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.

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they are in Pittsburgh, PA for a Big East matchup with the Pitt Panthers. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised in Connecticut on CPTV.

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

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Doty Had Tooth Re-Bonded Sunday [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Huskies Look To Move On After Disappointing Loss To St. John’s [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

No. 4 UConn Set For Pitt On Tuesday [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn women look to regroup at Pitt [CT Post]

Loss To St. John’s Proved Geno’s Point [Hartford Courant]

Sophomore season hasn’t been an easy one for Stefanie Dolson [New Haven Register]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

George Blaney’s Take [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Wrapping Things Up From Philly [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Shabazz Has Pizzazz [David Borges – New Haven Register]

the wrap [Ed Daigneault – The Republican-American]

Notes/Quotes from Villanova: “I hit that and I was like ‘Bullseye.’” [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Shabazz shocks ‘em all [Neill Ostrout – Journal Inquirer]

On the Brink [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Napier’s long 3 lifts UConn in thriller [CT Post]

No decision made on UConn’s 2013 tournament fate [CT Post]

UConn Beats Villanova In Overtime, 73-70 [Hartford Courant]

Notebook: UConn’s 2013 Tournament Life Still Being Debated [Hartford Courant]

Napier Backed Up His Talk When It Counted [Hartford Courant]

Shabazz Napier 3-pointer gives Huskies OT win over Villanova [New Haven Register]

Other UConn related links

Baseball. Ward Named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week [UConnHuskies.com]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Shabazz Napier called out his teammates after Saturday’s loss, saying they had no “heart”. Considering how bad the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team was losing early on in this one, it seemed as though no one listened.

But things started to change and the Huskies gradually worked themselves back into the game, eventually regaining the lead in the second half. Poor free throw shooting almost cost them the game but thanks to Napier, they were able to pull this one out.

Napier’s three pointer with .6 seconds left was the difference as the Huskies beat the Villanova Wildcats 73-70 in overtime in front of 13,382 at the Wells Fargo Center and a nationally televised audience on ESPN’s Big Monday in Philadelphia, PA.

With UConn (17-10, 7-8 Big East) up 65-64 in overtime, Jeremy Lamb hit two free throws to put the Huskies up three. Roscoe Smith then blocked a JayVaughn Pinkston shot and then he fouled Lamb who corraled in the rebound. Lamb missed the front end of the one-and-one and Villanova (11-16, 4-11) went down and missed a three with the ball going out of bounds.

Napier’s inbound pass was picked off by Pinkston and the Wildcats went down the court with Ty Johnson missing a layup. But Mouphtaou Yarou grabbed the rebound and fouled by Alex Oriakhi. Yarou nailed both free throws to cut the lead down to one. On the inbound play, the Wildcats fouled Napier who missed the front end as Lamb did but the Huskies got the rebound.

After a timeout, the Wildcats fouled Lamb who hit both free throws. Villanova got it to within one on a Johnson layup and they fouled Lamb again when the ball was inbounded. Lamb hit the first but missed the second free throw giving the Wildcats a chance to tie or win the game.

Johnson would tie the game up with a layup with four seconds left. Napier took the inbounds pass and pulled up at around the 29 foot mark and swished the three. Villanova would throw the ensuing inbounds pass out of bounds giving the Huskies a hard fought win.

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

Lamb was the only Husky to score in double figures and he did it in big fashion as he scored a career-high 32 points while pulling down five rebounds. Andre Drummond added eight points and 11 rebounds while Ryan Boatright also had eight points, four assists and three steals. Smith had a nice game as well with seven points, five rebounds and three blocked shots.

Dominic Cheek led the Wildcats with 23 points. Johnson added 14 points, five rebound and six assists while Pinkston added a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Yarou chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds.

Things were definitely looking good for the Huskies early on at all. They would find themselves down by 16 at 26-8 with 8:23 in the half. But UConn was resilient and battled back. Over the next eight minutes, they responded with a 22-4 run to tie the game up at 30 and that’s where the two teams stood at the break.

The Huskies would finally take their first lead since being up 2-0 when Lamb nailed a jumper at the 16:45 mark. Lamb would push the lead up to five with a three. With the score 40-35 in UConn’s favor, the Wildcats battled back to tie it up with five straight points. It would stay close for a bit before UConn would push their lead to seven at 54-47 on an old-fashioned three point play by Lamb.

