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’ll take on the Dayton Flyers for the championship of the World Vision Classic at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT. Tip is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally in Connecticut on CPTV.

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

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Hayes coming up big as UConn tames Bulls [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Attendance Down This Season At Gampel [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

How Does UConn Get To Play Fairleigh Dickinson? [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Auriemma Heaps Praise On “Baby Jesus” [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Geno’s interesting take on KML [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

Faris Ends Streak; Baby Jesus Off The Mark; Hayes Sees Double [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Hayes leads UConn in romp over Buffalo [CT Post]

UConn women: What we learned [CT Post]

UConn Soars Past Buffalo, 90-34 [Hartford Courant]

Tournament Fields Tough To Line Up [Hartford Courant]

Tiffany Hayes scores 30 as Huskies rout Buffalo [New Haven Register]

Hayes drops 30 as Huskies roll to another easy win [The Hour]

UConn Football links

Big East helmet stickers: Week 13 [Andrea Adelson – ESPN.com]

UConn 40, Rutgers 22: the wrap [Ed Daigneault – The Republican-American]

Postgame wrap Rutgers [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]

Fast Start On Saturday Keeps Bowl Hopes Alive [UConnHuskies.com]

UConn upsets Rutgers 40-22 [CT Post]

Huskies saw in reflection that they could do better [CT Post]

Huskies Put It All Together Against Rutgers, 40-22 [Hartford Courant]

Reyes Shows Leadership, Ability Against Rutgers [Hartford Courant]

Two QBs Drive Offense [Hartford Courant]

Defense Delivers The Knockout Punch To Rutgers Early [Hartford Courant]

Huskies keep bowl hopes alive with upset of Rutgers [New Haven Register]

UConn defeats Rutgers, 40-22 [The Day]

A day for the ‘D’ to celebrate [The Day]

Don’t count Huskies out yet [The Day]

Knights can’t make history vs. Huskies [ESPN New York]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

UConn 78, Florida State 76: Jim Calhoun’s Take [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

UConn 78, Florida State 76: Huskies Win, Lose, Eat Together [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Notes/Quotes from FSU: “I know one thing – if he was here for that UCF game, we would have never lost.” [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

What do you think of Alex Oriakhi’s tweets? [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Final thoughts from Atlantis [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Survival Mode [UConn Huskies Basketball]

No. 4 UConn men defeat No. 22 Florida State in overtime [CT Post]

UConn men: What we learned [CT Post]

Walker, Thabeet eager to start NBA season [CT Post]

UConn Tops Florida State In Overtime, 78-76 [Hartford Courant]

For Walker And Thabeet, It’s Back To The NBA [Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

W. Ice Hockey. Balanced Attack Leads to Tightly Contested 3-1 Win Over Yale [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Ice Hockey. Men’s Hockey Drops Back and Forth Contest at Air Force, 4-3 [UConnHuskies.com]

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

If UConn Huskies women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma wasn’t happy after last night’s 46 point win over FDU, he certainly isn’t going to be pleased at how sloppy his team played early on in Saturday’s game against the Buffalo Bulls. Fortunately for the Huskies, Buffalo wasn’t playing any better at the time.

And with that UConn took advantage with a 19-0 run to close out the first half on their way to a 90-36 win over the Bulls in front of 6,156 at Gampel Pavilion on campus in Storrs, CT in the World Vision Classic.

The Huskies move to 5-0 and will play the Dayton Flyers at 4:30 p.m. tomorrow for the championship of the World Vision Classic as both teams are 2-0 in the round robin format. Buffalo falls to 2-4 and will take on FDU at 2 p.m.

Tiffany Hayes led the Huskies with 30 points, 11 rebounds and five steals. Stefanie Dolson added 17 points and six rebounds while Kelly Faris chipped in with 13 points, six rebounds and three steals. Heather Buck came off the bench and had another fine game with eight points and seven rebounds.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis had her first bad game of the season as she finished 0-of-8 from the floor and had just two points. She did lead the Huskies with seven assists. The only Husky not to score was Lauren Englen.

Brittany Hedderson had 12 points to lead the Bulls and was their only player in double figures. Their next highest scorer, Ephesia Holmes, had five points with Margeaux Gupilan and Rachel Bantleman adding four each.

With both teams turning the ball over like it was in style, the game was not pretty early on. Buffalo actually held a 4-2 lead but that would be the last time they would see that. With UConn holding a 13-8 lead, they used a 8-2 run to open up an 11 point lead.

Buffalo’s last points of the first half would with 6:52 remaining and at that point it was 25-14. UConn would close out the half on a 19-0 run to put this game completely out of reach.

UConn would keep building their lead during the second as Auriemma was able to rest his starters in preparation for tomorrow’s game.

Honestly, there isn’t much to say about this oneon .

We know Geno won’t be happy with the way they played in the beginning and once again, I’m sure the players are happy they’re playing tomorrow and not practicing.

It’s still early in the season and most of the mistakes they are making are correctable. I expect them to fix them as the season goes on.

It’ll be a quick turnaround with the game tomorrow coming at 4:30 p.m. If you’d like to watch it, it’ll be broadcast in Connecticut on CPTV.

To continue reading the Buffalo Bulls @ UConn Huskies recap, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Notes and musings:

Buffalo Bulls @ UConn Huskies 11-26-11 World Vision Classic box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Geno Auriemma and Buffalo head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald.

This was the 88th straight home win for the Huskies.

