University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Look for Redemption Against Notre Dame
2/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
HARTFORD, CT (February 20) – The eighth-ranked Connecticut men’s basketball team looks for redemption when Notre Dame sweeps into town on Saturday afternoon for a BIG EAST battle. Game time is set for 2:00 pm at the Hartford Civic Center and will be televised nationally on CBS. The teams are meeting for the second time in a 12-day period.
UConn fell to the Irish, 80-74, on February 9 in South Bend, IN behind the strong play of UND’s Chris Thomas. He scored a game-high 31 points including six three-point baskets. Okafor led the Huskies with 24 points while Gordon pitched in 22 points.
“Since the last time we met we have had two good practices. It has been difficult in the sense that we are in February and we have things to get done. We are really trying to get back to basics,” said UConn head coach Jim Calhoun. “We got beat on basics last time (against Notre Dame). We got beat on plays by Chris Thomas and by (Chris) Quinn and certainly (Torrian) Jones and (Jordan) Cornette, and the whole team really. They did a really nice job against us.”
The Huskies had a convincing win over Miami on Wednesday night and improved their record to 20-5 overall. As the end of the regular season comes closer, Connecticut stands in a two-way tie with Providence with an 8-3 record. The Irish have won three straight games starting with their victory over UConn. Notre Dame holds a record of 13-9 overall and are 7-5 in the league.
“We need our crowd to get into the game and have not asked much of them all year. We came into the Petersen Center (Pittsburgh) and it was a battle for first place. Well tomorrow is a battle for us for first place too,” said Calhoun. “We can’t be in first place if we lose tomorrow’s game. It will make a real difficult road for us because we have to depend upon other people. If we can come in tomorrow and get a ‘w’ then a lot of things will happen.”
“I would really appreciate our fans, who have always be great, but we need their help tomorrow and I am asking for their help. I think it makes a great difference to our kids if they start out flat and the place is lively. They need to understand we are playing against a team that is playing very well right now,” said Calhoun.
Until the loss earlier this season, Connecticut had won three straight over the Irish. In addition, the Huskies have won six of the last nine meetings. The teams have faced-off 12 times since Notre Dame joined the BIG EAST for the start of the 1995-96 season. Connecticut holds the 8-4 advantage in the series, and two of the Huskies’ losses were during the 2000-01 season when UConn was defending its national title.
With Connecticut’s win over Miami on Wednesday, the Huskies clinched their seventh consecutive 20-win season, extending the longest such streak in school history. It is also the 13th time in the last 15 years UConn has won 20 or more times. The Huskies continue to be ranked first nationally in field goal percentage defense, rebound margin, assists and blocked shots.
Junior Emeka Okafor leads the nation in blocked shots and has a nation’s best 16 double-doubles on the season. He is averaging 19.3 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.7 blocked shots per game. He is also nationally-ranked third in rebounding and 13th in field goal percentage.
Sophomore Rashad Anderson passed the 100th mark for made three-pointers in his career with his five three-pointers in UConn’s win over Miami. He becomes only the 12th Husky to make 100 or more three-pointers in his career. On the season, Anderson he is shooting 40.7 percent on 46-for-113 shooting from behind the arc.
Notre Dame will be playing its eighth ranked opponent and the fourth in its last five games in Saturday’s game against Connecticut. The Irish are 2-5 against ranked opponents in 2003-04 and were winless in the first five match-ups before gaining wins over Connecticut and Syracuse.
Thomas is averaging a team-best 19.2 points and 5.0 assists per game and is currently on a four-game streak of 20 or more points. Sophomore Chris Quinn is also scoring in double-figure points this season with 14.4 per game. He has scored in double-figures in 15 of his last 17 games.
“I think if we stay sound as we did for three-quarters of a game against Miami on their guards, we’ll be alright,” said Calhoun. “Chris (Thomas) is on his own level really, he can really create his own shots and he is a focal point of what they do.”
Brey is in his fourth-year at Notre Dame and ninth in the collegiate ranks. He holds a 79-40 record at Notre Dame and a 37-22 mark in BIG EAST play.