Villanova didn’t quit either as they would battle back with an 11-4 run to tie the game up at 58. Yarou would hit two free throws with 2:18 left in the game to give the Wildcats a two point lead. UConn then couldn’t buy a basket and found themselves in a boatload of trouble. But with 32 seconds left, Smith stole the Villanova inbounds pass and the Huskies would eventually tie the game up on an Oriakhi tip in. The Huskies would have to sweat out the final 23 seconds as Pinkston would miss a jumper setting up the overtime.

Given how bad it looked early on, I’m very pleased with how the Huskies responded. They could have given up but they didn’t. Despite the fact that Lamb looked like he was UConn’s offense, I will say this was a great team effort. Hopefully this is the win that wakes them up and shows them what can happen when they play as a team.

It won’t be easy though for the Huskies their next time out though as they welcome the No. 2/2 Syracuse Orange to Gampel Pavilion on Saturday night. Tip is scheduled for 9 p.m. and the game will be nationally-televised on ESPN. The ESPN GameDay crew will be on campus as well and will be broadcasting from Gampel all day long.

Notes and musings:

UConn Huskies @ Villanova Wildcats 2.20.12 box score

Before the game, Alex Oriakhi put Holy Water on the head of everyone before they came out to the court.

The starting five for the Huskies were Ryan Boatright, Jeremy Lamb, Roscoe Smith, Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond.

UConn shot 43.1% (28-65) from the floor while the Wildcats shot 40.3% (25-62).

The Huskies had 12 assists on their 28 made baskets.

UConn was 7-of-23 (30.4%) from beyond the arc. Villanova was 3-of-9 (33.3%). They actually hit all of their threes during that big run to start the game.

As I said in the recap, the Huskies were AWFUL at the free throw line. They were 10-of-22 (45.5%). I’ve always said at one point it would cost them a game and it almost happened in this one.

Villanova outrebounded UConn 45-37.

The Wildcats outscored the Huskies 30-28 in the paint and 11-7 on the fast break.

UConn had 17 second chance points to eight for Villanova.

The Huskies had 12 points off 15 Wildcats turnovers. Villanova had 13 points off of nine UConn turnovers.

UConn’s bench outscored Villanova’s 11-4.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Photo credit: Bettina Hansen – Hartford Courant (No. 17 in gallery)

Here’s the release from UConn about 22 UConn Huskies football players earning Big East All-Academic Honors:

PROVIDENCE – A total of 22 University of Connecticut football student-athletes have been named to the 2011 BIG EAST All-Academic Football Team. To be nominated, a player must have a cumulative grade-point index of at least 3.0 and completed a minimum of two semesters of academic work.

The following is a list of UConn players named to that team:

• Harris Agbor Sr. S Mesquite, Texas Finance/Political Science
• Jimmy Bennett Jr. OT Alexandria, Va. Accounting
• Tyler Bennett Sr. WR Alexandria, Va. Communication Sciences
• Robert Cherry So. WR Simsbury, Conn. Biological Sciences
• Jeremy Claflin Fr. S West Hartford, Conn. Exploratory
• Steve Greene So. OG Edensburg, Pa. Sport Management
• Frank Guardi So. WR New Fairfield, Conn. Exploratory
• Jory Johnson Jr. OLB Mobile, Ala. Economics
• Alex Kantor So. S Potomac, Md. Exploratory
• Chris Lopes So. CB Brockton, Mass. Communications
• Dominick Manco Fr. LS Lagrangeville, N.Y. Exploratory
• Corey Manning Jr. TE Tyrone, Ga. Finance
• Chris Matteis Fr. FB North Haven, Conn. Undeclared
• Scott McCummings RFr. QB Natick, Mass. Exploratory
• Adam Mueller So. LS Park Ridge, Ill. History
• Alex Pagan Sr. QB East Windsor, Conn. Political Science
• Moe Petrus Sr. C St. Laurent, Que. Psychology
• James Scherer Jr. DB Middlefield, Conn. Exercise Science
• Dave Teggart Sr. K Northborough, Mass. Coaching and Administration
• Robert Urban Sr. LB Southbury, Conn. Pharmacy
• Isaac White So. LB Waterbury, Conn. Pre-Kinesiology
• Nick Williams Jr. WR East Windsor, N.J. Economics

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

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.

