Close Game

This game has remained close in the first half for several reasons. My first reason is Arizona's defensive play. The Sun Devils are playing very tight pressure defense on the perimeter which has led to poor guard play from UConn. This left Tina Charles open early but have been plagued by bad passes that have led to tounovers. Second would be bench magement. Geno has only played Lorin Dixon of the bench, while ASU has played everyone dressed for the game. This rotation has allowed the Sun Devils to remain fresh on the floor. The biggest reason has been the officiating. The officials have made many dubious calls, and non calls that have kept the game close.

UConn vs. ASU

Well everybody, the "March to the Arc" all comes down to this...UConn and ASU tipping off in just a few minutes. The girls look ready to go as always. You can just see it in their faces that they are on a mission. For the 4th consecutive season and the 15th time in the program's history, the Lady Huskies have advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals. This team has advanced to the Final Four in six of the last nine seasons. There is no question that Connecticut was tested for the first half in Sunday's game against California, and as Coach Auriemma said in his press conference yesterday, "If you're going to the Final Four I think you're going to have to be tested, and I think tomorrow is going to be one."

We weren't used to seeing the Huskies so shaky on Sunday, but that's what these games are all about. Tiffany Hayes had the game of her life, scoring a career high 28 points. Like Kemba Walker did on Saturday, she stepped her game up. The other girls fed off her energy and were able to play at an elite level the 2nd half.

Arizona has the longest streak of NCAA appearances in the school's history, and they will be playing in the regional final for the 2nd time in the past three seasons. Game time is here!

Cal's Band

Cal's band has been very into the game, often trying to drown out UConn's fans by playing. Some of the some selections have been interesting. Such as Smells like Teen Spirt by Nirvana.

Hayes

Freshman Tiffany Hayes has carried the team so far and is up to a game high 25 points. Meanwhile Ashley Walker leads Cal with 18 points.

Fans

This game has become just as much a battle of the fans. During timeouts they are trying to outdo each other with large group cheers.

Uconn leads at Half

Uconn went on a at the end of the first half to take the lead going into halftime. That got the UConn fans going and ended their silence. This game has been a tug-of-war of wills and looks to stay that way in the second half.

Cal leads

As Cal leads half-way through the first half this crowd has come to strongly favor the Golden Bears. The amount of Cal fans seems to largely outnumber the UConn fans. Other fans in the arena are going over to Cal as well.

Fouls

Early in the game the Huskies have struggled making their shots. Compounding problems for UConn has been their post players’ foul trouble. Both starter Tina Charles, and backup Kaili McLaren have already picked up two fouls.

UConn-Cal

The Connecticut Huskies are taking on the University of California today in the sweet 16. This will be the first time Cal has ever been to the Sweet 16. The Golden Bears are led by the trio of Devanei Hampton, Alexis Gray-Lawson, and Ashley Walker.

On the way ...

We've made it to the final four.  And Pitt lost today.  Could the situation be any better?  ... Maybe but we're doing better than anybody predicted.

It's late and I don't feel like detailing the game (because I wasn't able to watch all of it), but basically UConn is awesome.  Good luck in the final four, guys.

Gameday

After a three-day hiatus the NCAA Tournament resumes tonight with four games on the slate. The UConn Huskies will face off against the Purdue Boilermakers in Glendale, Arizona in a Sweet Sixteen matchup in about 4 and a half hours. UConn rolled through Chattanooga and Texas A&M last week and will look to continue their scorching hot play tonight. 

Over the past day or so UConn has been on the front page of every sports website but not for on-the-court issues. By now everyone knows about the Yahoo! Sports story that broke yesterday morning involving possible NCAA violations in UConn's recruitment of Nate Miles. Jim Calhoun said in his press conference yesterday that he hopes this will not be a distraction and he thinks his team is focused, but we will see tonight whether all of these issues have had an effect on the team.

I personally think this situation may help the Huskies focus. This group of players has dealt with a great deal of distractions since they've been at UConn and this is just another one that will help to motivate them and prove the doubters wrong. I'm not denying that Purdue is a very good basketball team that can play with the Huskies. But after watching the team live in Philadelphia last week, they truly look like they are on a mission. A.J. Price is the unquestioned leader of this team, and if Adrien, Stix, and Thabeet join the senior point guard in bringing their game to the next level, the 2008-2009 UConn Huskies can accomplish their ultimate goal.