The starters for the Huskies were Bria Hartley, Caroline Doty, Tiffany Hayes, Kelly Faris and Stefanie Dolson.

UConn shot 47.8% (33-69) from the floor while Buffalo shot 28.6% (14-49).

The Huskies had 24 assists on their 33 made baskets.

UConn was 5-of-19 (26.3%) on threes while the Bulls were 4-of-20 (20%).

After an awful free throw shooting performance on Friday, the Huskies were much better on Saturday as they were 19-of-20 (95%).

UConn dominated the glass, outrebounding Buffalo 49-22.

The Huskies outscored the Bulls 42-8 in the paint, 13-4 on the fast break and 27-9 on second chance points.

UConn had 39 points off of 32 Buffalo turnovers. The Bulls had eight points off of 16 Huskies turnovers.

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

Photo credit: AP Photo

Yesterday when the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team blew a 17 point lead and lost to UCF, we were left to wonder how they would respond in the third place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis against Florida State.

Well they came out against the Seminoles and played well until they blew a 10 point lead in the second half. But this time there was a different result.

It took three late free throws from Ryan Boatright to force overtime and from there Shabazz Napier took over as the Huskies would squeak out a 78-76 win over the Seminoles to win the third place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis at Imperial Arena at Atlantis in the Bahamas.

The No. 4 Huskies improve to 6-1 while the No. 22 Seminoles fall to 5-2.

Boatright came up huge for the Huskies late in his first collegiate game after missing the first six games due to suspension by the NCAA.

With the Huskies trailing by three, Napier missed a three pointer and got his own rebound. He dished it off to Boatright who was fouled on his three point attempt with seven seconds left.

Despite the high pressure of the situation, Boatright calmly hit all three free throws to knot the game up at 71. The Huskies withstood a last second chance from the Noles and went to overtime.

Trailing by one with just over a minute to go, Napier nailed a three-pointer that turned out to be the game-winner.  Luke Loucks missed two free throws that would have tied the game up with 45 seconds and after a missed three attempt at the buzzer, the Huskies escaped Atlantis with the two point win.

Napier led four Huskies in double figures with 26 points and had four rebounds and five assists. He did turn the ball over six times though. Jeremy Lamb had a nice shooting night from the floor going 7-of-9 to finish with 19 points. Boatright’s ended his first game with 14 points and three assists. He also hit all five of his free throws in the game, including the big three at the end of regulation.

Andre Drummond played well again as he finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. He also had seven blocked shots and three steals as well as altering other plays as well.

Michael Snaer led the Seminoles with 20 points while Devidas Dulkys had 14 points. Bernard James had a double-double of his own for FSU with 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

When faced with adversity this time, the Huskies responded. It did look at times like they might not and surprisingly it was Boatright who kept them calm despite making some silly mistakes. Shabazz definitely played better than the upset loss on Friday where he admitted he basically sucked.

You have to wonder if it was the presence of Boatright that pushed Shabazz to play better. It was surprising to see that Jim Calhoun used Boatright, Lamb and Napier all at the same time. Personally I thought Boatright would spell Napier. But it did bring a different dynamic to the Huskies, one that I’m sure Calhoun will use again at points during the rest of the season.

But for now, the Huskies get some time to rest before hitting the court again. They’re off until next Saturday when they’ll host the Arkansas Razorbacks in the SEC/Big East Challenge at the XL Center in Hartford, CT. Tip is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

To continue reading the Florida State Seminoles vs UConn Huskies recap, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Notes and musings:

Florida State Seminoles vs UConn Huskies 11.26.11 Battle 4 Atlantis box score

The starters for UConn were Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb, DeAndre Daniels, Tyler Olander and Andre Drummond.

The Huskies shot 48.1% (26-54) from the floor while the Noles shot 43.3% (26-60).

UConn had 14 assists on their 26 made baskets.

The Huskies were 11-of-25 (44%) on threes while FSU was 9-of-19 (47.4%).

UConn wasn’t all that bad at the charity stripe as they were 15-of-22 (68.2%). Napier did have a key miss late in the game as did Olander at the line.

The Huskies barely won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Noles 36-34.

UConn had 12 points off of 16 FSU turnovers. The Noles had 11 points off of 19 Huskies turnovers. The Huskies definitely need to take better care of the ball. Big East teams will eat them up.

Florida State outscored UConn 31-28 in the paint and 11-0 on the fast break. They also had 13 second chance points to 8 for UConn.

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

Photo credit: Getty Images (No. 6 in gallery)

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights came into this game looking to secure a share of the Big East title and a possible BCS bid. The UConn Huskies were looking to salvage their season and get closer to becoming bowl-eligible as well as sending off the seniors with a final home win.

The Huskies were able to take advantage of some early Rutgers turnovers and good field position on their way to a 40-22 win over the Scarlet Knights in front of 37,857 on Senior Day at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, CT on Saturday afternoon.

The Huskies improve to 5-6 (3-3 Big East) while the Scarlet Knights finish their regular season at 8-4 (4-3).

Last week, the Huskies allowed the Louisville Cardinals to take the opening kickoff back for a touchdown and that essentially took themselves out of the ball game. Saturday was a different story as the opening kickoff went out of the end zone.

The Huskies quickly turned the tables on Rutgers when Sio Moore forced a fumble by Rutgers RB Jawan Jamison that was recovered at RU’s 24 by Jesse Joseph. Just two plays after the recovery, Lyle McCombs punched it in the end zone to put UConn out front.