It’s game day for the UConn men’s basketball team as they are at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA to take on the Villanova Wildcats. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

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

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Game preview: UConn men at Villanova [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

Know Your Enemy: Villanova [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Crunch time for UConn men [CT Post]

Meeting today is crucial to UConn’s fate [Greenwich Time]

Villanova Is UConn’s Latest Must-Win [Hartford Courant]

Huskies will look to pick themselves up against Villanova [New Haven Register]

Huskies could be running out of time [The Day]

Lowered expectations at UConn [The Hour]

Villanova, UConn have seen better days [Philadelphia Daily News]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Welcome to the real world [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Geno Auriemma: They Beat Us In Every Part Of The Game [Hartford Courant]

End of streak result of a ‘perfect storm’ [New Haven Register]

Other UConn related links

Softball. UConn Drops Close Game To Tennessee Tech, 9-7 [UConnHuskies.com]

M. & W. Swimming. Records Fall On Final Day Of BIG EAST Championship [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball. UConn Concludes Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge With 9-5 Loss to OSU [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Track. Huskies Take Second At BIG EAST Indoor Championship [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Ice Hockey. Women’s Hockey Eliminated From Hockey East Playoff Contention [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Track. Bikanova Captures High Jump Title At BIG EAST Indoor Championship [UConnHuskies.com]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

When the Boston Red Sox collapsed in 2011, we as fans were not very happy. After all, the team was all but assured of going to the playoffs with a nine game lead on the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Wild Card standings.

But it happened and we wanted answers. It ended up being that those answers we sought were not what we wanted to hear. With everything that had transpired, it ultimately lost former skipper Terry Francona his job. It also led to the revelation that four players, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and John Lackey along with Clay Buchholz were having rally beers along with some fried chicken during the downfall.

Lester and Buchholz have since apologized while who honestly cares what Lackey has to say. I only say that because I’m sure that no one really likes him here in New England.

But with Beckett being the veteran of that group, he was looked as at a leader. And it’s obvious, he wasn’t a very good one.

On Sunday, Beckett addressed the media assembled at Fenway South and basically did everything but apologize. But the one thing that stood out to me was the fact that he realized the team had lost the “trust” of the fans.

“Yeah, absolutely. I think we need to earn that trust back. They’re the best fans in baseball. There are some good, some bad, everything like that, but they’re the best fans in baseball. I definitely think we need to earn that trust back. The way we have to do that is go about our business the way we have in previous years and earn it back and win ballgames. That’s probably going to be best way.”

He’s definitely right about us being the best fans in baseball. When you’re a fan of Boston sports, we treat them like our best friends. After all, we spend half of the year with them.

So with everything that they did to get Francona fired, have “lapses in judgement”, Beckett reportedly “being out of shape”, among other things, they know people aren’t happy with them.

This is the first time in a long time that I’ve seen some Red Sox diehards not happy for a season. They are understandably upset. I don’t blame them.

I’m just glad that Beckett gets it. Hopefully, the rest of the team does as well.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Photo credit: AP Photo

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

George Blaney’s Take [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Wrapping Things Up From XL [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Shabazz: ‘I’ve Got to Question These Guys’ Hearts’ [David Borges – New Haven Register]

the wrap [Ed Daigneault – The Republican-American]

Notes/Quotes from Marquette: “I hate to say it, I’ve got to question a lot of these guys’ hearts.” [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

UConn’s NCAA Tournament Resume [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Post-game breakdown, video: Marquette [Gavin Keefe – The Day]

Shabazz goes straight to the heart [Neill Ostrout – Journal Inquirer]

Second Gear [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Huskies Can’t Keep Up With Marquette [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn falls to cool Marquette 79-64 [CT Post]

Napier says Huskies short on heart [CT Post]

Huskies learn only social media escape is to not read it [CT Post]

Huskies Outrun, Outgunned In 79-64 Loss To Marquette [Hartford Courant]

Calhoun Awaits Results Of Spinal Treatment [Hartford Courant]

UConn Responds To Punches With Pillows [Hartford Courant]

Huskies fall at home to No. 12 Marquette [New Haven Register]

UCONN MEN’S NOTEBOOK: Shabazz Napier questions Huskies’ heart [New Haven Register]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Video: Tiffany Hayes Honored on Senior Night [SOX & Dawgs]

Changes May Be Coming For UConn Women [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Big East Tiebreaker Procedure [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Auriemma Says He Needs Much More From Dolson [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Things Learned From A Loss [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Smith Steps Up And Nails Game-Winner For St. John’s [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Auriemma’s Truthful With Dolson Again A Non-Factor Vs. St. John’s [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Saturday night stunner [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

St. John’s stops UConn’s home win streak at 99 games [CT Post]

Remember when the streak began? [CT Post]