The pursuit of a championship continues tonight at 7:07 p.m. with a win advancing UConn to the regional final on Saturday. Look for complete coverage on the blog during and after the game.

You're Not Alone

Jim Calhoun's gestures and body language from this afternoon's press conference indicated that the University told him exactly what to say regarding the Nate Miles investigation. His reaction was expected.

It's a shame this issue had to surface now, given the March Madness hoopla. People will now be targeting UConn basketball for violations against NCAA compliance rules, not their performance on the court. It's just not fair. Is it wrong that we violated these rules? Of course. Are we the only school who has done it? Of course not. If you think that big name schools like Louisville, UNC and Pitt haven't been involved in a similiar scandal, you're sadly mistaken.

Flash back to 2006 when Indiana head coach Kelvin Sampson resigned last February over NCAA recruiting violations involving impermissible phone calls. Indiana was accused of four major NCAA recruiting violations, one of the harshest against Sampson: a five-year show-cause penalty. Reports say that he provided false information to NCAA enforcement officials and Indiana compliance officers. On top of that, the Hoosiers also received three years' probation. Don't worry UConn, you're not alone.

In the meantime, let's get back to men's basketball; something we all care about. This team is playing like they have a chip on their shoulder. They're swagger is back, and right now, I don't think there is any team playing better. Keep it up Stix, you're the X factor to a big "W" over Purdue.

4:30 Press Conference

UConn will have their media day press conference at 4:30 this afternoon from Glendale, Arizona. The press conference will be shown on ESPNEWS and online at ncaa.com. The players will speak first followed by Coach Jim Calhoun. They will all presumably be asked questions regarding the possible Nate Miles recruiting violations, and aside from a short statement by Calhoun, I don't expect any of them to address those questions. There will be a time where Calhoun and the program have to answer for these allegations, but the day before a Sweet 16 game is not that time. ESPN has been teasing this press conference all day so I'm sure it will be widely viewed in about half an hour.

UConn Being Investigated for Recruiting Violations

According to Yahoo Sports UConn has committed recruiting violations during 2006-2008 while recruiting former UConn basketball recruit Nate Miles.  I'm in a time crunch to get to class, but make sure to check back later in the day for more updates, tune into UC Sports Thursday at 6:30 (or online tomorrow afternoon), or check out the daily spot update for today on the website for more information.

UConn-Florida

When Renee Montgomery came out with 6:24 to go in the second period the crowd seemed to understand the importance of the moment and gave a long standing ovation. Montgomery, the All-American senior guard, would never play in front of this crowd again. It seemed fitting, that in the teams last home game of the year, Montgomery would lead the team with 25 points in their win over the Florida Gators.
Montgomery received plenty of help from her teammates, as fellow All-Americans Maya Moore and Tina Charles both added 22 points. Moore also led the team with 14 boards, and reserve forward Kaili McLaren led the team with six assists.
Florida kept the game close for most of the first half, but the Lady Huskies would pull away to win the game 87 to 59. Florida was hurt by foul trouble early on as star guard Sha Brooks picked up two quick fouls and finish with zero points and three fouls in four minutes of playing time in the first half. Trumae Lucas would also pick up four fouls in the first half.
The Huskies are now 35-0 on the season, and will play the fourth seeded Cal Bears Sunday in Trenton.

Hayes...back in.

Hayes Injured

Freshman Tiffany Hayes has hobbled off the court with an apparent knee injury.

About 2 minutes into the 2nd half, Tiffany Hayes took a hard fall and walked off the court limping. It seems to be her right knee.

UCONN 47 Florida 26: Halftime

Even though there were moments when the score was close...uconn flexed its muscles and go into the half leading by 21.

Fouls

As the first half winds to a close Florida has already committed 16 fouls. Freshman Trumae Lucas has four and Senior Sha Brooks has three.

Montgomery Breaks Record

When Renee Montgomery walked onto the floor to start the game tonight she firmly put herself into UConn's record books. She came into the game tied with Jen Rizzoti for the most consecutive starts in UConn history with 135. Montgomery also has more career starts than any player in the nation. Her 143 career starts out number the next closest player, Oklahoma's Courtney Paris, by 14.

