once and has proven to be the team’s go-to player when they need a basket.

It hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the sophomore. On multiple occasions, Fudd has been quiet in the first half only to break out after halftime.

It happened in UConn’s most recent win against Iowa, when she was held to two points in the first 20 minutes but went off for 22 points in the second half. The discrepancy was less dramatic against Texas — Fudd had 10 points in the first but 22 in the second — but still noticeable.

On the season, she’s averaged 14.0 points in the second half compared to 11.6 points in first halves. Fudd has attributed the difference to a lack of aggressiveness early in games, but that doesn’t fully explain it. Her shooting numbers — especially from three — dramatically improve in the second half, too.

In the first two quarters of games, Fudd makes 50% (24/48) from the floor but just 23.8% (5/21) on 3-pointers. In the last two quarters, she hits 56.5% (26/56) overall and 40% (12/21) on threes. From behind the arc, Fudd has taken the same number of shots but made seven fewer in the first half.

In fact, remove her 4/8 performance from deep in the first half vs. NC State and Fudd has only made one 3-pointer in the other four first halves this season. There’s no outlier among her second-half shooting efforts.

So what can explain the disparity?