UConn Women Stopped Short Of 100 Consecutive Home Wins [Hartford Courant]

UConn Women Notebook: Tiffany Hayes Honored Before Game [Hartford Courant]

Record home winning streak ends at 99 with loss to St. John’s [New Haven Register]

Other UConn related links

Baseball. Baseball Suffers First Setback of the Season With 9-4 Defeat to Purdue [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Ice Hockey. Huskies Fall Short of Upset Bid Against No. 9 BU [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Lacrosse. UConn LAX Opens 2012 With a 10-7 Win Over Iona [UConnHuskies.com]

Softball. Softball Postponed Due To Inclement Weather [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Ice Hockey. Men’s Hockey Dropped At Bentley, 6-1 [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Track. Huskies Sit In Sixth Place After Day One Of BIG EAST Championship [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Track. UConn’s DMR Takes Third In BIG EAST Championship [UConnHuskies.com]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

What started out as night of joy for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as senior Tiffany Hayes and seven team managers were honored on Senior Night, ended in stunning fashion.

Shenneika Smith’s three-pointer with eight seconds left in the game turned out to be the difference as the St. John’s Red Storm upset UConn 57-56 in front of 9,552 at Gampel Pavilion on Saturday night.

The loss for the Huskies (24-3, 11-2 Big East) ended their home winning streak at 99 games. St. John’s (18-8, 10-3) ends UConn’s streak of 261 straight home games with wins over unranked opponents.

UConn was trailing 54-53 when Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis made one of two free throws with 1:07 to go. With St. John’s down on the offensive end, Stefanie Dolson picked up a big steal. She ended up being rewarded for her effort at the defensive end with the go-ahead basket with 34 seconds to go.

St. John’s called timeout to set up their play and with the Huskies having two fouls to give, Tiffany Hayes used one of the two fouls with 19 seconds to go. After seeing UConn’s defense, the Red Storm called timeout again with 16 seconds left. Bria Hartley used the Huskies final foul with 12 seconds left.

But with tight defense on her, Smith nailed the three pointer and the Huskies brought the ball back up the court only see to Hartley’s last second three bounce off the rim leaving Geno Auriemma’s squad stunned as well as the Gampel crowd.

KML led the way for the Huskies with 12 points and had six rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots. Kiah Stokes tied her career-high of 11 points and also pulled down six rebounds while Hartley had 10 points and six rebounds as well.

Kelly Faris finished with nine points and six rebounds. Hayes, on her Senior Night, had eight points and three rebounds but turned the ball over seven times.

Connecticut native De’Shena Stevens and Nadirah McKenith led the Red Storm with 15 points each. Stevens pulled down eight rebounds while McKenith added seven rebounds and seven assists.  Smith chipped in with 11 points, six rebounds and three steals.

The Huskies got out of the gates quickly in this one taking an 11-3 lead only to see the Red Storm battle back with a 12-0 run take a four-point lead. Stokes finally stopped the bleeding with a layup that was part of an 8-2 run that saw UConn go back in front 19-17.

UConn would build their lead to six points at 27-21 before St. John’s used six straight points to tie the game back up.  KML hit a three to put the Huskies back in the lead but the Red Storm used a 7-2 run to take a 34-32 lead at the break. It was the first time all year that UConn trailed at the half and that included their previous two losses.

The two teams kept the game close in the second with neither team unable to get anything higher than a four point lead. UConn then went cold for six minutes from the floor and that allowed St. John’s to retake the lead setting up the final scramble.

One thing that Auriemma has been harping on is how many turnovers his team had been committing. The last time out against Oklahoma, they took great care of the ball. On Saturday night, they had 18 which St. John’s took advantage of, converting them into 20 points.

Tough loss overall for the Huskies. They definitely did not play well at all. There were a lot of times where they didn’t play like a team but rather as a group of individuals.

UConn will now have to regroup and focus their efforts on their final three Big East games of the season. The first one of those will come on Tuesday night when they head to Pittsburgh, PA to take on the Pitt Panthers. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will televised locally here in Connecticut on CPTV.

To continue reading the St. John’s Red Storm @ UConn Huskies recap, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Notes and musings:

St. John’s Red Storm @ UConn Huskies 2.18.12 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma and St. John’s Red Storm head coach Kim Barnes-Arico. There are also quotes available from select UConn players.

It’s the second time this season that the UConn women and UConn men lost on the same day. Both had previously lost on January 7th.

However, it’s the first time the two teams lost at home on the same day since February 27, 1993.