UConn in the NCAA Tournamnet

Given the five national title's you'd expect UConn to be dominate come March Madness. The Huskies have advanced to 15 consecutive Sweet 16's coming into this year. In the first three rounds of the tournament the Huskies have a 47-6 record all-time coming into tonight. That's a .887 winning percentage. In addition they are a perfect 5-0 in National Championship games.
With last nights win Geno Auriemma now has 65 NCAA Tourney wins. That places him second all time for women's coaches only behind Tennessee's Pat Summit who has 104.

lots of scrambiling going on in the first four minutes of the game....huskies up 8-4

warmups....geno lookin fly as always.  renee looks solid.....florida pep band is way to loud...tip off in 3 mins.

UConn-Florida History

Tonight's match up of the UConn Huskies and Florida Gators has taken place before. On Dec. 8, 1991 the Huskies beat the Gators by a score of 71-48, here at Gample Pavilion. That night Amanda Butler started for the Gators that night and scored six points, tonight she will coach the Gators against the undefeated Huskies. Rebecca Lobo had yet to make her mark on UConn as she was still comming off the bench but managed to score 14 points. Also notable is the fact the UConn's Maya Morre and Florida's Jordan Jones were playing together on the same team at this time.

Complete dominance

The Women's NCAA tournament got off to the kind of start everyone expected from the Lady Huskies...complete domination. With a score of 104-65, you would never know Connecticut was up by such a large margin of victory, because Coach Auriemma was on Tina Charles all night. She had one of the best games of her career on Sunday afternoon, posting 32 points (a career high) and 11 boards. 

Auriemma said in the post-game conference that "some people wait for things to happen and others make things happen." If you guys look back to last year's tournament, Charles didn't have a solid performance. In order for this team to go all the way, Connecticut's big three (Charles, Montgomery, and Moore) need to be playing at an elite level.  If you have the opportunity to watch a woman's game from the courtside, pay attention to Geno's expressions throughout the entire game. They are hilarious. At one point during the game, UConn was already up by 30, Charles already had 20 something points, but hesitated on a shot. He flipped.

Auriemma will never let these girls settle, he will never let them get complacent. Their intensity is a testament to how great this team is. If they keep playing how they have all year, no one will be able to stop them. 

Tonight's matchup against Florida should be more entertaining, but it's still no contest. Round 2 of the NCAA tournament coming up in just 30 minutes...    

Shots From The Weekend

Here are a couple shots I took from my phone over the weekend. (Sorry about the quality)

Darren Collison for UCLA gets medical treatment for a cut lip suffered early against Villanova

AJ Price gets pumped up as his name is called in the starting line-up for UConn

Calhoun talks to the team during a timeout against Texas A&M (Jeff clearly doesn't care)

Another timeout - Calhoun talks to the guys

Madness On Temporary Hiatus

With the conclusion of last night's games the Sweet Sixteen is sealed and the world must wait 3 and a half long, agonizing days before college basketball resumes.  Sunday night's games were nothing short of the drama we are all used to when it comes to the NCAA Tournament.  Both the Marquette/Missou and Siena/Louisville games were some of the best we've seen thus far. 

With Dominc James back for the first time since breaking his foot on February 25th against Connecticut, the Golden Eagles entered the Missouri match-up with high hopes.  James didn't record a shot and racked up 3 personal fouls in 17 minutes off the bench.  Missouri took the lead early, but Marquette slowly chipped away late and eventually tied it up with :38 seconds on the clock.  With :05 left, JT Tiller drove the lane trying to put the Tigers ahead by two but was fouled hard and injured his wrist.  Freshman Kim English, who was very hot off the bench early in the game, came in to replace Tiller and was ice cold has to nailed both free throws to put Missou up two.  Lazar Hayward stepped over the line on the following inbound pass and turned it over for Marquette which was the nail in the coffin as Missouri moved on to the Sweet Sixteen in a 83-79 victory.

It was a David vs. Goliath match-up when Siena took on Louisville, and David nearly pulled off the upset.  Louisville lead the entire game, but the Saints were constantly nipping at the heals of the Cardinals.  Led by Clarence Jackson, Siena started to pull away with under 9 minutes to play and took a 63-57 lead.  Siena tried forcing 3's to increase the lead, but Louisville remained calm, scoring in four consequtive possesions.  Breakdowns in Siena's defense allowed two wide-open fast breaks by Earl Clark and Terrance Williams with under a minute to go, as Louisville pulled away from a very tough Siena team and went on to win 79-72.  

UConn will move on to face Purdue in Glendale this Thursday.  UConn has looked like the team to beat thus far, but will certainly face tougher competition against the Boilermakers, who just squeeked by Washington 76-74 in the second round.  Tip off is officially set for 7:07pm, so if you plan on going out for Thirsty Thursday, make sure you go somewhere with plenty of big TVs.

Women Roll Over Vermont, Face Florida Tuesday

The #1 overall seeded Huskies opened up the NCAA Tournament here in Storrs with a 104-65 demolishing of the Vermont Catamounts.  Tina Charles finished 13 of 14 from the floor for a season high 32 points, all in the first half.  Renee Montgomery added 19, while Kalana Greene and Maya Moore both contributed with 13.  When all was said and done 11 Huskies saw playing time, ten of whom scored.  The second game of the double-header in Gampel Pavillion was a match-up between the Florida Gators and Temple Owls.  Temple struggled from the floor, shooting under 40% and missing all 12 of their shots behind the arch as Florida came away with a decisive 70-57 victory.  The Huskies and the Gators will face off for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen on Tuesday in Gampel at 7pm.

Feeling Kinda Sunday

Syracuse continued the Big East dominance in the tournament with an 11 point win over Arizona State in the early game today. Devendorf and Jonny Flynn were their typical selves as the Orange moved into the Sweet Sixteen.

Three of the other afternoon games weren't close as Xavier handled Wisconsin, Arizona took care of Cleveland State and Kansas was all over Dayton. The Wildcats of Arizona are certainly the most surprising Sweet 16 team. Many thought that Zona shouldn't have even been in the Tournament, but thanks to Wake Forest losing in the first round, they had a much easier road into the next round.

The suspense today is coming from Dayton, Ohio where Pitt is in a battle with Oklahoma State. The first half of this game was one of the best offensive displays you will see in college basketball. Both teams were making nearly everything and the game was tied at 49. In the second half the Panthers pushed the lead out to 10 but the Okie State Cowboys came back and eventually took a 72-71 lead with under 3 minutes to play. The key sequence of this game and a reason why Pitt has a chance to go to the Final Four happened with about 40 second left. LeVance Fields missed a jumper and a rebound would have given the 8th seeded Cowboys a chance to tie with a three. But DeJuan Blair got the offensive board, pushed the lead out to 5, and basically sealed the deal.

Pitt moves on to Boston with an 84 to 76 win.

Three more games to end the first weekend of the tournament with the best being Marquette versus Missouri. James will play for the Golden Eagles and we will see how effective he is against the Tigers.

Home Sweet Home

We're finally back in good ol' Storrs after spending half the week in Philadelphia.  And after a long day of basketball, basketball, and more basketball (and then basketball on the radio on the 4 1/2 hour drive home), as well as a McDonalds-induced coma/stomach ache, I am exhausted and am sure Dan, Evan, and Rich are too.

So keeping this short:

Huskies defeated the Aggies 92-66.  AJ Price had 27 points, followed by Jeff Adrien with 23.  Great performance by the UConn Huskies, who are off to Glendale, AZ for the Sweet Sixteen.

Now it's time to sleep.

Half-time Stats

The Huskies are up 18 at the half, and seem to be on a roll against the Texas A&M Aggies.  

Some highlights:

- The Huskies are shooting 92.9% from the free throw line.  They are 13-14, which is a good sign considering free throw shooting cost them the epic game against Syracuse.

- Jeff Adrien leads in scoring, with 15 total points, including more than a couple jumpers.

- AJ Price is right behind, with 13 points, hitting 3 key 3-pointers.  Thursday he claimed to be a rhythm shooter and is proving himself right in today's game so far.

-The refs are all over the Aggies, who have 12 fouls on them thus far, with three on big man Chinemelu Elonu.  Coach Mark Turgeon also has 1 technical foul.

