Author Archives: ianbethune

2012 NCAA Women’s Basketball Rankings – Week 7 (Dec. 27)

AP & ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls

The NCAA women’s basketball rankings are out and the UConn Huskies remain as the No. 2 team in the land.

The Baylor Bears are unanimous No. 1 in both polls. They are followed in both polls by UConn, Notre Dame, Stanford and Maryland.

Joining the Huskies and Fighting Irish from the Big East in the top 25 are the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (11/11), Louisville Cardinals (14/13), Georgetown Hoyas (15/16) and DePaul Blue Demons (21/19).

There are no teams from the Big East in the others receiving votes in the AP Poll and only the Villanova Wildcats are among the others receiving votes in the Coaches Poll.

For a complete look at the 2012 NCAA Women’s Basketball Rankings for Week 7 (Dec. 27), click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

AP Top 25					ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll
RK	TEAM	REC	PTS	PVS	RK	TEAM	REC	PTS	PVS
1	Baylor (40)	12-0	1,000	1	1	Baylor (30)	12-0	774	1
2	Connecticut	10-1	949	2	2	Connecticut (1)	10-1	741	2
3	Notre Dame	11-1	927	3	3	Notre Dame	11-1	715	3
4	Stanford	9-1	881	4	4	Stanford	9-1	683	4
5	Maryland	11-0	837	5	5	Maryland	11-0	648	5
6	Kentucky	11-1	756	8	6	Kentucky	11-1	605	8
7	Tennessee	7-3	728	6	7	Duke	8-2	568	9
8	Duke	8-2	703	9	8	Tennessee	7-3	561	6
9	Ohio State	13-0	651	11	9	Texas A&M	8-2	512	10
10	Texas A&M	8-2	639	10	10	Miami (FL)	9-2	468	7
11	Rutgers	10-2	578	12	11	Rutgers	10-2	465	11
12	Miami (FL)	9-2	521	7	12	Ohio State	13-0	429	13
13	Texas Tech	10-0	510	15	13	Louisville	11-2	413	12
14	Louisville	11-2	491	14	14	Green Bay	10-0	355	14
15	Georgetown	10-2	487	17	15	Georgia	10-2	317	15
16	Penn State	10-2	401	16	16	Georgetown	10-2	311	17
17	Georgia	10-2	339	13	17	Penn State	10-2	286	16
18	Green Bay	10-0	323	18	18	Texas Tech	10-0	259	18
19	Delaware	9-0	262	19	19	DePaul	12-2	207	19
20	Purdue	10-3	212	20	20	Delaware	9-0	179	20
21	DePaul	12-2	211	21	21	Vanderbilt	11-1	134	21
22	Texas	9-2	166	22	21	Purdue	10-3	134	23
23	Nebraska	11-1	110	24	23	North Carolina	8-2	81	22
24	North Carolina	8-2	106	23	24	Gonzaga	10-2	74	24
25	Vanderbilt	11-1	94	25	25	Texas	9-2	72	25
Dropped from rankings:					Dropped from rankings:
None					None
Others receiving votes:					Others receiving votes:
Gonzaga 28, Virginia 28, California 22, LSU 14, South Carolina 10, Arkansas 7, Georgia Tech 4, Brigham Young 2, Kansas 1, Northwestern 1, St. Bonaventure 1					Nebraska 32, Kansas 15, Georgia Tech 13, California 10, Michigan 8, South Carolina 3, Villanova 1, Duquesne 1, Brigham Young 1

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Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 12/27

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Blaney Ready to Take Bulls by Horns [David Borges – New Haven Register]

George Blaney Takes The Wheel Again for The Huskies [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Kemba Walker Highlight & Interview After First NBA Win [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Blaney Prepares To Fill In For Calhoun [Hartford Courant]

Calhoun’s Missed Games [Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

Top 11 UConn Moments of ’11 [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Top UConn Moments of ’11: No. 10 [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Softball. Former Softball Assistant Coach Peter Looney Passes Away [UConnHuskies.com]

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Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3, Connecticut Whale 2

By Brian Ring

Hartford, CT, December 26, 2011 – The Connecticut Whale were defeated by the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 3-2, Monday night at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard. Tomas Marcinko recorded the game-winning goal for Bridgeport, as the Sound Tigers scored twice in the third period to erase a 2-1 Whale lead.

