Jan. 10, 2009

Live from 5/3:

I kind of like the fact Mick seems to start a new lineup every game. This time, it appears tob e Deonta Vaughn, Larry Davis, Mike Williams, Rashad Bishop, and Yancy Gates. It keeps us on our toes.

I do wonder, though, whether we'll see Anthony McClain today. He didn't play at all against Providence and only five against Marquette. It'd make more sense to play him against Hasheem Thabeet, even if it's only for his five fouls. We'll see, I guess.

Time of National Anthem: 1:23, a well-done rendition.

Wow, not a great start. Gates takes a 16 footer and barely hits the backboard. But then, a deflection by him as UConn tries to get it to Thabeet.

UC has been called for three fouls so far (UConn has one). Mick and the crowd are getting a little frustrated by that.

You wonder how Steve Toyloy will do against Thabeet. He's only a full head and shoulders shorter. OK, he's not that short. But it's significant.

Big dunk by Toyloy to rebound a Vaughn miss. The UConn bench wanted offensive goal-tending. The official said, Uh, no.

When Thabeet returns to the ballgame, Bearcats switch to a 3-2 zone. It stops Thabeet from scoring, but Kemba Walker drives right through the middle, gets fouled by Toyloy and hits the runner.

So far, UC is 30.8 percent from the floor. UConn is at 54.5 percent.

And in comes McClain with 11:06 to play. And as soon as he enters, Thabeet beats him to the basket and just powerslams it. Good stuff.

You can't miss wide-open shots shots like Dion Dixon just did and expect to beat UConn. He had an open 12-footer and he airballed it long.

Good sequence for UC there. McClain blocks Adrien, Vaughn nails a 3, Mike Williams blocks Robinson and on the other end Thabeet picks up his second foul with 9:12 to go in the first half.

Oh, Mick is less than pleased with the officiating.

Well, there's an atmosphere here today at least.

Mike Williams has his mid-range jumper working pretty well today. He's 3 of 5 for eight points.

Gates will have two free throws to try to tie the game.

Gates hits those two free throws to make it 27-27. Then, a Davis 3 makes it 30-30. Not bad considering UConn is about 15 percentage points better from the floor.

Gates is 1 for 6 from the field, but he's 4 for 4 from the foul line.

Price, who's got 13 points, hits two 3s in the 48 seconds to make it a 4-point game. On UConn's final possession, Mick was screaming at Dixon not to leave Price open on the wing. That's what he did, the Huskies passed him the ball, and Price nailed the 3 with 1 second left. Mick power-walked off the court he was so upset.

For the half, UC shoots 38.7 percent from the floor, 40 percent from the 3. Vaughn and Williams have 10 points apiece. Vaugh has four assists. On the Bearcats 12 field goals, they have 10 assists. That's a pretty good percentage.

UConn is shooting 53.8 percent from the floor and 50 percent from the 3.

Vaughn is doing a lot of running around out there. Davis hits a 3, but nobody else seems to be doing much. Or wanting the ball that much.

There's a guy in a kilt underneat the Huskies backet who's ever so slowly lifting it whenever UConn takes a FT. Then, he's shaking his thighs together. It is absolutely hilarious.

Another Thabeet dunk and the backboard is still shaking.

No doubt about it, UConn can shoot the ball. The Huskies are at 57.1 percent.

Gates, BTW, has 10 points and nine rebounds. I was talking with somebody the other day who was saying that Gates wasn't all that special considering he's done most of his damage against less than stellar squads and that the Big East would eat him alive. The guy I was talking to is obviously an idiot.

A layup by Bishop and a nice move and 12-foot jumper by Gates cuts the lead to 5. UConn with a timeout.

If you're bored, you should read this story about mustaches in the NY Times and how it's making a comeback. Actually, I'm surrounded on press row by facial hair. Bill Koch has his closely shorn beard, the Sporting News Mike DeCourcy has a mustache goatee combo and Rusty Miller of the AP is sporting a bushy mustache. Also, I've never seen my dad without a mustache, though it's transformed from a waxy handlebar to a bushy cowboy style to a short fu manchu. He's had one for the past 30 years, fashion be damned.

UConn has taken a 12-point lead, and it's now shooting 61 percent from the floor.

Well, it's clear why UConn is a top-5 team, and UC is not. Whenever the Huskies needed a shot, they made it. UC couldn't do the same. But there's still a reason to be positive I think. For much of the game UC played pretty evenly.

To put the final dagger in the heart, Dyson missed the first of his one and one, and he rushed by everybody, got the rebound and made a short jumper with 44 seconds to go.

UC actually shot better in the second half and finished at 47.5 percent. Vaughn leads the way with 19, Wiliams had 14 and Gates had 12. But UConn outrebounded UC 31-26, and the Huskies shot 58 percent from the floor. That's even better than Marquette and Providence. They also shot 53.3 percent from the 3.