- Except for 2 fouls on Hasheem Thabeet, the Huskies are not in foul trouble.

Looking to be a good game for the Huskies, who appear to be on a roll (knock on wood).

Thoughts From Behind the Bench

Rich and I are sitting right behind the UConn bench here in Philadelphia and we're getting an inside peak into Coach Calhoun and the Huskies during the game. 

Calhoun seems to turn around question the team's defense even after A&M makes tough, next-to-impossible shots. 

Early in the game when Thabeet came out, Calhoun asked him if he was open. The center replied yes, and when he checked back in Price gave him the ball immediately and he scored.

The end of the bench loves the defense and UConn really has been suffocating on that end. Add in the three's Price is hitting, the fact that Adrien has barely missed, and that the Aggies can't hit a thing from outside and you get the Huskies up 20-plus as we near the end of the first half.

First 5 Minutes of UConn vs Texas A&M

So far so good for the Huskies, starting out with a 10 point run to begin the first half.  Jeff Adrien has 8 points so far, looking to improve on his most recent performances.  Right now its 12 - 4 Huskies, with the crowd leaning towards Texas A&M.

Calhoun said yesterday that Adrien needed to step it up, and so far it looks like he has.

One thing to note:  The Aggie's cheerleaders are doing weird things.  The male cheerleaders seem to be making gestures that appear to be rated NC-17.  The females are dressed in attire that goes along with that theme.  

I will not make mean comments.

Complete Domination

Villanova looked like the better, more athletic, and more physical team in a 20-point dismantling of UCLA. They dominated throughout and showed the distinctly different style of basketball played in the Big East versus the Pac-10.

Every time the Bruins looked like they may make a run, it was another Corey Stokes or Reggie Redding three that pushed the lead back out to 20. The Nova fans in Philly got what they wanted and the Wildcats are on to Boston to meet the winner of Texas-Duke next week in the Sweet 16.

Huskies and Aggies on the floor during warm-ups, game will start in about 20 minutes.

Neutral Crowd (or lack thereof)

I was under the impression that NCAA Tournament games are supposed to have neutral crowds, not giving either team an advantage.

Well that is the furthest thing from the truth here in Philly this afternoon. Of the 20,000 or so fans at the Wachovia Center, at least 17-18,000 of them are Villanova fans. Not only is UCLA the lower seed and facing a very good Wildcats team but they are also up against a boisterous crowd. 

The Bruins are up against it and trail by double digits as the second half begins.

Bruins and Wildcats in a Battle

Although the score may not show it, the UCLA Bruins and Villanova Wildcats are in a true college basketball fight as the Cats lead 44 to 31 at the half.  Villanova looks very strong physically and has been moving the ball well around the perimeter as well as driving the baseline effectively.  UCLA has been on the receiving end of the physical play of Nova; Darren Collison cut his lip early, Josh Shipp was fouled hard by Scottie Reynolds, and freshman Jrue Holliday took a shot to the eye.  Even the UCLA cheerleaders have had a rough day, as one of the girls hit the locker room early with a bloody nose.  UCLA hasn't gotten into their normal offensive rhythm all day thanks to tough Villanova defense, but a few changes on the white board during halftime can certainly fix this.  The Bruins are playing tough, and the bench is very much in this game, despite an extremely loud Villanova crowd here in the Wachovia Center.  Look for the Bruins to make some changes offensively in the second half, and don't be surprised if this game is much closer with the buzzer sounds at the end.

Nice view from the sky box

While Evan and Rich enjoy their court side seats, Jess and I are enjoying an significantly better arrangement than on Thursday, taking in the action from the upper press box.  Nice chairs, internet access, and free drinks...this is the life.

On the game side of things, what should have been a good game has been pretty one-sided so far Villanova 44 - UCLA 31. Villanova is having no trouble controlling the tempo and are dominating on the boards 18 to 9. Nova's defense is smothering the Bruins, who have only shot 9 of 22 from the field.  Josh Shipp is doing his best with 13 pts but his team isn't giving him much help.  I thought if UCLA could cut it to ten points at the half they'd have a chance but that looks doubtful now.

