University of Connecticut Athletics
UConn Enters the Sweet 16 Against Vanderbilt
3/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PHOENIX, AZ (March 24) – The second-seeded Connecticut men’s basketball team enters the Sweet 16 of the 2004 NCAA Championship against Vanderbilt on Thursday evening at the America West Arena in Phoenix. Game time is set for 7:10 pm (est) and will be televised on CBS.
The Huskies hold a record of 29-6 and are fresh off a 72-55 victory over DePaul in the Second Round of the NCAA Championship in Buffalo, N.Y. on March 20. Sixth-seeded Vanderbilt owns a record of 23-9 and defeated NC State 75-73 on March 21 in Orlando, Fla. to advance to the Phoenix Regional.
Connecticut and Vanderbilt will be meeting for the third consecutive season, having played a home-home series the previous two seasons. UConn took both wins, the only games between the two schools. The Huskies won at Vanderbilt, 76-70, on December 1, 2002 and won again at the Hartford Civic Center on November 19, 2001, an 84-71 Husky victory.
UConn enters the Phoenix Regional having advanced to the Sweet 16 for the tenth time in the last 15 years. Only Duke, with 11 appearances, has more in that time span, while UCnn, Kentucky and Kansas all stand equal at 10 appearances apiece. Connecticut is also appearing in its eighth Sweet 16 since 1994, a feat equaled by Duke, Kentucky and Kansas for the most in Division I during that span.
The Huskies will attempt to repeat history as they return to Phoenix for the Regional. UConn played through Phoenix en route to its 1999 NCAA National Title. Connecticut defeated Iowa and Gonzaga to advance to the school’s first Final Four.
UConn senior Taliek Brown will go for his 100th career win against Vanderbilt. He has led the Huskies to a 99-35 record in his four-year career at Connecticut and to a 7-2 record in NCAA Championship play. In 2003-04, Brown combined with junior teammate Ben Gordon for 396 assists, the most by a passing duo in Connecticut history in a single season.
Junior All-American Emeka Okafor is averaging a team-best 18.1 points, 11.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He has already been named to six All-American squads for the 2003-04 season, earning honors from the Associated Press, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), ESPN.com, SI.com and the Adolph Rupp Award.
Vanderbilt opened the 2003-04 season on a 12-game win streak before dropping two consecutive games at Kentucky and Tennessee. The Commodores are shooting 71.2 percent from the free-throw line and has been a key component to the team’s success so far during the 2004 NCAA Championship.
The Commodores are making their first NCAA appearance since 1997 and return to the Regional for the first time since the 1996-97 season. The program is making its eighth appearance in the tournament for a total of 15 games and has a record of 7-8 in those games. Vanderbilt has reached the Regional only two other times in program history, in 1988 and 1993.
Vanderbilt’s all-time leading scorer senior forward Matt Frejie leads the team in scoring at 18.7 points per game and a team-high 5.4 rebounds. Frejie has been sent to the free-throw line 218 times, connecting on 173 shots for a .794 percentage. He has been to the line more than double than any other teammates as senior Russell Lakey has a team-second 75 attempts.
Vanderbilt is led by fifth year head coach Kevin Stallings. He has a record of 85-68 while at Vanderbilt and he is in his 11th overall year as a head coach with a record of 208-131.
