UCONN HOOPS EARNS FIRST BIG EAST WIN
Huskies rout Rutgers, resuscitates itself after conference opening loss
By Zach Smart
Storrs--After being verbally thrashed by their coach following a lackluster loss to Georgetown Monday, the Huskies came roaring back Saturday night. After suffering a severe power outage, appearing crippled before the Hoyas stifling matchup zone, the Huskies routed a downtrodden Rutgers team, 80-49.
The win restored order and allowed the Huskies to resuscitate itself after the humiliating home defeat. Though the Huskies lost by 11 points to the Hoyas, Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said his team played without passion, deserved to lose, and “got beat by a solid 20 points.”
“Quite frankly we were hammered pretty good, in every aspect of the game,” a dejected Calhoun said as he sauntered out of the press room Monday night. Calhoun, who’s battled a bad case of the shingles and a bad cold that’s been hampering him for the past few weeks, left the game after the first half.
He funneled down the driver’s keys to Associated Head Coach George Blaney. Under Blaney, the Huskies’ seemed to play a looser, less tense and less conservative brand of basketball.
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Hasheem Thabeet re-registered his presence in the college basketball landscape after downing some Tylenol PMs and literally going to sleep against Georgetown and top-flight freshman big Greg Monroe.
Monroe and teammate Chris Wright torched Thabeet on Monday, penetrating the teeth of the defense and taking to the ball to the tin at will.
This time, Thabeet got the better of Rutgers counterparts Gregory Echenique and Hamady N’Dyiaye, 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-11, respectively. The 7-foot-3 behemoth outclassed the towering tandem, pouring in 15 bounds while snaring eight boards.
The Huskies took care of the basketball as if it were a cylinder chunk of 80-karat gold, committing zero turnovers in the first half. Uconn finished with a sizzling 21-to-6 turnover ratio.
The Huskies scorched the nets in the second half, brandishing a 67.8 shooting percentage.
The souped-up, go-go offense was back in superior form, as the Huskies’ runned-and-gunned to the tune of 21 points on the fast break. This wore down the Scarlet Knights, which allowed the Huskies to shoot them out of the gym throughout the second half.
After dropping games to St. Bonaventure, Lehigh, ad Binghamton—all teams which lack the personnel and essential ingredients to tred water in the Big East Ocean—the Scarlet Knights were downgraded to the low-rent district of the nation’s toughest conference (that’s it, I’m no longer referencing it as “perhaps one of..” or “easily” or “arguably”).
That nonconference slate screamed Big East doormat. Still, the Knights have played a cement-hard schedule this week. It started at top-ranked UNC and took a PITT stop before ending with the UConn walloping.
“Carolina can score with anybody in the country, but this was the best defensive team of the three that we’ve faced,” said Rutgers coach Fred Hill, emotionally and mentally drained from having to play the nation’s no.1, no.2 and no.3-ranked teams in succession.
That defensive prowess was certainly on display, as the Huskies threw Rutgers into a 28.8 percent field goal shooting funk.
The Huskies and Jerome Dyson clamped down on Rutgers leading scorer Mike Rosario, who hung 26 in the loss at North Carolina.
Dyson, recognized for his on the ball defense more during his freshman year, clamped down on Rutgers’ fabulous freshman. Rosario, who came into the contest averaging just a thread under 18 points, was held to 10 on a dreadful 2-for-13 shooting night.
Rosario looked like a perfect fit for the Mason Convention in the first half, landing a set of eight straight bricks before finally thwarting the drought in the second half. Hey, he’s only a freshman (I know that one-and-done wunderkinds Kevin Durant, O.J. Mayo, and Michael Beasley would probably laugh their balls off at that statement).
When asked about his defensive prowess, Dyson didn’t flinch.
“I think I have the ability to lock down any player,” he said. “I really thrive on it, because if you play good defense, it’s always going to leave you with something good on the other side.”
Dyson’s words echoed in Blaney.
“He can lock people up.”
The lockdown operation led to a flurry of fast-break opportunities, helping the Huskies break the game open in the second half. Aside from the splintering shooting, the Huskies racked up 51 points as Rutgers dug itself an insurmountable hole.
“I liked our overall attitude,” said Blaney. “But I really liked our defense.”
Beyond Thabeet, Stanley “Sticks” Robinson had a solid all-around game, scoring 11 points, hauling down seven boards, and dishing out four dimes. He also recorded three blocks and helped handle Rosario.
Jerome Dyson added 14 points (albeit he’s four for his last 21), while senior strongman Jeff Adrien chipped in with 12.
