Jackson State plenty confident entering first round meeting with UConn

On the eve of the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Jackson State was loose. Despite dealing with bus issues on their way to Gampel Pavilion for their final practice before facing UConn on Saturday, the players were in a playful mood at the podium during their press conferences.

“I can't tell you my game plan,” Miya Crump teased in response to a question about how they measure up to the Huskies.

A few minutes later, Keshuna Luckett had a similar answer when pressed about the team’s preparation ahead of the tournament.

“They're trying to get our game plan,” she joked to Crump.

On one hand, the Tigers face long odds. They’re set to play UConn, the most decorated program in the history of sport that has a 29-game win streak in the first game of the NCAA Tournament. History isn’t doing them any favors, either: 14-seeds have never won a game in the women’s tournament.

On the other hand, no 14-seed has come closer to pulling off an upset than Jackson State. In 2022, the Tigers led LSU by 10 with five minutes left, only for Kim Mulkey’s squad to end the game on a 19-3 run to pull out the win.

With that experience under their belts just two seasons ago, Jackson State is plenty confident entering Saturday’s matchup with UConn.

“We most definitely do match up well with UConn,” Crump said. “All credit to them for making it this far, as well. But it's just another basketball game. We've just got to go and play basketball. That's it.”

That confidence isn’t completely unfounded. The Tigers played a tough non-conference schedule that featured the likes of Kansas State, Oregon State and Texas — all top-four seeds in the NCAA Tournament — and other power conference teams like UCF, Mississippi State and Miami.

While Jackson State lost all those contests, the team believes they needed to go through that gauntlet to get to where they are now.

“We thought we would do a better job against those teams. Early on we struggled with our chemistry. We struggled with players accepting their new roles,” head coach Tomekia Reed said. “It helped us identify who we are and what we're capable of and so going into conference play, we were able to build from that.”

“We are just hoping it carries over into our game versus UConn,” she added.

That non-conference schedule also prepared the Tigers to come to Storrs. They’ve played in front of big crowds and hostile environments already.

“We're not playing the banners, we're playing the program,” Reed said. “So we've just gotta come in and do our best job.”

Confidence is one thing, though. It’s not like they weren’t thrilled when they found out their draw.

“I told our players, ‘What stage would you want to be on than the big stage against the best in the country to ever do it?’ This is what we want,” Reed said. “I would have loved to have gotten a 12 seed so I could see a different animal, but Geno it is.”

That feeling goes both ways. While UConn is the heavy, heavy favorite, Geno Auriemma would’ve also preferred a different opponent.

“This is the reason you want to be a No. 1 seed — so you don't get this matchup in the first round,” he said. “I always say later in the season, ‘I don't care what seed we are, we just want to get in.’ Well, that's a bunch of crap because you're trying to avoid this game in the first round because they're good.”

Jackson State isn’t just hoping to keep this close. The Tigers believe they have the pieces to pull off a stunning upset. It starts down low with Angel Jackson, who at 6-6 has a height advantage over the Huskies’ bigs. The SWAC champions also have 10 players who average over nine minutes per game while UConn’s roster is paper thin with just eight players even available.

Advantage Jackson State — at least, according to Jackson State.

“I think we match up well with them. Each player — height for height, pound for pound — I think we match up well with them,” Reed said. “Overall I think we will be prepared for them, and we do stand a chance with a good matchup with them.”

Whether that confidence is justified or naïve will be decided on the court on Saturday. Unlike some other first round opponents, Jackson State won’t be intimidated by the banners, history or reputation of UConn. The Tigers plan on going toe-to-toe with the Huskies and seeing if they have enough to come out on top.

“We're not here just to be here,” Crump said.