UConn would force another turnover on Rutgers’ next possession when Ty-Meer Brown picked off Chas Dodd at the RU 44 and returned it four yards. During the ensuing drive on 3rd and 13 at the 22, UConn QB Johnny McEntee hit senior WR Kashif Moore for 14 yards. Two plays later, Scott McCummings got it into the end zone to put UConn up 14-0.

UConn’s defense helped out things in the second quarter when senior Kendall Reyes picked up a fumble on the snap and returned it nine yards for a touchdown to push UConn’s lead to 21-3.

Nick Williams, who had an outstanding day on special teams returning the ball, set up UConn’s score in the 3rd quarter when he returned the opening kickoff 54 yards to the Rutgers 41 yard line. It would take McCombs just three plays to get in the end zone running all 41 yards to put UConn up 31-10.

UConn forced Rutgers to punt on the next possession and once again it was Williams who set up the Huskies with good field position by returning the punt 30 yards to Rutgers 34 yard line. They also got some help from the Scarlet Knights defense when Justin Francis was called for roughing the passer on 3rd and 3. This gave UConn the ball at RU 14 and McCummings took just one play to get in the back of the end zone to ensure the rout for the Huskies despite the extra point being blocked.

It was the first time in Dave Teggart’s career that he missed an extra point and oddly enough it came on senior day where he was honored before the game.

What I wonder is where was the UConn team all year? For the first time this year as far as I can remember, they took advantage of the other teams mistakes. They got great play from the defense and the offense did what it needed to do.

It makes you think where they might be had they been able to put a consistent effort in their other games like they did on Saturday.

Now they’ll prepare themselves to play spoiler again as Cincinnati has an outside chance of a share of the Big East title. The Huskies will also look to become bowl-eligible in their final game of 2011.

Scoring:

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	0	10	0	12	22
UConn Huskies	14	10	16	0	40

1st quarter

CON – 12:51 – Lyle McCombs 10 Yd Run (Dave Teggart Kick)

CON – 07:16 – Scott McCummings 5 Yd Run (Dave Teggart Kick)

2nd quarter

RU – 13:01 – San San Te 25 Yd Field Goal

CON – 07:39 – Kendall Reyes 9 Yd Fumble Return (Dave Teggart Kick)

RU – 04:05 – Jawan Jamison 1 Yd Run (San San Te Kick)

CON – 00:01 – Dave Teggart 33 Yd Field Goal

3rd quarter

CON – 13:36 – Lyle McCombs 4 Yd Run (Dave Teggart Kick)

CON – 10:13 – Scott McCummings 14 Yd Run (Pat Blocked)

CON – 02:43 – Dave Teggart 47 Yd Field Goal

4th quarter

RU – 07:57 – Brandon Coleman 17 Yd Pass From Gary Nova (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)

RU – 02:15 – Brandon Coleman 92 Yd Pass From Gary Nova (Two-Point Pass Conversion Failed)

To continue reading, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ UConn Huskies recap, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Offensive Player of the Game:

It’s hard to overlook what Nick Williams did on special teams. He had two key returns in the third quarter that set up two touchdowns. He also had a nice return early in the game that Huskies were unable to take advantage of.

Defensive Player of the Game:

Trevardo Williams was the man on defense. He had six tackles, a forced fumble and four sacks. His four sacks went for losses of 30 yards total.

Turning Point(s) of the Game:

After getting a field goal to end the first half, UConn came out and scored on their first two possessions thanks to some great returns by Nick Williams. For me this was the difference in the game.

Offensive Notes:

Johnny McEntee was 10-of-16 for 90 yards. Scott McCummings was 1-of-1 for 22 yards and had 10 rushes for 47 yards and two touchdowns. Lyle McCombs had 20 carries for 95 yards and two touchdowns with four catches for 30 yards. Jonathan Jean-Louis added 10 carries for 42 yards. Kashif Moore had three catches for 34 yards while Ryan Griffin had three catches for 31 yards.

Defensive Notes:

Jory Johnson led the Huskies with eight tackles (four solo, four assisted). Blidi Wreh-Wilson had seven tackles (four solo, three assisted), two pass breakups, a half sack and an interception. Trevardo Williams had six tackles, a forced fumble and four sacks. His four sacks went for losses of 30 yards total. Byron Jones, Sio Moore and Yawin Smallwood all had six tackles. Moore also forced a fumble, a sack and had an interception while Smallwood had a fumble recovery. Twyon Martin picked up a half sack while Kendall Reyes had a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown. Jesse Joseph also had a fumble recovery.

Special Teams Notes:

Nick Williams had three kick returns for 128 yards with a long of 54. His only punt return went for 30 yards. Cole Wagner punted the ball four times for 170 yards with a long of 50 and two downed inside the 20. Of Chad Christen’s eight kickoffs, four of them went for touchbacks. He also kicked one out of bounds which is inexcusable.

Injuries:

David Kenney suffered an undisclosed injury on special teams.

Moe Petrus suffered an undisclosed injury and did return the game two plays later.

Officials:

Referee: Jeff Maconaghy; Umpire: Jim Eckl; Linesman: Tommy Walsh; Line judge: Todd LaPenta; Back judge: Bryan Platt; Field judge: Rick Santilli; Side judge: George Liotus;

Game Notes:

Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ UConn Huskies 11-26-11 box score

The postgame quotes will be added once they become available.