The loss ended UConn’s 99 game home winning streak. Their last lost at home was against Louisville in the finals of the 2007 Big East Tournament.

The loss also ended UConn’s 261 game winning streak at home against non-ranked opponents.

UConn had also won 171 straight games against non-ranked opponents before the loss.

The starting five for the Huskies were the usual five of Bria Hartley, Caroline Doty, Tiffany Hayes, Kelly Faris and Stefanie Dolson.

UConn shot 43.1% (22-51) from the floor while St. John’s shot 38.5% (25-65).

The Huskies had 13 assists on their 22 made baskets.

UConn was 5-of-16 (31.3%) from beyond the arc. The Red Storm were 2-of-8 (25%).

The Huskies were 7-of-10 (70%) from the free throw line.

UConn won the battle of the boards, outrebounding St. John’s 37-34.

The Red Storm outscored the Huskies 32-28.

Both teams had six points on the fast break.

St. John’s had 16 points to 10 for UConn.

The Huskies had eight points off of nine Red Storm turnovers. St. John’s had 20 points off of 18 UConn turnovers.

UConn’s bench outscored St. John’s 23-4. KML and Stokes were the only bench players to play for the Huskies.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Photo credit: AP Photo (No. 6 in gallery)

When the Titanic sunk, it was because of the fact it hit an large iceberg. With the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team’s ship back afloat after a nice game against DePaul, they were looking to keep it that way against the Marquette Golden Eagles.

But that was not in the script for UConn. Instead, they find themselves taking on water again.

Jae Crowder’s double-double helped the Golden Eagles to a 79-64 win in front of a sold-out crowd and nationally televised audience on Saturday afternoon at the XL Center in Hartford, CT.

The Huskies fall to 16-10 (6-8 Big East). The Golden Eagles improve to 22-5 (11-3).

Jeremy Lamb led the way for the Huskies with 19 points and seven rebounds. Shabazz Napier added 11 points, three rebounds, eight assists and four assists. Both Alex Oriakhi and Ryan Boatright had 10 points with Oriakhi pulling down three boards and Boatright had two.

Crowder’s 29 points and 12 rebounds paced the Golden Eagles while Darius Johnson-Odom had 24 points, three rebounds and three assists. Todd Mayo added 10 points while Junior Cadougan had eight assists.

UConn did their best to keep this one close early on in the game. After a Lamb jumper cut the Golden Eagles lead to 12-11, they used a 5-0 run to push their lead back to six points. After the teams exchanged baskets, the Huskies worked the Marquette lead back down to two points at 20-18.

With Marquette holding on to a five point lead at 27-22 after a Napier jumper, they would use an 11-2 run to open up a 14 point lead and silence the XL Center crowd. After a Roscoe Smith old-fashioned three point play, the Golden Eagles rattled off five straight points before Smith would hit a jumper late in the half to make it 43-29.

UConn would battle back in the second half cutting the lead to four at 48-44 on a 10-1 run. But then Boatright made a freshman mistake.

As the two teams were heading to their respective benches, Boatright was chirping at Mayo and was called for a technical foul. Johnson-Odom would hit the two free throws and on the ensuing possession, Crowder would nail a three and just like that Marquette held a nine point lead.

UConn would score the next four points to get the Golden Eagles lead back down to five points but that’s as close as the Huskies would get the rest of the way.

To me it looked once again like guys began to give up when things got really tough. This is unacceptable and I’m hoping the coaches saw it too.

This team has all the talent in the world. The problem is that they don’t know how to use it. We’ve seen the flashes of it, ie the DePaul win and we’ve seen the other side (ie the Louisville loss).

When it looks like somebody is going to step up and be a leader (Boatright), he goes and makes a stupid mistake. So now it’s back to square one for the Huskies.

They probably need to win their final four games and win at least one or two in the Big East Tournament to make it to the NCAA Tournament. The good thing is that for the most part, the schedule is their favor. They play a down Villanova, Syracuse, Providence and Pittsburgh. There’s definitely three winnable games in there and they know they can play with Syracuse.

First up for the Huskies is a matchup with the Villanova Wildcats on Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

To continue reading the Marquette Golden Eagles @ UConn Huskies recap, please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Notes and musings:

Marquette Golden Eagles @ UConn Huskies 2.18.12 box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn associate head coach George Blaney and Marquette head coach Buzz Williams.

The starting five for the Huskies consisted of Ryan Boatright, Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb, Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond.

UConn shot 45.3% (24-53) from the floor for the game while the Golden Eagle shot 44.4% (24-54).

