TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

USF No Match For No. 1 UConn

The Associated Press

South Florida's Alex Rivas battles for the rebound with Connecticut's Jeff Adrien.

ADVERTISEMENT

By ZAC BOYER

Tribune Correspondent

Published: February 21, 2009

HARTFORD, Conn. - Before embarking on its trip to Connecticut, the USF men's basketball team was not sure what to expect.

Would the Bulls be facing a Huskies team deflated by its loss to Pittsburgh on Monday night, or would UConn be what Coach Stan Heath called an "angry giant"?

The answer turned out to be a little bit of both. Despite their worst shooting performance of the season at home, top-ranked UConn defeated USF 64-50 at the XL Center on Saturday. It was the Bulls' fourth consecutive loss.

"Honestly, we went into practice and we knew UConn coach Jim Calhoun probably ripped those guys up for losing that game, so we really didn't know how they would come out and play," said USF guard Chris Howard, who had 11 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. "At the same time, when you wear a name like UConn across your chest, you've got to be ready to play every time."

UConn (25-2, 13-2 Big East), which is likely to lose its top spot in the polls after Monday's loss, never trailed despite a sloppy performance.

That was because USF was just as sloppy. The Bulls (8-18, 3-11) shot 32.3 percent from the floor, including an 0-for-9 stretch in the first 5:49, and had nine first-half turnovers.

USF was 5-for-24 from 3-point range, which was one area where Heath thought the Bulls could make their mark.

"I told our team before the game that if we really wanted the chance to really pull off a miracle or an upset against a great team like this, we'd have to knock some 3's down," Heath said. "That was just the area where we weren't able to get it done."

The Bulls trailed 31-20 at the break, but they battled back by doing what few Big East teams have dared to try this season - challenging Hasheem Thabeet. UConn's 7-foot-3 center, hampered by an injured left shoulder and a hyperextended left elbow, allowed Aris Williams and Dominique Jones to score on consecutive possessions with 11:51 remaining to pull the Bulls within six.

"Then they came out, hit a couple shots and made a couple layups and went back up," said Jones, who had 14 points. "But our main thing is that we're just learning, getting better for the Big East Tournament and getting as many wins as we can on our way there and just having fun."

Jesus Verdejo, sidelined with plantar fasciitis in his right foot and a deep heel bruise, sat on the bench wearing a walking boot. Heath said the goal is to get him back to full strength by the Big East Tournament.

Gus Gilchrist led the Bulls with 15 points, although he missed a significant stretch of the second half in foul trouble.

Thabeet led UConn with 21 points, nine rebounds and six blocks.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT