University of Connecticut Athletics
Men's Basketball Looks to Rebound at St. Johns
1/29/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
- Game Notes [.pdf]
ABOUT UCONN: Connecticut will carry a 13-6 overall record and a 2-4 BIG EAST mark into the game at St. John's. UConn is coming off a 70-59 league loss at the Hartford Civic Center (Jan. 24) to Villanova.
ABOUT ST. JOHN'S: St. John's will carry an 11-7 overall record and a 5-2 BIG EAST mark into the game against Connecticut. The Red Storm are coming off a 65-59 league road loss at Virginia Tech (Jan. 27).
SERIES HISTORY: This is the 48th meeting in the sport of men's basketball between Connecticut and St. John's, dating back to the 1950-51 season. The Red Storm lead in the overall series 30-17 and SJU sports a 29-16 edge in the series between the two schools as BIG EAST rivals. Connecticut is 7- 8 all-time vs. St. John's in Madison Square Garden and the Huskies are 6-7 vs. the Red Storm in MSG as BIG EAST rivals (4- 5 in regular season play, 2-2 in BIG EAST Tournament play).
FIRST MEETING THIS SEASON: UConn posted a dramatic 82-80 overtime victory against St. John's in the first meeting this season between the two schools (Jan. 6 at the Harry A, Gampel Pavilion in Storrs). UConn trailed by four points (74- 70) with 32 seconds left in regulation and SJU led 75-72 with 11 seconds left. The Huskies got a three-point field goal from freshman Caron Butler at the final buzzer to force overtime and UConn held SJU scoreless for the final 2:48 of overtime to record the victory. Johnnie Selvie paced Connecticut with 26 points while Edmund Saunders added 17, Caron Butler scored 15, and Albert Mouring scored 11. Freshman Taliek Brown had a career-high 12 assists. Willie Shaw paced St. John's with 25 points while Alpha Bangura scored 18, Omar Cook had 11 points and 15 assists, and Anthony Glover scored 11.
UCONN & JIM CALHOUN AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: Jim Calhoun will be coaching in his 45th game at Madison Square Garden as Connecticut's head basketball coach when the Huskies visit the Red Storm (Jan. 30). In his first 14 seasons as UConn head coach, Jim Calhoun and his Huskies have recorded an overall record of 27-17 at MSG. UConn and Jim Calhoun have won five championships at MSGthe 1988 NIT Championship, the 1990 BIG EAST Tournament Championship, the 1996 BIG EAST Tournament Championship, the 1998 BIG EAST Tournament Championship, and the 1999 BIG EAST Tournament Championship. Under Coach Calhoun, UConn is 4- 2 in NIT play at MSG (preseason and postseason NIT), 19-10 in BIG EAST Tournament games, and 4-5 in nine regular season games against St. John's University.
EVERYTHING IN THE BIG EAST: Connecticut has 10 regular season games remaining on its 2000-2001 schedule and all 10 are BIG EAST Conference games, five at home and five on the road. UConn is 2-4 in its first six BIG EAST games this season. In its 13 non-conference regular season games, the Huskies posted an 11-2 record.
EAST DIVISION GAME: The matchup between Connecticut and St. John's is the sixth BIG EAST Conference East Division game of the season for UConn and the seventh for St. John's. UConn and St. John's are two of seven BIG EAST squads competing in the East Division of the league. The 16- game BIG EAST regular season schedule will see UConn play two games each against all six East Division opponents (Boston College, Miami, Providence, St. John's, Villanova, Virginia Tech) and single games against four (Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Seton Hall, Syracuse) of the seven teams in the West Division. UConn will not play Georgetown, Rutgers and West Virginia during the 2000-2001 regular season. Connecticut is 2-4 in BIG EAST play and 1-4 vs. East Division teams. St. John's is 5-2 in BIG EAST play and 4-2 vs. East Division teams.
CARON SETS STANDARD AMONG HUSKY ROOKIES: UConn freshman Caron Butler has set a new standard among freshmen playing at Connecticut during coach Jim Calhoun's 15 years as Husky head coach. The 6-7 Butler scored in double figures in each of his first 13 collegiate games in which he played before being held below double figures against Texas (Jan. 15). Butler, who sat out the first three UConn games of the 2000-2001 season, started his Husky career with 20 points vs. Louisville (Nov. 22) and followed that with scoring efforts of 21, 15, 18, 16, 14, 16, 14, 10, 29, 15, 11, and 12 points. Butler has scored in double figures in 15 of his first 16 college games and his current scoring average of 15.9/game ranks No. 1 under Jim Calhoun among freshmen in their first 16 college contests. Following are the scoring statistics in their first 16 collegiate games for other heralded UConn freshman players under Jim Calhoun.
Caron Butler 255 points=15.9/gameKhalid El-Amin 254 points=15.9/gameRay Allen 221 points=13.8/gameRichard Hamilton 192 points=12.0/gameDoron Sheffer 182 points=11.4/gameDonyell Marshall 171 points=10.7/gameNadav Henefeld 164 points=10.3/gameScott Burrell 150 points=9.4/gameTate George 137 points=8.6/gameChris Smith 130 points=8.1/gameRIP-ONLY FRESHMAN LEADING SCORER: In Jim Calhoun's first 14 years as head coach of the Connecticut basketball program, Richard Rip Hamilton ranks as the only freshman to lead a UConn team in scoring for an entire season. Hamilton averaged 15.9 points per game as a freshman in 1996-97. Freshman Caron Butler currently is No. 1 on the 2000-2001 UConn team in scoring with a 15.9/game average. Butler also leads the team in rebounding (7.4/game).
FOUR HUSKIES HAVE DOUBLE DOUBLE EFFORTS: UConn senior center Souleymane Wane is coming off an 11-point, 14-rebound effort vs. Villanova (Jan. 24). He became the fourth member of the 2000-2001 Husky squad to record a double-double this season. Senior forward Edmund Saunders has had five double-doubles this season, including netting 14 points and 11 rebounds vs. Miami in his last outing (Jan. 20). UConn freshman Caron Butler has registered three double-doubles (21 points, 12 rebounds vs. Brown, 16 points, 10 assists vs. Fairfield, 29 points, 13 rebounds vs. Boston College). Butler also notched a rare triple-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists vs. Rhode Island. Freshman points guard Taliek Brown had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists vs. Pittsburgh (Jan. 10).
100 YEARS OF UCONN BASKETBALL: The University of Connecticut men's basketball program is celebrating a Century of Husky Hoops during the 2000-2001 season. The first varsity season for Connecticut Basketball was the 1901- 1902 season and the 2000-2001 season will complete 100 Years of UConn Basketball.
RAY ALLEN TOP VOTE-GETTER ON UCONN ALL-CENTURY TEAM: Two-time All-American Ray Allen is the top vote-getter and will serve as the Honorary Captain of the University of Connecticut Men's Basketball 25-member All-Century Team. Allen, currently in his fifth season in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks, earned the most votes in balloting by UConn fans among 78 former UConn greats listed on the school's All-Century Team ballot. The All-Century team centers will be announced February 1, the forward will be announced on February 8, and the guards will be announced on February 15.
CONNECTICUT HAS 209 WINS IN LAST EIGHT SEASONS: During the past eight basketball seasons (beginning with the 1993- 94 season), Connecticut has won 209 games (209-50), ranking the Huskies No. 3 in the nation among 318 NCAA Division I schools for total victories during that span. UConn has averaged 28 wins per year during the past seven full seasons. The only Division I schools with more wins than UConn during the past eight years are Kentucky and Kansas.
13 STRAIGHT NATIONAL POST-SEASON BIDS: The Connecticut basketball program is one of only EIGHT schools (among 318 NCAA Division I institutions) to advance to national post- season tournament competition (NCAA or NIT) in each of the past 13 seasons (dating back to the 1987-88 season). Under the guidance of head coach Jim Calhoun, UConn has earned nine NCAA bids (1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000) and four NIT bids (1988, 1989, 1993, 1997). The eight institutions which have advanced to national tournament play for the past 13 consecutive seasons include: Arizona, Arkansas, CONNECTICUT, Georgetown, Indiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Temple.