Could the crowd be a factor? Definitely.  We mentioned it a lot of times before but the entire Wachovia Center is on Villanova's side.  This city may not have a lot of championships in recent years, but they know how to get behind a team.

Round 2 in Philly

UCLA and Villanova are about ready to tip in what should be a hotly contested Round 2 matchup in the East region. Wachovia Center is filling up and I'm sure will be sold out for the two matchups today.

It's of course a very partisan Wildcats crowd here in Philadelphia and it will be like playing a road game for the Bruins. But Ben Howland's team didn't get to three straight Final Fours without being battle-tested. Looking for a good one in Game 1 today.

Finally Some Drama

After a very predictable first 28 games of the first round, we finally saw some drama in the late games Friday night. Cleveland State absolutely dismantled Wake Forest in a game that was flat out embarrassing for the Demon Deacons.

The two Overtime games of the night provided the best of the tournament so far. In Dayton, Siena and Ohio State played a sloppy, but action-packed double overtime thriller where Siena hit two big three's to eventually win 74-72 in 2OT. This was an especially impressive win for Siena considering they were playing a "road" game against Ohio State in Dayton.

The other overtime game was a big surprise last night as Wisconsin became the third 12 seed to beat a 5 in this year's tourney. Florida State's Toney Douglas did his job with 26 points, but it was Travon Hughes who had the shot of the first round with a running layup off glass to give the Badgers the victory.

Great slate of games on tap for today with berths in the Sweet Sixteen on the line. We'll be at the Wachovia Center in about an hour so keep an eye out for all the live updates.

Jimmy C Ready To Go

Just got back to the hotel from Geno's Philly Cheesesteaks and let me just say that it was immaculate (Whiz-Wit is the way to go for all you amateurs out there). Here is the word on Jim Calhoun and it is all good news.

The coach had his press conference from about 2:30 until 3:00 this afternoon and he was in very good spirits. He will definitely be on the sidelines tomorrow when the Huskies face Texas A&M. Calhoun said that yesterday morning he felt "lousy and tired." The timeline that followed is this:

- He called team doctor Jeff Anderson to tell him he wasn't feeling well. Calhoun thought that Anderson would simply give him some medicine to take and he would be able to coach.

- Anderson said Calhoun should go to the hospital just to make sure everything checked out okay.

- Next thing he knew the Coach was admitted and was given a full battery of tests.

- The tests were performed and he was kept overnight as a precaution but he said, "I didn't realize I was that healthy."

Calhoun said he watched tape of both the UConn and Texas A&M games early Friday morning and was with the team at practice earlier today. Here are some quotes from Calhoun, which would let anyone know that he was in full health:

"I tried to bribe my way out of the hospital as soon as possible."

"The full physical exam did not have a psychological evaluation."

"The thing with a hospital is, unless you can whip on a couple security guards, you aren't going anywhere."

"I started bargaining, offering to send them (the hospital) free t-shirts or anything to get me out of there."

The Coach went on to say that he was very happy with the team's performance on Thursday and that Saturday's game against Texas A&M will be a real battle. Complete preview of tomorrow's second round game later tonight on the blog.

Calhoun Out of Hospital, Day 2 Begins

Jim Calhoun was released from the hospital this morning and will have a press conference this afternoon at 2:30 at the Wachovia Center. You can see it on TV but we will be there live and bring you all of the news following Calhoun's statements. It's very likely he will coach in UConn's second round game against Texas A&M tomorrow, but we will know for sure in about 3 hours.

The second day of the NCAA Tournament begins in a few hours and I'm hoping we see some closer games. Sure we saw a little excitement late last night with VCU having a chance to beat UCLA and Illinois giving Western Kentucky all they could handle, but I'm rooting for at least one buzzer beater today. Four games in the noon hour today, four in the 2 o'clock hour, and then the usual doubleheaders tonight to see if we can see a classic.

Another plus about today's slate of games is part of the reason people watch CBS during March Madness: Gus Johnson. If you don't know who Gus is you aren't a real college basketball fan and you should probably youtube him in the next hour to get familiar with the best announcer in the game. He will be doing a full slate of four games in Minneapolis, starting with the Kansas game at 12:30 and continuing all the way through Michigan State around 10 tonight.