Here are the starters for the Huskies:

OFFENSE
TE 81 Manning, Corey
TE 94 Griffin, Ryan
LT 71 Ryan, Mike
LG 69 Greene, Steve
C 57 Petrus, Moe
RG 63 Masters, Adam
RT 77 Friend, Kevin
QB 18 McEntee, Johnny
TB 43 McCombs, Lyle
FB 39 Hinkley, Mark
WR 83 Moore, Isiah

DEFENSE
CB 21 Wilburn, Gary
DT 4 Martin, Tywon
DT 99 Reyes, Kendall
DE 91 Joseph, Jesse
SLB 3 Moore, Sio
MLB 33 Smallwood, Yawin
WLB 28 Johnson, Jory
CB 7 Gratz, Dwayne
S 40 Brown, Ty-Meer
S 16 Jones, Byron
CB 5 Wreh-Wilson, Blidi

Big East Games and Results:

Friday, November 25, 2011

Louisville 34
USF 24

Pittsburgh 20
West Virginia 21

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Cincinnati 30
Syracuse 13

Things to Work On:

Honestly at this point, they just really need to take the good from this game and continue it next week.

Up Next:

The Huskies will look to become bowl-eligible in their final game of the 2011 season when they travel to Nippert Stadium to take on the Cincinnati Bearcats next Saturday at noon.

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

Photo credit: US Presswire (No. 14, No. 5 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 a very busy Saturday to be a fan of UConn Huskies athletics.

The UConn football team is action at 12 p.m. when they’ll host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Senior Day at Rentschler Field. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2. If you missed my Rutgers vs UConn preview, be sure to check that out.

After being upset yesterday by UCF, the UConn men’s basketball team will take on the Florida State Seminoles in the third place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on Versus.

The UConn women will also be on the basketball court as they’ll host the Buffalo Bulls at the World Vision Classic at Gampel Pavilion on campus in Storrs, CT. That game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be broadcast locally in Connecticut on CPTV.

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

UConn Football links

Preview: Key game for Huskies [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

UConn out to deny Rutgers share of Big East title [CT Post]

For UConn’s Seniors, Last Chance To Beat Rutgers [Hartford Courant]

UConn football eager to ruin Rutgers’ holiday [Journal Inquirer]

Huskies must pass a test vs. Rutgers [New Haven Register]

Huskies can spoil Rutgers’ day [The Day]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Central Florida 68, UConn 63: Getting UConn Out of a Comfort Zone [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

VIDEO: Central Florida 68, UConn 63: Jim Calhoun’s Take [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Central Florida 68, UConn 63: Wrapping things up [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Sellers still connected to UConn [Gavin Keefe – The Day]

Notes/Quotes from UCF: “I didn’t keep my guys poised…and I lost the game.” [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

UConn vs. Florida State Preview [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Paradise Lost [UConn Huskies Basketball]

UConn loses to Central Florida 68-63 [CT Post]

Central Florida 68, UConn 63: What we learned [CT Post]

UCF Erases 17-Point Deficit, Beats UConn Men [Hartford Courant]

Oriakhi Won’t Back Down On His Campaign To Start [Hartford Courant]

Discomfort zone [Journal Inquirer]

With Boatright on board, Napier can catch his breath [Journal Inquirer]

Fourth-ranked Huskies upset by Central Florida [New Haven Register]

Weekend Look Ahead: Losers highlight Bahamas tournament [CBSSports.com]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Geno not happy despite 46-point win [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Traveling On Private Planes Not An Option For Auriemma [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Auriemma Not Pleased At All With 74-28 Win [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Auriemma Hardly Pleased As Huskies Roll Past FDU [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

UConn women thrash FDU [CT Post]

UConn women: What we learned [CT Post]

Huskies Demolish Sleepwalking Knights [Hartford Courant]

Buffalo Nervous Over UConn Game, But Won’t Back Down, Coach Says [Hartford Courant]

Un-Fairleigh matched [Journal Inquirer]

Huskies crush Fairleigh Dickinson [New Haven Register]

Other UConn related links

M. Soccer. Huskies Set For NCAA Third Round vs. James Madison [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Ice Hockey. Late Goals Prove Costly for UConn in Nutmeg Classic Opener vs. Quinnipiac [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Ice Hockey. Huskies Drop 3-1 Result At Air Force [UConnHuskies.com]

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

Coming off of an emotional and physical win over the Stanford Cardinal on Monday night, you weren’t sure how the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team was going to respond in their game on Friday night.

Now, folks, there’s a reason why they’ve won seven national titles. Head coach Geno Auriemma knows how to prepare his players for any opponent whether tough or easy.

He really didn’t have too much to worry about on Friday night though as freshman Brianna Banks led a balanced effort from the Huskies with 17 points in their 74-28 win over the Farleigh Dickinson Knights in front of 6,047 at Gampel Pavilion on campus in Storrs, CT in the World Vision Classic.

The No. 2/2 Huskies improve to 4-0 on the young season while FDU falls to 1-4.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis was the only other Husky in double figures with 11 points. She just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Tiffany Hayes added nine points and seven rebounds while freshman Kia Stokes had a nice game with nine points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots. Stefanie Dolson chipped in with eight points and six rebounds while Bria Hartley had eight points and five assists.

The only Huskies not to score were Kelly Faris and Laura Englen as all 11 members of the team saw action in the game.

FDU, who were playing without two players due to injuries, were led by Erika Livermore and Stephanie Issacs who both had six points. Livermore led the Knights with nine rebounds.

This one was pretty much over from the opening tip.

The Huskies started out the game on an 9-0 run before FDU got on the board with a free throw. From there, UConn rattled off a 20-0 run before the Knights finally got their first basket of the half from Mariyah Laurey with 6:40 to go in the first half.