ALBERT MOURING JOINS 1,000-POINT CLUB: Connecticut senior guard Albert Mouring became the 32nd member of the Connecticut men's basketball 1,000-point scoring club during the Texas game (Jan. 15). Mouring will enter the St. John's game ranked No. 30 in career scoring with 1,031 points in 101 college contests (10.2/game). He is the 14th UConn player to perform under head coach Jim Calhoun who has reached the 1,000-point scoring plateau.
ALBERT MOURING ON WOODEN MID-SEASON TOP 30: Connecticut senior guard Albert Mouring is one of 30 collegiate stars listed on the John R. Wooden Award Midseason candidate list. The 6-3 Mouring, who is No. 1 on the Husky squad in scoring with a 16.1/game scoring average, is one of only four BIG EAST Conference players included in the Top 30 list. The other BIG EAST stars include Troy Murphy of Notre Dame, Preston Shumpert of Syracuse, and Eddie Griffin of Seton Hall.
EDMUND NO. 2 IN CAREER FIELD GOAL SHOOTING: UConn senior Edmund Saunders stands in the No. 2 spot on Connecticut's career field goal percentage shooting list. In 87 games during his Connecticut career, Saunders has converted 268 of 483 field goal attempts for a 55.5% field goal shooting performance. Chuck Aleksinas (1980-82) is No. 1 in career field goal shooting at 56.6% and Rod Sellers is No. 3 at 54.8%.
RECORD-SETTING SPAN: During the past 12 seasons (beginning with the 1989-90 season), head coach Jim Calhoun has directed the Connecticut basketball program to an overall record of 295-90 (76.6% winning effort), the sixth best overall record (total wins) among the 318 NCAA Division I teams in the nation. Prior to Jim Calhoun's tenure as head coach, Connecticut had only won as many as 23 games in a single season twice in the first 86 years of the program's history (1900-1986). Since the 1989-90 season, UConn has averaged 25.6 wins per season.
UCONNBIG EAST TEAM OF THE 1990'S: During the decade of the 1990's, the Connecticut men's basketball program was the winningest program among all BIG EAST Conference schools. From 1989-90 through the 1998-99 season, UConn sported a 10-year overall record of 257-74 (77.6%). In that same span, UConn's conference-best regular season record in BIG EAST games was 127-49.
UCONN HAS DOMINATED THE BIG EAST: Connecticut has won outright possession of five BIG EAST Conference regular season titles in the past seven years. UConn has also won three of the past five BIG EAST Tournament championships. In 1997-98 & 1998-99, UConn became the first program in BIG EAST history to win the BIG EAST regular season and tournament titles in back-to-back seasons.
HUSKIES WIN ON THE ROAD IN THE BIG EAST: The Connecticut basketball program is the leader in BIG EAST Conference regular season road wins during the past 12 years. Since the start of the 1989-90 season, Connecticut has posted a BIG EAST best 63-36 road record in league regular season games. Syracuse (59-41) is the only other BIG EAST school sporting a winning percentage in BIG EAST road games during the past 12-year span.
ALSO WINNING AT HOME IN THE BIG EAST: In addition to its highly-successful road record in the BIG EAST, the Connecticut basketball program has paced the entire BIG EAST Conference in regular season wins at home during the past 12-year span (beginning with the 1989-90 season). UConn has posted a 76-23 record at home in BIG EAST games during the past 12 years. Syracuse is No. 2 in victories at home during the past 12 years (71-28 prior to Jan. 29 game against Georgetown).
UCONN 172-104 AGAINST BIG EAST TEAMS UNDER JIM CALHOUN: The Connecticut men's basketball program has posted an overall record of 172-104 (62.3%) against BIG EAST Conference teams during Jim Calhoun's first 15 years in charge of the UConn program (152-94 in regular season play, 19-10 in BIG EAST Tournament games, 1-0 in NIT play).