Not many upsets for me today. The one big one I have is Utah State over Marquette. Enjoy the early games, more on Calhoun and the Huskies a little later.

Day 1 Ends

Day 1 of the Madness ends as Western Kentucky barely squeeks an upset over Illinois.  The Hilltoppers blew a late 17 point lead as the Illini pulled within 2 points with 8 seconds to go but couldn't hit the buzzer beater, and Sun Belt POY Orlando Mendez-Valdez and WKU will go on to face a tough Gonzaga team Saturday.

Evan, Dan, Jess and I nearly avoided a potential riot here in the streets of Philly thanks to Scottie Reynolds and the Villanova Wildcats finally pulling away from a very strong American University team.  I agree with Evan, Philly owes us a couple drinks tomorrow night.

My bracket isn't going exactly as well as I had hoped... My Tigers from Clemson couldn't hold off Michigan.  16-0 start to the season, cold finish, and a first round boot as a favorite, typical Clemson letting me down.  LSU held off Butler's late rally to put another notch in the L column for me, and I decided not to call the WKU upset.

Tomorrow I'm looking for Arizona to take care of business with Utah, and my boy DeMar "Straight Outta Compton" DeRozan to do his thing against BC.  I'm sure I'll find plenty to complain about after tomorrow's games though.  But certainly nothing to complain about with a UConn 56 point win (good for 2nd most all time for a 1 v. 16 matchup)

Your Welcome Wildcats

I feel like I had a great deal to do with Villanova winning tonight because the second I posted that they were in trouble, the Wildcats began their run that eventually resulted in a nearly 30-point turnaround. So I expect a thank you from Nova and their fans since I feel like my posting that they were in trouble helped spurn them on to victory.

I'm personally looking for some late night upset specials...VCU and Western KTuck can really help my bracket.

Nova In Trouble

I'm currently sitting in our hotel room as we contemplate where to go out tonight and Villanova is in major trouble. Down 14 with still 18 minutes left but they just don't look good. American University can shoot the heck out of the ball and they are causing the Wildcats to take some bad shots on offense. Considering that Nova is playing a home game at the Wachovia Center IN PHILADELPHIA, this would be quite an upset.

Still plenty of time left though, wouldn't be surprised at all if they came back.

What we learned...

1. UConn needs to run to win.

The fast break looked very good today, albeit against a very overwhelmed Chattanooga team.  The passing was tight and the Huskies only had 10 turnovers.  One concern is getting AJ Price going early.  He's a rhythm shooter by his own admission and needs to hit some early shots against A&M on Saturday to get his team going.

2. The Huskies make more free throws.

Despite the big win UConn is still struggling from the charity stripe, going only 23-39.  Jeff Adrien was the biggest culprit, going only 5-13 but missing 7 of his first 9.  If the Huskies want to be a real threat for the championship they need to make good from the free throw line.  Just ask last year's Memphis team if it matters.

3. Sticks is heating up.

Stanley Robinson had 24 points to lead all scorers.   It was nice follow up to his performance in the Big East tournament and the Huskies may be able to overcome the absence of Jerome Dyson if he continues to play at this high level.

4. Where's the D?

He laughed and he said Coach Calhoun did too (over the phone) but Hasheem only had 2 blocks.  True, Chattanooga wasn't driving the lane much, especially after Hash had one huge block, but UConn needs the defense to play at it's best to stay in any match-up.

1 Down, 5 To Go

Huskies take care of business rather easily in the First Round against Chattanooga. The Whacovia Center emptied out at halftime with UConn up nearly 30 and the second half was a highlight show for Stanley Robinson and the rest of the team. The outcome was never in doubt in this one after the first 15 minutes, with the only question being how much UConn would win by...It's now on to Round 2 Saturday against Texas A&M. The Aggies looked very good today, dismantling BYU 79 to 66. Game time will be announced later tonight...Look for all the postgame coverage on the blog later today.

Partisan Crowd

Aside from the couple thousand UConn fans in attendance, everyone is rooting for the upset here in Philly. The "Mocs" fans are complaining after every foul call and the Texas A&M, BYU, and of course Nova fans are all rooting hard for Chattanooga.

A.J. Price struggled early but has settled down and hit some jumpers to put UConn on top and Thabeet is having his way in the paint.