UConn would close out the half on a 15-2 run to take a 44-5 lead into the locker room. The five points allowed in the first half is the lowest amount ever scored by an opponent in UConn women’s basketball history. The previous low before that was six by Providence back in 2005.

FDU did play better in the second half but it didn’t really matter as far as this game was concerned.

Both teams will be back in action tomorrow in the next phase of round robin games during the World Vision Classic. The Huskies will take on the Buffalo Bulls at 7:30 p.m. while the Knights will play the Dayton Flyers at 4:30 p.m.

To continue reading the FDU Knights @ UConn Huskies recap, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Notes and musings:

Farleigh Dickinson Knights @ UConn Huskies 11-25-11 World Vision Classic box score

Here are the postgame quotes from UConn head coach Geno Auriemma and FDU head coach Peter Cinella.

This was the 87th straight home win for the Huskies.

They have won 160 consecutive games at home against teams outside of the top 25 and 253 straight against unranked teams at home.

The starters for UConn were Bria Hartley, Caroline Doty, Tiffany Hayes, Kelly Faris and Stefanie Dolson.

The Huskies shot 42.1% (32-76) from the floor while the Knights shot 16.4% (9-55).

UConn had 18 assists on their 32 made baskets.

The Huskies were just 2-of-13 (15.4%) on threes. FDU wasn’t much better as they were 4-of-19 (21.1%).

UConn was uncharacteristically awful from the free throw line as they were just 8-of-19 (42.1%).

The Huskies dominated the glass, outrebounding the Knights 63-39.

UConn had 20 points off of 17 FDU turnovers. The Knights had just one point off of seven UConn turnovers.

The Huskies outscored the Knights 56-4 in the paint and 28-0 on the fast break.

UConn had 17 second chance points to just four for FDU.

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

Photo credit: Bettina Hansen – Hartford Courant (No. 5 in gallery)

Last season when the UConn Huskies went to Maui for the EA Sports Invitational, we caught a glimpse of how good they might be. This year, while in the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis, we were hoping for the same thing.

Instead, we are now left wondering how the team will respond as Marcus Jordan, yes the son of Michael Jordan, put his UCF Knights team on his back in the second half and led them to a 68-63 upset win over UConn in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis at Imperial Arena at Atlantis in the Bahamas.

The No. 4 Huskies, who fall to 5-1 on the season and see their 16-game winning streak snapped, will take on the No. 21 Florida State Seminoles for third place on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. UCF improves to 4-1 and will play the Harvard Crimson for the title at 4:30 p.m. Both of those games will be televised on Versus.

M. Jordan had 20 points and led his team with seven rebounds and seven assists while Keith Clanton also added 20 points and six rebounds. Isaiah Sykes added 10 points. The other son of the MJ, Jeff, had just two points in 21 minutes of action.

The Huskies were led in scoring by Jeremy Lamb who had 15 points. Alex Oriakhi, coming off the bench for the second straight game, had his finest game of the season as he put up 14 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and had five blocked shots. Andre Drummond just missed a double-double himself with 13 points and nine rebounds to go along with four blocked shots.

Honestly this game was one that UConn probably should have won. I’ve said before this season, this team has been lacking an identity and a killer instinct. It looked as though at one point with the Huskies up 17 points in the second half, they’d easily be moving on to the championship game on Saturday afternoon.

But UCF switched to a zone, made some buckets behind Jordan as the Huskies folded faster than a poker player with an awful hand. For some reason, the Huskies have never been able to figure out zones too well and that was the case. We’ve seen flashes where they can figure out how to beat the zone to get the opposing team out of it but there was none of that in this game.

Shabazz Napier tried to dribble through to it no avail. They tried to run Lamb 1-on-1 at times, that didn’t work. I didn’t see them really try to run a set offense when in UCF was in the zone where someone like a Tyler Olander who flashes to the key in the zone.

It will be really really interesting to see how the Huskies respond to adversity. Will this team come out with a fire tomorrow like nothing happened or will they let what happened in the loss bother them in tomorrow’s game?

How they respond tomorrow will tell us what we can expect for the rest of the season. Knowing Jim Calhoun like we do, I’m guessing the Huskies bounce back nicely.

We will finally get to see Shabazz get some rest and not when he’s in foul trouble as Ryan Boatright will finally make his UConn debut after being suspended for the first six games of the season.

Maybe he’s just what the Huskies need on Saturday.

To continue reading the UCF Knights vs UConn Huskies recap, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Notes and musings:

UCF Knights @ UConn Huskies 11.25.11 Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinals box score

Kemba Walker was in the crowd along with his mom to watch the Huskies. Juanita Jordan, MJ’s ex-wife, was there to cheer on the Knights and her two sons.

Former UConn Husky and CSNNE Celtics analyst Donny Marshall did the color on the Versus telecast.

The starters for the Huskies were Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb, DeAndre Daniels, Tyler Olander and Andre Drummond.

The Huskies shot 42.4% (25-59) from the floor while the Knights shot 40% (22-55).

UConn had just seven assists on their 25 made baskets with Shabazz leading the way with five.

The Huskies were just 2-of-18 (11.1%) on threes. On the other hand, UCF was 7-of-17 (41.2%).

As we’ve come to expect with this UConn team, they can’t shoot free throws. They were 11-of-17 (64.7%). Make five of those misses and this game may go to overtime. Oh by the way, UCF, which is an awful free throw shooting team, was 17-of-21 (81%).

