Post by Marco on Feb 7, 2024 16:47:15 GMT
Seton Hall Preview: How Nika Mühl is putting together her best season 'by far'
The senior has more company in the backcourt this season, yet almost all her numbers have gone up.
Daniel Connolly
February 07, 2024
How to watch
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 7
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: XL Center, Hartford, CT
TV: SNY
Stream: SNY.tv (in-market) | FoxSports.com/live (out of market)
Radio: UConn Sports Network (97.9 Fox Sports and affiliates)
Seton Hall Pirates
Record: 13-9 (5-6 Big East)
Location: South Orange, New Jersey
Head coach: Tony Bozzella (11th season)
How Nika Mühl is having her best season 'by far'
As a junior, Nika Mühl found herself as the only ball-handler left standing for the majority of the year when Paige Bueckers went down with a torn ACL and Azzi Fudd suffered a pair of knee injuries.
With the weight of the offense on her shoulders, Mühl averaged 36.6 minutes per game while piling up more assists (284) than points (256). In fact, the former obliterated Sue Bird’s single-season record of 231 which stood for over two decades. The gap between Mühl’s mark and Bird (53) is wider than the difference between Bird and everyone else in the top 10 (40).
Given the circumstances, Mühl did as well as she could’ve last season. And somehow, she’s gotten even better as a senior.
“She's having the best year since she’s gotten here,” head coach Geno Auriemma declared. “Even if she doesn't have 1,000 assists like last year, this is her best year by far.”
The numbers bear that out. While Mühl’s assists are down from 7.9 last season to 6.3 this year — though she’s on pace to surpass Bird’s mark of 231 again — everything else is up. She currently has career-highs with 7.0 points, 50.8 percent from the field, 59.6 percent from two, 43.3 percent from three, and 4.0 rebounds.
Mühl is doing damage from all over, too. She’s drilling 57.4 percent of her 3-pointers from the corner, 38.6 percent on threes above the break, and has developed a lethal pull-up jumper, which hits at a 60.0 percent clip. For reference, she shot just 21.1 percent on mid-range twos last season.
“She's shooting the ball better than she's ever shot it since she's been here,” Auriemma said.
All that is while Mühl is getting 6.4 fewer minutes per game and playing alongside two other point guards in Bueckers and KK Arnold, who are averaging 3.8 and 3.2 assists per game, respectively. Mühl has the ball in her hands less than last season, but she’s making more of an impact this year because she’s executing in all phases on offense.
“She has better control of our offense — in the half-court more so,” Auriemma explained. “Last year, Nika was great in transition but we as a team struggled sometimes in the half-court sets. This year, I think we're a little bit better.”
Part of that impact goes beyond the numbers, too. UConn is heavily reliant on four freshmen — three of whom are guards. Mühl has played a big role in their development from quality depth into key pieces.
“She's really, really good with the young guys when they're in the game,” Auriemma said.
When Mühl got off to a slow start this season, it was fair to wonder where she fit in with a loaded backcourt that (at the time) featured Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme, Arnold, Ashlynn Shade and Qadence Samuels. But once she settled into her new role, Mühl has been indispensable — and never was that more clear than against Notre Dame.
In that contest, Mühl played just 19 minutes due to foul trouble yet finished +13 in a game the Huskies lost by 15. Everything unraveled with Mühl on the bench.
“We're a different team when Nika’s on the floor,” Auriemma said after the win over Villanova. “When Nika’s not on the floor, we can't function as well.”
Fouls are one of the few areas where Mühl has struggled. She’s fouled out twice (Notre Dame, NC State) and has finished with four fouls in four other games. Last season, she only fouled out a single time and had four fouls on four occasions.
The other area of concern? Turnovers, though she’s improved in that regard. She had a disastrous four-game stretch where she committed five against Texas, three against Ball State, six against UNC, and eight against Louisville but has been significantly better since then. In 13 games, Mühl has given the ball up three or more times just twice. She’s still not perfect, but she’s far from a liability.
Still, those two issues don’t outweigh all the other progress she’s made as a senior. Mühl arrived in Storrs as a defensive, pass-first point guard who provided a bigger impact with her intangibles than anything that showed up on the stat sheet. Now, the latter is beginning to catch up with the former.