Ready to Go

5 minutes before tip-off in Philly and UConn has just taken the floor. Jerome Dyson looked great in pre-game warmups, hitting all but one three.....too bad he was shooting in street clothes.

Huskies go back to the grey uni's for the NCAA Tournament, staying with the superstitious attitude of Calhoun switching uniforms every time they lose a game. Austrie back in the starting lineup after Kemba Walker started in the Big East. Action gets underway in the next few minutes....

Almost Game Time

Ten minutes until game time and all is looking good.  Though there has been some initial concern around the media workroom about Calhoun's absence and the possibility that he may miss more time, no one is really concerned about a loss.

Winner of this game takes on Texas A&M who handled BYU easily.  Hope the Cougars enjoy the flight back to Utah.

Tip is scheduled for about 3:05.

Early Games Over

The Aggies dominate throughout in Philly to take down BYU. Inside presence of Bryan Davis and Chinemelu Elonu could pose problems for Huskies inside should they play them Saturday.

Memphis survives a scare out West. Cal State Northridge played them tough but were unable to pull the upset.

LSU holds off Butler in another 8-9 matchup to move on and most likely face UNC on Saturday.

UConn-Chatanooga starting around 3, more updates throughout the game.

Blaney to coach Huskies vs. Chattanooga; Calhoun under the weather

According to CBS Sports, Coach Jim Calhoun will not be coaching today's game against Chattanooga.  George Blaney will be filling in to (hopefully) carry the huskies to a win.  Calhoun is reportedly "not feeling well" and has been sent to the hospital for precautionary measures.

*UPDATE* - UConn's SID Kyle Muncy just gave an update confirming that Calhoun would not be coaching and Blaney is running the show today. He would not confirm if he is in the hospital. 

Backroom Shenanigans

- Coffee cups weren't big enough for Jess so she decided to put hot coffee in a regular paper cup.  Has now decided that coffee is a very hot beverage.  If only there were cups specifically designed for them.

- Very friendly staff at the Wachovia Center...one helped me find the channel up button on the TV.  But helpful doesn't necessarily mean informed.  Finding any information about where to go here has been a challenge.

- Jess (about BYU mascot) "Is that a bearcat? It looks like a bear and cat." Me: "No that's a cougar"

- If I put on a BYU jersey and ran onto the court, I'm pretty sure no one would notice.

Madness

Welcome to the Wachovia Center.  Ten minutes before the first game (BYU and Texas A&M).  It was a bit of a sobering experience trying to find our seats, where we can shoot and gaining internet access but we're all set now.

Rich and Evan will be court side taking it all in while Jess and I will be in the back rooms monitoring the rest of your NCAA action (aka we don't have primo seating and are watching it on TV like everybody else).  We'll get you some post-game reactions and our own thoughts on the games that are going on.

I'll also be participating in the liveblog over at the theuconnblog.com so check that out.

Let the Madness Begin

The predictions, analysis, and filling out brackets is over. It is finally time for the NCAA Tournament to begin in a few hours, and in the UConn Huskies case, at 3:00 this afternoon they will take the court to begin their journey of winning the national title. This is a UConn team that came into this season with great expectations. They were returning nearly their entire team and were a preseason number 2 in the country. It has been a largely successful season, but the loss of Jerome Dyson and the Huskies eventual struggles down the stretch have caused many to question whether this team can still cut down the nets in Detroit. They have the talent to win a title and certainly the coach to get it done. But this team needs tournament experience and to win some early round games to gain the confidence they need to go forward. It's crazy to think that the college basketball season only has three weeks left, but within those three weeks there will be games and players who will leave their ever-lasting legacy on the NCAA Tournament. For UConn it starts this afternoon and they will need to prove to themselves and the country that they have the ability to win an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2006.

We're off to the Wachovia Center, check back throughout the day for updates from the arena during the game.

Welcome to the UC Sports Blog

Welcome to the UC Sports Blog, your online source for UConn sports news and opinions.  Throughout the course of the next few weeks, we'll be bringing you on the spot coverage of all your UConn team, including live coverage of the NCAA tournaments and NFL Draft.  Stay tuned and be sure to look for us online at uctv.uconn.edu and sign up for our UCTVSports twitter feed.