The Huskies did win the battle on the boards as they outrebounded the Knights 39-30.

UConn outscored UCF 42-28 in the paint and just 4-2 on the fast break.

The Huskies had six points off of eight Knights turnovers. UCF had 22 points off of 13 UConn turnovers.

UConn had 22 second chance points to 13 for UCF.

I was traveling back today and did my absolute best not to know the final score before getting home. And that explains why this recap is later than normal. My grandmother, despite us telling her not to tell us the score, called my father and let him know the final score. Thankfully my father didn’t ruin it for me as I could honestly say that if I knew they were going to lose, I wouldn’t have watched.

I will have the video of the halftime feature with Jeremy Lamb up on the site in a little while as well.

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

This week:

After falling last week, the UConn Huskies will close out the home portion of their 2011 schedule when they host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday at noon at Rentschler Field.

Here are the rosters for the Huskies and the Scarlet Knights.

The Line/Prediction:

According to Rivals.com odds, Rutgers is favored by four points. The over/under is 40.5 points.

My prediction for the game is Rutgers 24 UConn 13.

Tickets:

According to Ticketmaster.com, there are still some tickets available for the game.

Getting To The Game:

Here is link for the weather report. Here is all the parking info you will need for the game, this link includes directions to Rentschler Field. Here is a Rentschler Field seating chart and here is some general information for Rentschler Field.

The parking lots will open up 4 hours before kickoff. Here is a list of the tailgating rules at the Rent.

At UConn home games, FanFest takes place starting four hours before kickoff up until 30 minutes before the game. This year, it moves to between Gates A and B outside the stadium gates.

The offerings change each game, but activities typically include inflatable games for children, live bands, promotional vehicles and UConn student-athletes from various team signing autographs.

The “Husky Walk” is a chance for fans to welcome the UConn teams as they get off the team buses and head to the stadium. That takes place at approximately two hours and 15 minutes before kickoff between Gates A and B.

Once again this season at the end of home games, the UConn team will sing the “UConn Husky” fight song in front of the student section at Rentschler Field.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television:

Saturday’s game will be televised nationally by ESPN2. Beth Mowins is on play-by-play while Mike Bellotti is on color.

The game will also be replayed on SNY in a condensed mode on the “Husky Power Hour” on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. The game will be replayed in its entirity on Wednesday, Nov.30 at 10:00 p.m.

SNY will also run a “Husky Power House” on Christmas Day, Dec. 25 when eight games will be shown between 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. for holiday viewing.

Radio:

For the 20th consecutive season, WTIC 1080-AM in Hartford serves as the flagship station for the UConn Radio Network. WTIC is the state’s only 50,000 watt signal and can be heard in 23 states and parts of Canada.

Veteran UConn announcer Joe D’Ambrosio (play-by-play) and Kevin Nathan (color) are working the Rutgers game with Bob Joyce on the sidelines.

The UConn pregame show begins 90 minutes prior to kickoff, while home games, the UConn Tailgate Show will air two and a half hours prior to the game with Arnold Dean. 

UConn football games are also broadcast over the internet at WTIC.com. Here is a  full list of stations on the WTIC/UCONN radio network.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights Radio:

All Rutgers football games will be broadcast over the Rutgers Radio Network to 50,000 watt WOR 710-AM in New York City, Central Jersey’s WCTC 1450-AM and 97.5 FM The Fanatic in Philadelphia and South Jersey.

Chris Carlin will have the call with Ray Lucas (analyst) and Anthony Fucilli (sideline reporter).

Marc Malusis returns for his third year as the pre-game and post-game host on the Rutgers Radio Network. The pre-game shows starts one hour prior to kickoff while the post-game show stays on the air one hour following the game. Eric LeGrand works as the analyst.

To continue reading the Rutgers Scarlet Knights @ UConn Huskies preview, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Last Week:

The Huskies lost to the Louisville Cardinals 34-20. The Scarlet Knights beat the Cincinnati Bearcats 20-3.

History:

Saturday’s game will be the 31st meeting between UConn and Rutgers in a series that dates back to 1940. The Scarlet Knights hold a 21-9 edge and Rutgers has won five of the past nine meetings. Seven of the last nine most recent meetings have been settled by a touchdown or less. Since UConn joined the BIG EAST in football in 2004, Rutgers holds a 5-2 edge.

Connections:

• UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni has a 12-2 head coaching record against Rutgers from his time as head coach at Syacuse. The Orange and Rutgers met every year during Pasqualoni’s time at Syracuse. He won his first eight games vs. Rutgers from 1991 to ‘98 and then lost to Rutgers in ‘99 and 2003.
• The UConn roster has eight players from the state of New Jersey on its roster: transfer Ryan Donohue of Montvale, Dwayne Gratz of Piscataway, David Kenney of Highstown, Kashif Moore of Burlington, Andrew Opoku of North Brunswick, Jerome Williams of Burlington Township, Nick Willliams of East Windsor and Ryan Wirth of Medford.
• Rutgers has two players from Connecticut – Marcus Cooper of Bloomfield and Mark Harrison of Stratford.
• UConn offensive line coach Mike Foley worked alongside RU co-defensive coordinator coach Bob Fraser at Colgate from 1998-2005.
• UConn offensive coordinator George DeLeone was an assistant coach on defense at Rutgers from 1980-83.

Other UConn News:

Here is the video of UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni’s press conference. If you don’t have time to watch, here are the quotes from Pasqualoni’s press conference as well quotes from some of the players.

