With the chance of heading to New York City on the line, the University of Connecticut Huskies basketball team made sure they could punch their tickets early Thursday night. Unfortunately for the Bulls, the Huskies apparently came out determined to remind people of Uconn's former glory.
The Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team stood no chance against UConn, as the Huskies beat the Bulls 82-57. The win means the Huskies will advance to New York City for a 2k Sports Coaches vs. Cancer semifinal match-up with the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs. The winner will play the victor of the other semifinal game, Memphis vs. Oklahoma.
For the Bulls, the loss meant heading back home with a 1-1 record and with many questions to answer.
UConn, which has one of the best defenses in the country, finishing the 2006-07 season seventh in the nation in rebounding, were able to fluster the Bulls with their athleticism. They blocked 15 shots by Buffalo. Stanley Roberts led the Huskies with six blocks.
The Bulls had a tough time keeping the Huskies off of the boards as well. A much taller and athletic UConn squad was able to out-rebound the Bulls by a whopping 54-36, which included 15 offensive rebounds by the Huskies. Roberts also led the team with 13 boards.
Overall, point guard Rodney Pierce struggled for Buffalo. The sophomore chipped in seven points, but had five turnovers. Meanwhile, sophomore guard Byron Mulkey only scored four points while turning the ball over twice. Overall, the Bulls committed 15 turnovers, compared to the Huskies 18.
The athleticism of the Huskies also forced the Bulls to commit fouls. Having a tough time keeping the opposition from the hoops, the Bulls fouled UConn a total of 28 times. The Huskies went 25 of 37 from the line compared to 10-18 for the Bulls.
Junior forward Greg Gamble was the only Bull to score in double figures, scoring 13 points, which were a lot harder to come by than the Ohio Valley game the night prior, when Gamble scored 25 points. He went five for 12 shooting, also gathering seven rebounds.
The next leading scorer for the Bulls was junior guard Andy Robinson, who had nine points. Robinson struggled from the floor, going 3 of 12, many of which were blocked while taking the ball to the hoop.
Sophomore forward Calvin Betts came off the bench and was able to contribute seven points while grabbing four rebounds. Junior forward Brian Addison grabbed seven rebounds in only 11 minutes.
UConn was led by guard A.J. Price's 24 points. Price went six for 10 from the floor while also going 10 of 12 from the free throw line. Guard Jerome Dyson chipped in 12 points for the Huskies, while forward Jeff Adrian had 11.
Early on the Bulls hung tough with the Huskies. Addison scored a bucket to give the Bulls their first lead 19-17 with 10:41 left in the first half. After UConn tied the score, Pierce scored five straight points to give the Bulls a 24-19 advantage with 8:24 left.
At that point, the Huskies were done playing around. They went on a 17-0 run while holding the Bulls to six points for the rest of the half. UConn had a 43-30 lead heading into the locker room.
They did not stop there, as it became evident early in the second half that the Huskies were not going to allow the Bulls back into the game. The UConn lead built to 20 with 13:59 left after a free throw by A.J. Price. The lead swelled to as much as 28.
"Overall I was happy with this small step for us," said Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun in a press release. "Buffalo plays in a good conference and they're a very physical basketball team. But I think we negated that with our speed."
The Bulls return to action on Nov. 13 when they take on the University of South Florida Bulls, another Big East foe, in their home opener. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. at Alumni Arena.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