CT Whale Andre Deveaux scored and had an assist for the Whale, as did Bridgeport’s Rhett Rakhshani.

“I thought we played well in large portions of the game, but the outcome isn’t what we hoped for,” said Whale head coach Ken Gernander.

The teams played a scoreless first period, with the Whale getting the better of the chances as they outshot their hosts by an 11-9 margin. Both goaltenders were sharp at the outset, with Sound Tigers goaltender Kevin Poulin (30 saves) making a key early stop on the Whale’s Kris Newbury, and Connecticut netminder Chad Johnson (18 saves) denying Bridgeport on several close-range opportunities.

The Sound Tigers got on the scoresheet first, as Rakhshani buried his own rebound at the 4:08 mark of the second period. Johnson had bailed the Whale out with a spectacular save just seconds before, but he could not stop Rakhshani’s second wide-open attempt.

The Whale power-play got the game back to even exactly six minutes later, as Brendan Bell’s shot from the point was tipped underneath Poulin by Deveaux. Jonathan Audy-Marchessault also assisted on the goal, which was Deveaux’s eighth of the season.

Blake Parlett gave Connecticut a 2-1 lead at 15:57 of the second, as the defenseman gathered Newbury’s rebound and shot it over the glove of Poulin as the Sound Tigers’ goaltender laid on the ice. The score was the third of the season for Parlett, while Deveaux picked up the secondary assist for his second point of the night.

The Whale took the lead into the third period, but Scott Howes tied the game for Bridgeport just 1:28 into the final frame. Rakhshani recorded his second point of the game with an assist, with Casey Cizikas getting the secondary helper. Howes shot snuck just barely beneath Johnson and in for the equalizer.

Bridgeport took the lead for good on the stick of Tomas Marcinko, who, after a failed Whale clearing attempt, put the puck past Johnson for his fourth of the season at 15:34.

“There were some mistakes and some lapses there and we paid the price,” said Gernander.

The Whale nearly tied the game with just a half-minute left in the period, but Poulin stopped a Deveaux backhand bid while down on the ice.

The Whale are in home action Tuesday night at the XL Center in Hartford, as they play host to the Albany Devils for the first time this season (7:00 PM).

To continue reading, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Connecticut Whale 2 at Bridgeport Sound Tigers 3
Monday, December 26, 2011 – Webster Bank Arena

Connecticut 0 2 0 – 2
Bridgeport 0 1 2 – 3

1st Period- No Scoring. Penalties-No Penalties

2nd Period-1, Bridgeport, Rakhshani 3 (Cizikas), 4:08. 2, Connecticut, Deveaux 8 (Bell, Audy-Marchessault), 10:08 (PP). 3, Connecticut, Parlett 3 (Newbury, Deveaux), 15:57. Penalties-Audy-Marchessault Ct (holding), 6:40; Howes Bri (holding), 9:05; Ness Bri (slashing), 11:53; Olson Bri (slashing, misconduct – unsportsmanlike conduct), 15:57.

3rd Period-4, Bridgeport, Howes 7 (Rakhshani, Cizikas), 1:28. 5, Bridgeport, Marcinko 4 (Frischmon, Riley), 15:34. Penalties-Audy-Marchessault Ct (roughing), 4:22; McNeely Bri (roughing), 4:22; Romano Bri (slashing), 12:38.

Shots on Goal-Connecticut 11-9-12-32. Bridgeport 9-7-5-21.
Power Play Opportunities-Connecticut 1 / 4; Bridgeport 0 / 1.
Goalies-Connecticut, Johnson 10-5-3 (21 shots-18 saves). Bridgeport, Poulin 7-9-0 (32 shots-30 saves).
A-7,408
Referees-Dan Dreger (51), Chris Cozzan (18).
Linesmen-Luke Galvin (2), Derek Wahl (46).

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2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Rankings – Week 8 (Dec. 26)

AP & ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Polls

The NCAA men’s basketball rankings are out and the UConn Huskies come in at No. 9 in both polls. They dropped one spot in the AP Poll and held steady in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll.

The Syracuse Orange are ranked No. 1 in both polls and are followed by Ohio State, Kentucky, Louisville and North Carolina in the AP Poll. In the coaches’ poll, they are followed by Ohio State, Kentucky, Louisville and Duke.