Here is UConn’s depth chart for the game.

Saturday’s game vs. Rutgers will be the final game at Rentschler Field for 13 seniors. This class has been part of two BIG EAST Championships and four bowl games, including UConn’s first in a BCS game.

The seniors are: safety Harris Agbor (Mesquite, Texas), guard Gary Bardzak (Mar Lin, Pa.), linebaker Kijuan Dabney (Houston, Texas), fullback Mark Hinkley (Kanehoe, Hawaii), running back Jonathan Jean-Louis (Cambridge, Mass.), defensive tackle Twyon Martin (Parkland, Fla.), wide receiver Isiah Moore (Cambridge, Mass.), wide receiver Kashif Moore (Burlington, N.J.), center Moe Petrus (St. Laudent, Que.), defensive tackle Kendall Reyes (Nashua, N.H.), offensive tackle Mike Ryan (Tamaqua, Pa.), kicker Dave Teggart (Northborough, Mass.) and cornerback Gary Wilburn (Washington, Ga.)

UConn head coach Paul Pasqualoni has won more BIG EAST Conference games (league contests only) than any other coach in history. Pasqualoni has 64 league wins from 1991-2004 and 2011 while Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech is second with 57.

With his four wins this year, Pasqauloni is also first in league history in overall wins with 111 to top the mark of Beamer with 108. The distant third is Don Nehlen of West Virginia at 61.

Pasqualoni became the first Husky coach since 1923 to win his UConn coaching debut. The last coach to win a Husky debut was Sumner Dole in 1923.

With four wins on the season, the Huskies need to win their final two of the regular season to become bowl eligible. The 2010 UConn football team won the BIG EAST Championship and advanced to play in the school’s first-ever BCS game — the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. UConn has made the bowl eligible mark for the sixth time in the past eight seasons — and the fourth consecutive.

A number of members of the 2011 Huskies were named to preseason “Watch Lists” for 2011. They are:

• Sophomore Tight End Ryan Griffin (Londonberry, N.H.)
  
  • John Mackey Award Watch List/Midseason Watch List
• Senior Kicker Dave Teggart (Northborough, Mass.)
  
  • Lou Groza Collegiate Placekicker Award
• Senior Defensive Tackle Kendall Reyes (Nashua, N.H.)
  
  • Outland Trophy, given to the best interior lineman in the country
  • Bronko Nagurski Trophy, given to the best defensive player in the country;
  • Lombardi Award, given to the best offensive or defensive lineman in the country.
• Senior center Moe Petrus (St. Laurent, Que.)
  
  • Outland Trophy
  • Lombardi Award
• Senior offensive tackle Mike Ryan (Tamaqua, Pa.)
  
  • Lombardi Award

UConn owns an all-time mark of 24-29 in BIG EAST Conference games since joining the league for football in 2004. The Huskies posted their best conference record with a 5-2 mark in 2007 and ‘10.

UConn had a five-game BIG EAST Conference games win streak broken on Oct. 8 at West Virginia. It was the longest in school history.

Here are the categories where UConn is ranked in the top 40 in the 2011 NCAA statistics:

• Rushing Defense – 6th at 93.50 yards (First in BIG EAST)
• Kickoff Return – 34th at 23.26 yards (Fourth in BIG EAST)
• Turnover Margin – t34th at 0.3 (Fourth in BIG EAST)
• Sacks – 22nd at 2.60 (Sixth in BIG EAST)
• TFL – 22nd at 7.00 (Sixth in BIG EAST)

Individual leaders

• Rushing – Lyle McCombs, 22nd at 101.50 (2nd in BIG EAST)
• FGoals – Dave Teggart, t8th at 1.60 (t1st) in BIG EAST)
• Sacks – Trevardo Williams, t10th at 0.85 (2nd in BIG EAST)
• TFL – Sio Moore, t25th at 1.30 (Fourth in BIG EAST)
  Kendall Reyes, 48th at 1.15 (Ninth in BIG EAST)

Notes from this week’s opponent Rutgers:

Here’s the video of Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano’s press conference. If you don’t have time to watch the video, here’s the transcript of Schiano’s press conference.

Rutgers will look to become the first team in BIG EAST history to go from last place to first place with a win Saturday at Connecticut. No team in the BIG EAST has ever finished in last place in one season and win the league championship the following season.

For just the second time in school history, Rutgers plays its final game of the regular season with a share of first place in the BIG EAST on the line Saturday vs. Connecticut. The Scarlet Knights can earn a share of the conference title if they defeat the Huskies.

Rutgers was selected to finish last in the 2011 BIG EAST Media Preseason Poll. With a win Saturday, the Scarlet Knights would become the first team in league history to earn a share of the conference title after being selected last in the preseason poll.

A victory Saturday vs. UConn would give Rutgers a nine-win regular season for the sixth time in school history. It would mark only the second nine-win regular season since Rutgers has played a schedule of mostly Football Bowl Championship opponents.

Rutgers became bowl-eligible for the sixth time in seven years with its 20-17 overtime victory over USF on Nov. 5. The Scarlet Knights have been to five bowls over the previous six seasons, including four straight wins in post-season play.

Mohamed Sanu is third nationally with 100 receptions in 2011. Sanu has gone over the 100-yard mark in six games in 2011 and has six games of double-digit receptions this season.

The Rutgers defense has been at its best in forcing turnovers in 2011. The Scarlet Knights are tied for third nationally with 30 turnovers gained. In 2010, RU forced just 22 turnovers the entire season. Rutgers has forced four or more turnovers in five games in 2011.