By Zach Smart
Storrs--After being verbally thrashed by their coach following a lackluster loss to Georgetown Monday, the Huskies came roaring back Saturday night. After suffering a severe power outage, appearing crippled before the Hoyas stifling matchup zone, the Huskies routed a downtrodden Rutgers team, 80-49.
The win restored order and allowed the Huskies to resuscitate itself after the humiliating home defeat. Though the Huskies lost by 11 points to the Hoyas, Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said his team played without passion, deserved to lose, and “got beat by a solid 20 points.”
“Quite frankly we were hammered pretty good, in every aspect of the game,” a dejected Calhoun said as he sauntered out of the press room Monday night. Calhoun, who’s battled a bad case of the shingles and a bad cold that’s been hampering him for the past few weeks, left the game after the first half.
He funneled down the driver’s keys to Associated Head Coach George Blaney. Under Blaney, the Huskies’ seemed to play a looser, less tense and less conservative brand of basketball.
Read More...Click Below!
Hasheem Thabeet re-registered his presence in the college basketball landscape after downing some Tylenol PMs and literally going to sleep against Georgetown and top-flight freshman big Greg Monroe.
Monroe and teammate Chris Wright torched Thabeet on Monday, penetrating the teeth of the defense and taking to the ball to the tin at will.
This time, Thabeet got the better of Rutgers counterparts Gregory Echenique and Hamady N’Dyiaye, 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-11, respectively. The 7-foot-3 behemoth outclassed the towering tandem, pouring in 15 bounds while snaring eight boards.
The Huskies took care of the basketball as if it were a cylinder chunk of 80-karat gold, committing zero turnovers in the first half. Uconn finished with a sizzling 21-to-6 turnover ratio.
The Huskies scorched the nets in the second half, brandishing a 67.8 shooting percentage.
The souped-up, go-go offense was back in superior form, as the Huskies’ runned-and-gunned to the tune of 21 points on the fast break. This wore down the Scarlet Knights, which allowed the Huskies to shoot them out of the gym throughout the second half.
After dropping games to St. Bonaventure, Lehigh, ad Binghamton—all teams which lack the personnel and essential ingredients to tred water in the Big East Ocean—the Scarlet Knights were downgraded to the low-rent district of the nation’s toughest conference (that’s it, I’m no longer referencing it as “perhaps one of..” or “easily” or “arguably”).
That nonconference slate screamed Big East doormat. Still, the Knights have played a cement-hard schedule this week. It started at top-ranked UNC and took a PITT stop before ending with the UConn walloping.
“Carolina can score with anybody in the country, but this was the best defensive team of the three that we’ve faced,” said Rutgers coach Fred Hill, emotionally and mentally drained from having to play the nation’s no.1, no.2 and no.3-ranked teams in succession.
That defensive prowess was certainly on display, as the Huskies threw Rutgers into a 28.8 percent field goal shooting funk.
The Huskies and Jerome Dyson clamped down on Rutgers leading scorer Mike Rosario, who hung 26 in the loss at North Carolina.
Dyson, recognized for his on the ball defense more during his freshman year, clamped down on Rutgers’ fabulous freshman. Rosario, who came into the contest averaging just a thread under 18 points, was held to 10 on a dreadful 2-for-13 shooting night.
Rosario looked like a perfect fit for the Mason Convention in the first half, landing a set of eight straight bricks before finally thwarting the drought in the second half. Hey, he’s only a freshman (I know that one-and-done wunderkinds Kevin Durant, O.J. Mayo, and Michael Beasley would probably laugh their balls off at that statement).
When asked about his defensive prowess, Dyson didn’t flinch.
“I think I have the ability to lock down any player,” he said. “I really thrive on it, because if you play good defense, it’s always going to leave you with something good on the other side.”
Dyson’s words echoed in Blaney.
“He can lock people up.”
The lockdown operation led to a flurry of fast-break opportunities, helping the Huskies break the game open in the second half. Aside from the splintering shooting, the Huskies racked up 51 points as Rutgers dug itself an insurmountable hole.
“I liked our overall attitude,” said Blaney. “But I really liked our defense.”
Beyond Thabeet, Stanley “Sticks” Robinson had a solid all-around game, scoring 11 points, hauling down seven boards, and dishing out four dimes. He also recorded three blocks and helped handle Rosario.
Jerome Dyson added 14 points (albeit he’s four for his last 21), while senior strongman Jeff Adrien chipped in with 12.
Labels: Connecticut news
posted by NBE Blogger @ 9:49 PM
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