In-State "Rivalry" Game No More For Huskies

By Zach Smart

The annual beat down is no more. For a decade, UConn has feasted on a cupcake from the northeast conference known as Quinnipiac (Quinn-a-pee-ack), who faced long NCAA Baskketball Odds just to compete with their powerful neighbor. Jim Calhoun and the Huskies typically schedule this game before the start of the second semester. The yearly dump-off has played the role of a homecoming-type game.

The in-state “rivalry” has been one-sided, with UConn going 9-0 since Quinnipiac was elevated to the Division-I ranks during the 1999-00 campaign. Most of these games have been lopsided affairs, except for the 2006-2007 season opening game. A gritty Bobcat team played the then-callow Huskies neck-and-neck until the final two minutes, when a momentum-rolling Craig Austrie three salvaged the Huskies from a colossal, embarrassing upset.

Last year, the Bobcats suffered an 82-49 drubbing at the XL Center in Hartford, a game that saw Jerome Dyson create a new personal high-flying highlight film.

With 2008 graduation claiming one of the nation’s top scorers in Quinnipiac’s DeMario Anderson, Bobcats head coach Tom Moore (who served as an assistant under Calhoun for 13 years at UConn) sees no need for his new, youth-laden team to have their mettle tested against the much-stiffer competition.

"I think it was twofold," Moore, widely regarded as one of the top recruiters in the nation (see Butler, Caron or Hamilton, Richard for more details), told the New Haven Register.

"Coach Calhoun and I were both real uncomfortable, on a personal level, playing the game last year. It was awkward for me emotionally, and for him, too. And I didn't feel our program is quite established enough to start taking on programs of that caliber. We have too much youth and inexperience for it to benefit us this year. It could be re-visited in the future, but we both felt best to take a year off."

Calhoun had no issue with his longtime friend’s preference not to play the Huskies this year.

"He wants to play (the following) year. We've been pretty flexible with them. He had a really good player last year, and this year it's predominately a freshman, sophomore team. I think he'll look forward to playing us the following year."

On paper, UConn’s early-season schedule seems easier than Sunday morning. They open up against Western Carolina at the Gampel Pavilion on Nov. 14. After facing mid-level competition at the US Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, the Huskies are slated for dates with Bryant, Delaware State, Buffalo, and Stony Brook. The first real yardstick game is Dec.20 v.s. Gonzaga. They open up their Big East schedule against Georgetown Dec. 29.