UCONN 170-32 AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE FOES UNDER JIM CALHOUN: The Connecticut men's basketball program has posted an overall record of 170-32 (84.2%) against non- conference teams in Jim Calhoun's 15 years in charge of the UConn program.
MOST WINS IN A THREE-YEAR STRETCH: The last three seasons of Connecticut Basketball have produced an overall record of 91-17 (32-5 in 1997-98, 34-2 in 1998-99, 25-10 in 1999- 00), the most wins in any three-season stretch in UConn's 100-year basketball history and an average of 30.3 wins per season.
FOUR IN DOUBLE FIGURES: Connecticut will enter the game against St. John's with four players scoring in double figures. Freshman forward Caron Butler leads the way for the Huskies with a 15.9/game average. Senior guard Albert Mouring is No. 2 with a 15.7/game scoring average. Junior forward Johnnie Selvie is third at 12.3/game and senior forward Edmund Saunders is fourth at 10.9/game.
SELVIE BACK IN ACTION: Connecticut junior forward Johnnie Selvie returned to the Connecticut lineup vs. Villanova (Jan. 24) after being sidelined for two games (Texas & Miami) with a muscle strain in the upper left back. Selvie started the Texas game (Jan. 15) but was unable to play after two minutes on the court. He did not practice during the week of Jan. 15-20 and did not play against Miami (Jan. 20). He came off the bench vs. Villanova to score just two points in 17 minutes of playing time but he did pull down eight rebounds. Selvie is No. 3 on the UConn team in scoring (12.3/game) and rebounding (5.7/game) and is No. 1 on the club in field goal shooting (58.5%).
UCONN on ESPN/espn2: The game against St. John's will be Connecticut's 93rd game to be televised nationally by ESPN/espn2 during the past 12 seasons (since the start of the 1989-90 season). UConn is 65-27 overall on ESPN/espn2 during the past 12 seasons. The UConn-St. John's game is the fourth of six regular season Connecticut games during the 2000-2001 season which will be televised nationally by ESPN/espn2.
SWAIN JOINS UCONN: Robert Swain, a 6-4 freshman from College Park, Georgia, has enrolled at the University of Connecticut joined the UConn men's basketball program beginning with the Rhode Island game (Dec. 26)wearing uniform No. 2. Swain began classes at UConn on January 23 (spring semester). Swain averaged 29 points, eight rebounds and five assists a game during the 1999-2000 scholastic season in leading Tri-Cities High School (East Point, Georgia) to a 25-4 record and a regional championship.
GORDON SIGNS WITH UCONN: Ben Gordon, a 6-2 combination guard at Mount Vernon (NY) HS, signed a National Letter of Intent with the Connecticut Basketball program during the November signing period and plans to enroll at UConn for the 2001-2002 academic year. Gordon, rated among the Top 20 scholastic recruits in the nation and the USA Today New York Player of the Year as a junior, averaged 24.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 3.7 steals during his junior season at Mount Vernon in 1999-2000. Ben is obviously an important recruit for us, said UConn head coach Jim Calhoun. We believe he is one of the top 20 high school players in the country. He's a terrific shooter who can put it down, score, and do a lot of things on the court.
UP NEXT-VIRGINIA TECH AT GAMPEL PAVILION: Following the game at St. John's, UConn will return home to the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion for a BIG EAST matchup on Saturday, February 3, against league newcomer Virginia Tech. Game time is set for 8 p.m.
TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR UCONN HOME GAMES IN HARTFORD: Reserved tickets, priced at $25 each, are on sale for the three remaining Connecticut home games in the Hartford Civic Center (Providence-Feb. 6, Boston College-Feb. 13, Notre Dame-Feb. 26). Tickets are available at TicketMaster outlets throughout the state, by calling TicketMaster at (860) 525-4500 or (203) 624-0033, by ordering on-line at www.ticketmaster.com, at the Hartford Civic Center Box Office, or in person at the UConn Athletic Ticket Office in Storrs (cash or check only).