Rutgers has assembled one of the top pass defenses in the country. The Scarlet Knights are ninth in pass defense, allowing just 173.5 yards per game. Rutgers is also seventh in pass efficiency defense (103.26) and ninth nationally in scoring defense (16.8).

RU has allowed just one opponent to throw for over 300 yards this season – Ohio (339).

Friday UConn Football Links:

Game Preview – Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Connecticut Huskies [BigEast.org]

Football Recruits On Official Visits At UConnThis Weekend [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Next Week:

The Huskies take to the road to close out their 2011 season as they’ll be at Nippert Stadium for a noon kickoff against the Cincinnati Bearcats.

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 Huskies men’s basketball team as they’ll take on the Central Florida Knights in the second round of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Versus.

It’s also game day for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they’ll take on the FDU Knights in the first round of the World Vision Classic. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast locally in Connecticut on CPTV.

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

UConn Football links

The UConn football links can be found in the Friday football links section of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs UConn Huskies preview.

UConn Men’s Basketball links

UConn 73, UNC Asheville 63: Jim Calhoun’s take [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

UConn 73, UNC Asheville 63: Wrapping Things Up [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Notes/Quotes from UNC Asheville: Big men still struggling [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinal: UCF vs. UConn [Kevin Duffy – CT Post]

Alex Oriakhi is about to get benched, lose his twitter privileges for a long time [The UConn Blog]

Flaws in Paradise [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Lamb, Napier lead UConn [CT Post]

UConn men: What we learned [CT Post]

TV rights not a priority yet for Battle 4 Atlantis [CT Post]

UConn Defeats UNC Asheville 73-63 In Battle 4 Atlantis [Hartford Courant]

Huskies Up Against Jordan Brand [Hartford Courant]

UConn win their first game, but what’s their mindset? [HDNet]

Jim Calhoun, UConn Seek to Defend National Title Without Kemba Walker, Appear Up to Challenge [NESN.com]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Hayes Doing Much More Than Scoring For The Huskies [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Huskies Host World Vision Classic This Weekend [UConnHuskies.com]

Kiah Stokes ready to contribute [New Haven Register]

UConn women play first of three straight games tonight [The Day]

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

If there’s been one constant for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team this season, it’s been the play of sophomores Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb.

And it was that duo of Napier and Lamb who helped the Huskies to a 73-63 win over the UNC Asheville Bulldogs in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis at Imperial Arena at Atlantis in the Bahamas.

The Huskies (5-0) advance to the semifinals tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. where they’ll take on the Central Florida Knights who beat the College of Charleston earlier in the day. UNC Asheville (2-3) will take on the College of Charleston at 7 p.m. in the losers bracket.

Napier and Lamb led all scorers in the game with 23 points each. Napier added seven assists while Lamb pulled down six rebounds. Andre Drummond made the first start of his career and scored nine points while grabbing five boards in 22 minutes. Roscoe Smith shared team-high rebounding honors with Lamb with six to go along with his seven points.

Matt Dickey paced the Bulldogs with 18 points while Jeremy Atkinson added 14 points and led all rebounders in the game with nine.  J.P. Primm chipped in with 10 points and had seven assists with Chris Stephenson adding nine points.

UConn got out of the gates quickly in this one as they raced out to a 16-3 lead. The Bulldogs would fight back though as they worked the lead down to eight when Primm hit a jumper with 11:07 to go in the first half.

From there, UConn would keep the lead between 10-14 points before an Alex Oriakhi old fashioned three point play pushed it to 17 points at 34-17 with 4:50 left in the half. The Bulldogs didn’t rollover and wait for their bellies to be rubbed though as they fought back with a 9-0 run to cut UConn’s lead to eight. Napier would send the Huskies into the locker room with a 11 point lead at 39-28 when he nailed a long range three with four seconds left.

The final outcome of this one was never in doubt during the second half.

The Bulldogs would get as close as seven points early in the half but for the most part UConn kept the lead around 10 points to help themselves get to the second round tomorrow.

With three games in three days and the quick turnaround tomorrow, you have wonder how tired Napier and Lamb will be after both playing 39 minutes on Thursday night. If this was later in the season though it might be a problem. After all, they both played five straight games in March. So this is probably nothing for both of them.

The good news for us Huskies fans who didn’t have HDNet and had to resort to other measures to watch the game, tomorrow’s game will be shown on Versus which means most of us can watch it.

To continue reading the UNC Asheville Bulldogs vs UConn Huskies recap, click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Notes and musings:

UNC Asheville Bulldogs vs UConn Huskies 11.24.11 Battle 4 Atlantis box score

The starters for UConn were Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb, DeAndre Daniels, Tyler Olander and Andre Drummond.

UConn shot 53.2% (25-47) from the floor while the Bulldogs shot 41.1% (23-56).

The Huskies had 16 assists on their 25 made baskets.

UConn was 9-of-22 (40.9%) from three point land while UNC Asheville was 7-of-23 (30.4%).

I was a little happier with the Huskies from the charity stripe. They were 14-of-19 (73.7%).

UConn won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Bulldogs 34-24.

The Huskies outscored UNC Asheville 27-24 in the paint and 6-4 on the fast break.

UConn had 12 points off of 12 Bulldogs turnovers. UNC Asheville had 17 points off of 19 UConn turnovers.

Both teams had six second chance points.

UNC Asheville never held a lead in the game.

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