UConn Huskies head coach Jim Calhoun made his return known in the first 55 seconds of the game when he made two substitutions.
Unfortunately though, Calhoun’s return wasn’t enough to inspire the Huskies to a victory as they lost to the Cincinnati Bearcats 60-48 in front of 14,605 at the XL Center in Hartford, CT on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies fall to 14-11 (4-8 Big East) and saw their slim chances of making the NCAA Tournament leave the building. The Bearcats get a much needed Big East road win as they improve to 15-9 (6-6 Big East).
I thought it was one of the worst performances I’ve had here at UConn in 24 years,” said Calhoun. “I’m really incredibly disappointed by the performance, and I’m embarrassed by it, quite frankly.”
Kemba Walker led the way for UConn with 14 points while Jerome Dyson had 13 points, six rebounds and three asissts but had five turnovers. Stanley Robinson added 10 points and led the Huskies with nine rebounds. Gavin Edwards came off the bench and had a good game as he finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, two steals and three blocked shots.
The Bearcats were led by Lance Stephenson’s 14 points and he had five rebounds with an assist and a steal. The elder statesmen, Deonta Vaughn, chipped in with 10 points and Ibrahima Thomas had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The Huskies started out slowly as they fell behind 4-0 before Robinson made a jumper with 15:21 to go in the first half. Cincinnati pushed the lead to 7-2 before the Huskies started their comeback, taking a 10-9 lead on a Walker three-pointer with 11:10 to go.
Robinson gave the Huskies their biggest lead at 20-14 on a nasty dunk after a steal. A Thomas three-pointer cut the lead to three points before a Robinson jumper with 2:38 remaining gave the Huskies a 22-17 lead. That would be the last basket the Huskies would score in the half as the Bearcats scored the last five points to tie the game at 22.
UConn’s woes continued for the first 9:29 of the second half as the Bearcats opened up with a 14-3 run. The Huskies looked flat as Cincinnati continued to build their lead before the Huskies tried to comeback.
Trailing by 13 points with 2:38 to go, the Huskies would get the lead down to six points at 52-46 before Vaughn iced the game with four straight free throws.
It’s tough being a Huskies fan right now but their effort on Saturday was pathetic. They just look uninspired on a day when they should’ve been inspired with their Hall of Fame coach back on the sidelines.
The Huskies will look for an upset on Big Monday when they head to Philadelphia, PA to take on the Villanova Wildcats. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and will be nationally-televised on ESPN.
Notes and musings:
Cincinnati Bearcats @ UConn Huskies 2.13.10 box score
The starters were Kemba Walker, Jerome Dyson, Stanley Robinson, Ater Majok and Alex Oriakhi.
The Huskies shot just 34.6% (18-of-52) from the floor while the Bearcats shot 37.5% (21-of-56).
UConn had nine assists on their 18 made baskets.
The Huskies were 3-of-15 (20%) from three-point land while the Bearcats were just 3-of-17 (17.6%).
UConn was awful from the free throw line as they were 9-of-18 (50%). This is unacceptable.
The Huskies were outrebounded 46-32. Cincinnati had 19 offensive rebounds compared to 20 defensive rebounds for UConn.
UConn did outscore Cincinnati 24-18 in the paint.
The Huskies had 20 points off of 14 Cincinnati turnovers. The Bearcats had 20 points off of 16 turnovers.