The Huskies had just 11 assists on their 24 made baskets.

UConn was 4-of-10 (40%) from beyond the arc. On the contrary, Marquette was 10-of-22 (45.5%).

The Huskies were 12-of-21 (57.1%) from the charity stripe. That’s just pathetic. That CAN’T happen in a Big East game.

Despite having nobody over 6’7″, the Golden Eagles outrebound UConn 33-30.

Marquette outscored the Huskies 26-24 in the paint and 13-11 on the fast break.

The Golden Eagles had nine second chance points to seven for UConn.

The Huskies had 10 points off of 10 Marquette turnovers. The Golden Eagles had 15 points off of 12 UConn turnovers.

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Photo credit: Brad Horrigan – Hartford Courant (No. 18 in gallery)

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.

It’s game day for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team as they’ll host the Marquette Golden Eagles this afternoon at the XL Center in Hartford, CT. Tip is scheduled for 12 p.m. and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

It’s also game day for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they’ll host the St. John’s Red Storm tonight at Gampel Pavilion. Tip is scheduled for 7:06 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally on CPTV. It’s also Senior Night as Tiffany Hayes and seven senior managers will be honored. CPTV will have coverage of that as well so be sure to tune in around 6:40 p.m.

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

UConn Men’s Basketball links

With Blaney At The Helm, Huskies Staying Together – and Afloat [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

This and That from UConn’s Post-Practice Interviews [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Calhoun Hip to “Linsanity” Three Years Ago [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Alex Oriakhi Excelling in Classroom [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Notes/Quotes from Feb. 17: “It could be the beginning of a turnaround for this season.” [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Game preview: UConn men host Marquette [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

‘Little’ Marquette heading to Hartford [Neill Ostrout – Journal Inquirer]

UConn needs 40-minute effort against Marquette [CT Post]

A UConn Win Against Marquette Would Be Huge [Hartford Courant]

UConn men seeking an energy boost [Journal Inquirer]

Beating Marquette may be signature win Huskies need [New Haven Register]

Oriakhi may be starting to come around [The Day]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

The 4-1-1 On Tiffany Hayes [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Stevens Has Overcome A Knee Injury To Lead Red-Hot St. John’s [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Senior Day At Gampel Pavilion Is All About Hayes [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Hartley Named A Lieberman Finalist [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Game preview: UConn women host St. John’s [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

Hayes to be honored on Senior Day [CT Post]

Tiffany Hayes, Caroline Doty Share A Special Bond [Hartford Courant]

UConn Women On Verge Of Another Signature Win [Hartford Courant]

Love before first sight [Journal Inquirer]

Hayes has made undeniable impact in four years [New Haven Register]

UConn Football links

Big East position rankings: QB [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

Other UConn related links

M. Track. Huskies In Pursuit of BIG EAST Indoor Championship [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Swimming. More School Records Fall At BIG EAST Swimming [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Swimming. Yoon Sets School Record At Day Two Of BIG EASTs [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Swimming. Grant Fecteau Has Strong BIG EAST Diving Performance [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball. Catching Up With UConn Baseball [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball. Huskies Shutout Indiana Behind Ward’s Four-Hitter [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Ice Hockey. Huskies Host No. 9/10 BU on Senior Day [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Track. Heather Wilson Wins BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Award [UConnHuskies.com]

Softball. Huskies Split Opening Day At Georgia Classic [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Ice Hockey. Men’s Hockey Drops Overtime Heartbreaker To Bentley, 2-1 [UConnHuskies.com]

M. & W. Swimming. Men’s And Women’s Swimming Both In Fifth Place At BIG EAST [UConnHuskies.com]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

It’s the end of an era in Boston for Tim Wakefield.

The Boston Red Sox just announced a few minutes ago that Wakefield will retire from baseball today. A press conference is scheduled for 5 p.m. at JetBlue Park in Ft. Myers, FL.

Wakefield joined the Red Sox in 1995 as a free agent after being released from the Pittsburgh Pirates. In his 17 years with the local nine, he was 186-168 with a 4.43 ERA and 22 saves in 590 games (430 starts).

He’ll finish his long career with a record of 200-180 with a 4.41 ERA and 22 savesin 627 games (463 starts).

As for what I’ve seen, NESN will have live coverage of Wake’s retirement press conference. If any online streams become available, I’ll let you know.

Definitely a sad day as a Red Sox fan. Wake will be missed.

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Photo credit: Reuters Pictures