Joining the Orange and Huskies in the top 25 from the Big East are the Georgetown Hoyas (12/12), Marquette Golden Eagles (14/13) and the Pitt Panthers (22/22).

There are no Big East teams among the others receiving votes in either poll.

For a complete look at the 2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Rankings for Week 8 (Dec. 26), click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

AP Top 25					ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll
RK	TEAM	REC	PTS	PVS	RK	TEAM	REC	PTS	PVS
1	Syracuse (54)	13-0	1,611	1	1	Syracuse (30)	13-0	774	1
2	Ohio State (5)	12-1	1,507	2	2	Ohio State (1)	12-1	719	2
3	Kentucky (4)	11-1	1,480	3	3	Kentucky	11-1	702	3
4	Louisville (2)	12-0	1,386	4	4	Louisville	12-0	674	4
5	North Carolina	11-2	1,366	5	5	Duke	10-1	639	5
6	Baylor	12-0	1,299	6	6	North Carolina	11-2	623	6
7	Duke	10-1	1,281	7	7	Baylor	12-0	587	7
8	Missouri	12-0	1,149	9	8	Missouri	12-0	574	8
9	Connecticut	10-1	1,143	8	9	Connecticut	10-1	538	9
10	Florida	10-2	1,050	11	10	Florida	10-2	501	12
11	Wisconsin	11-2	898	13	11	Wisconsin	11-2	434	14
12	Georgetown	10-1	851	16	12	Georgetown	10-1	400	16
13	Indiana	12-0	820	17	13	Marquette	11-1	359	10
14	Marquette	11-1	775	10	14	Mississippi State	12-1	347	17
15	Mississippi State	12-1	718	18	15	Indiana	12-0	337	18
16	Michigan State	11-2	613	19	16	Michigan	10-2	290	19
17	Kansas	8-3	548	12	17	Michigan State	11-2	270	20
18	Michigan	10-2	504	20	18	Kansas	8-3	250	11
19	UNLV	13-2	473	21	19	Creighton	10-1	193	21
20	Murray State	13-0	342	22	20	UNLV	13-2	179	23
21	Creighton	10-1	254	23	21	Murray State	13-0	169	22
22	Pittsburgh	11-2	238	15	22	Pittsburgh	11-2	159	13
23	Virginia	10-1	214	24	23	Harvard	10-1	92	25
24	Harvard	10-1	121	NR	24	Virginia	10-1	48	NR
25	San Diego State	11-2	119	NR	25	Kansas State	10-1	45	NR
Dropped from rankings:					Dropped from rankings:
Xavier 14, Illinois 25					Xavier 15, Illinois 24
Others receiving votes:					Others receiving votes:
Kansas State 105, Illinois 70, Saint Louis 55, Gonzaga 48, Xavier 42, Ohio 20, Stanford 10, Wichita State 9, Texas A&M 3, Alabama 2, Wagner 1					San Diego State 39, Illinois 36, Xavier 27, Saint Louis 22, Stanford 11, Gonzaga 10, Saint Mary’s 5, Ohio 5, Saint Joseph’s 3, Middle Tennessee 3, Alabama 3, Brigham Young 3, Cleveland State 2, West Virginia 1, Wichita State 1, Southern Miss 1

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Andre Drummond Picks Up Second Straight Big East Rookie of the Week Honors; Napier on Honor Roll

For the second straight week and third time this season, UConn Huskies men’s basketball freshman Andre Drummond has been named the Big East Rookie of the Week. Shabazz Napier was also named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll.

Here’s the release:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – University of Connecticut center Andre Drummond (Middletown, Conn.) was named the BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Week on Monday. The honor marks the second-straight week that Drummond has won it and the third overall.

Drummond scored 16 points on eight-of-ten shooting to go with nine rebounds, four steals and two blocks in Connecticut’s only game of the week, a 79-71 win against Fairfield on Thursday. Drummond, who has made 25 of his last 29 field goal attempts, is averaging 9.7 points and 6.2 rebounds for the Huskies.

In addition, UConn sophomore guard Shabazz Napier (Roxbury, Mass.) was named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the second week in a row and third time this season. Napier scored 24 points with six rebounds, five assists and two steals in the win over the Stags.

The Huskies return to action on Wednesday when they travel to USF for their BIG EAST opener. Game time is 9:00 p.m. and the game will be televised locally by SNY and heard on the UConn-WTIC Radio Network.

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