Connecticut Sun vs. Indiana Fever Prediction and Odds - 7/1/21
A pair of Eastern Conference rivals at opposite ends of the standings take the floor in WNBA action from the Hoosier State. The Connecticut Sun are on the road as they make the trip west to face the Indiana Fever Thursday night in the opening game of a two-game set. Connecticut comes in off a 90-71 road victory over Washington Tuesday night in their most recent contest. Indiana was drubbed 89-64 by Dallas at home last Thursday in their latest action. The Sun rolled to an 88-67 home victory in the first meeting this season on May 21. That gave Connecticut nine wins in the last 10 meetings between the teams.
Connecticut Sun Shooting for Fourth Straight Win
Connecticut earned their third straight victory as they rolled over a shorthanded Washington team on the road Tuesday night. The Sun improved to 11-5 on the season and entered Wednesday holding the third seed in the WNBA playoff picture, one game behind the league-leading Storm. Connecticut jumped to a 10-2 lead less than four minutes into the game and led by three after one quarter. The Sun was still up three in the second quarter when they reeled off a 13-3 run to go up 42-29 with 3:18 to play in the first half. Connecticut didn’t let their lead drop below double-digits again as they cruised to victory. The Sun shot an even 50% from the field, including 12 of 24 from three-point range, and destroyed Washington on the glass by a 52-13 margin. Jonquel Jones led Connecticut with 23 points and 16 rebounds in her return after playing for Bosnia and Herzegovina in EuroBasket.
The Sun is 8th in the league in scoring offense as they put up an average of 80 points per game so far this season. Connecticut is third in the league in rebounding (37.4 boards a night) while they stand 8th by dishing out 17.9 assists a game on the year. The Sun have been good defensively as they are first in scoring defense by allowing an average of 74.1 points per game. DeWanna Bonner is second on the Sun with 16.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists a game. Jonquel Jones (team-high 21.7 points, 10.9 rebounds), Natisha Hiedeman (8.6 points) and Brionna Jones (14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds) each are valuable contributors. Jasmine Thomas (12.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists), Briann January, Beatrice Mompreier, Stephanie Jones, DiJonai Carrington and Kaila Charles are important pieces for coach Curt Miller. Connecticut is fourth in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 44% as a team. The Sun are sixth in three-pointers per game (7.5) and third in three-point percentage (37.2%) on the year. Connecticut has been mediocre at the charity stripe as they convert on 79.6% of their attempts, which is 8th in the league. Alyssa Thomas is questionable as she recovers from offseason surgery for a torn Achilles.
Indiana Fever Hoping to Snap Slide
Indiana was clobbered by Dallas at home in their previous game to suffer their 11th straight loss. The Fever dropped to 1-15 on the season and are last in the WNBA standings, 6.5 games behind the Liberty for the final playoff spot. Indiana was even at two early before giving up a 10-2 run to trail by eight in the first quarter. The Fever got within five with just over three minutes to play in the first quarter before giving up a 17-3 run spanning the first and second stanzas to trail 34-15. You could turn the lights out at that point as Indiana didn’t get closer than eight after that. Indiana shot 35.4% from the field, including five of 17 from three-point range, and committed 19 turnovers in the loss. Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 24 points in the defeat.
The Fever comes into this game 12th in the league in scoring offense with 73.9 points per game. Indiana is eighth in the league in rebounding (34.5 boards per contest) and is 11th in the league in assists with an average of 17.1 dimes per game. The Fever are 12th in the league in scoring defense by allowing 88 points a night. Kelsey Mitchell is one of three players for the Fever averaging in double figures with 16 points a night. Teaira McCowan (10.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.3 blocks) and Danielle Robinson (8.7 points, 3.4 assists) are good secondary options. Tiffany Mitchell (11.4 points), Jantel Lavender, Bernadett Hatar, Victoria Vivians, Jessica Breland, Lindsey Allen, Kysre Gondrezick and Chelsey Perry are looked at to contribute for coach Pokey Chatman. Indiana is 10th in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 41% as a team on the year. The Fever are 12th in threes per game (4.4) while standing 12th by hitting 26.7% of their long-range attempts. Indiana is 9th in free throw shooting as they sink 78.5% of their chances at the stripe this season. Breland left the game against the Wings June 24 with a knee injury and is questionable here.
Pick: Connecticut Sun
We’ve seen that Connecticut has owned Indiana in the last few seasons, winning nine of the last 10 meetings. That includes a 21-point win at home earlier this season in the first meeting of the year. The return of Jones was a huge boost for Connecticut as we saw them completely dismantle Washington in their win Tuesday night. Indiana has dropped 11 straight and nine of those losses have come by double figures. We have a matchup of the league’s worst scoring defense against the league’s best. Indiana doesn’t have the weapons to contend with what Connecticut brings to the floor. The Sun rolls to the win here to run their win streak to four games.
Total: Under
Connecticut is the league’s leading scoring defense and they have the ability to make life tough for opposing teams on that end of the floor. The Sun are third in field goal percentage defense (41%) and give up the fewest rebounds (28.9) per contest. That doesn’t bode well for a Fever team that is last in the league in scoring offense and third-worst in field goal percentage this season. The first meeting this season fell under the total, as have six of the last 10 meetings. Connecticut has seen the under hit in 10 of their 16 games on the year. Indiana has seen the under hit in nine of their 16 contests. Look for this one to be a struggle for the Fever, keeping this one under the total.