“I just think she's had a hell of a year so far,” Auriemma said.
The senior has more company in the backcourt this season, yet almost all her numbers have gone up.
Daniel Connolly
February 07, 2024
How to watch
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 7
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Location: XL Center, Hartford, CT
TV: SNY
Stream: SNY.tv (in-market) | FoxSports.com/live (out of market)
Radio: UConn Sports Network (97.9 Fox Sports and affiliates)
Seton Hall Pirates
Record: 13-9 (5-6 Big East)
Location: South Orange, New Jersey
Head coach: Tony Bozzella (11th season)
How Nika Mühl is having her best season 'by far'
As a junior, Nika Mühl found herself as the only ball-handler left standing for the majority of the year when Paige Bueckers went down with a torn ACL and Azzi Fudd suffered a pair of knee injuries.
With the weight of the offense on her shoulders, Mühl averaged 36.6 minutes per game while piling up more assists (284) than points (256). In fact, the former obliterated Sue Bird’s single-season record of 231 which stood for over two decades. The gap between Mühl’s mark and Bird (53) is wider than the difference between Bird and everyone else in the top 10 (40).
Given the circumstances, Mühl did as well as she could’ve last season. And somehow, she’s gotten even better as a senior.
“She's having the best year since she’s gotten here,” head coach Geno Auriemma declared. “Even if she doesn't have 1,000 assists like last year, this is her best year by far.”
The numbers bear that out. While Mühl’s assists are down from 7.9 last season to 6.3 this year — though she’s on pace to surpass Bird’s mark of 231 again — everything else is up. She currently has career-highs with 7.0 points, 50.8 percent from the field, 59.6 percent from two, 43.3 percent from three, and 4.0 rebounds.
Mühl is doing damage from all over, too. She’s drilling 57.4 percent of her 3-pointers from the corner, 38.6 percent on threes above the break, and has developed a lethal pull-up jumper, which hits at a 60.0 percent clip. For reference, she shot just 21.1 percent on mid-range twos last season.
“She's shooting the ball better than she's ever shot it since she's been here,” Auriemma said.
All that is while Mühl is getting 6.4 fewer minutes per game and playing alongside two other point guards in Bueckers and KK Arnold, who are averaging 3.8 and 3.2 assists per game, respectively. Mühl has the ball in her hands less than last season, but she’s making more of an impact this year because she’s executing in all phases on offense.
“She has better control of our offense — in the half-court more so,” Auriemma explained. “Last year, Nika was great in transition but we as a team struggled sometimes in the half-court sets. This year, I think we're a little bit better.”
Part of that impact goes beyond the numbers, too. UConn is heavily reliant on four freshmen — three of whom are guards. Mühl has played a big role in their development from quality depth into key pieces.
“She's really, really good with the young guys when they're in the game,” Auriemma said.
When Mühl got off to a slow start this season, it was fair to wonder where she fit in with a loaded backcourt that (at the time) featured Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Caroline Ducharme, Arnold, Ashlynn Shade and Qadence Samuels. But once she settled into her new role, Mühl has been indispensable — and never was that more clear than against Notre Dame.
In that contest, Mühl played just 19 minutes due to foul trouble yet finished +13 in a game the Huskies lost by 15. Everything unraveled with Mühl on the bench.
“We're a different team when Nika’s on the floor,” Auriemma said after the win over Villanova. “When Nika’s not on the floor, we can't function as well.”
Fouls are one of the few areas where Mühl has struggled. She’s fouled out twice (Notre Dame, NC State) and has finished with four fouls in four other games. Last season, she only fouled out a single time and had four fouls on four occasions.
The other area of concern? Turnovers, though she’s improved in that regard. She had a disastrous four-game stretch where she committed five against Texas, three against Ball State, six against UNC, and eight against Louisville but has been significantly better since then. In 13 games, Mühl has given the ball up three or more times just twice. She’s still not perfect, but she’s far from a liability.
Still, those two issues don’t outweigh all the other progress she’s made as a senior. Mühl arrived in Storrs as a defensive, pass-first point guard who provided a bigger impact with her intangibles than anything that showed up on the stat sheet. Now, the latter is beginning to catch up with the former.
“I just think she's had a hell of a year so far,” Auriemma said.
