When you shoot 60% in a game, it’s highly likely that you are going to win. It’s even better when your defense holds your opponent to 32% shooting.

And that’s what Geno Auriemma’s squad did this afternoon as the No.1 UConn Huskies had 5 players in double figures on their way to a 91-43 thrashing of the Rhode Island Rams in front of 10,516 at the XL Center in Hartford, CT.

Tina Charles paced the Huskies (3-0) with 21 points and 9 rebounds in just 21 minutes. Freshman Tiffany Hayes came off the bench to add career-highs of 17 points and 7 rebounds while Caroline Doty had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Renee Montgomery also had 14 points and led the Huskies with 5 assists. Maya Moore rounded out the Huskies in double figures with 13 points.

The over-matched Rams (1-2) were led by Megan Shoniker’s 11 points. Sierra Cooper added 8 points and a team-high 6 rebounds. Janae Miller and Sherrie Session both chipped in with 6 points.

Rhode Island actually got out to a 4-2 lead early on in the game but a 17-0 run over the next 5+ minutes gave the Huskies a 19-4 lead. UConn then followed that up with a 24-0 run as they held the Rams scoreless for 7:52 before a Tanja Licina jumper ended that run to make it 51-11 Huskies with 2:52 to go in the first half. The Rams would actually close out the half on a 5-2 run from that point as the Huskies would take a 53-16 lead into the XL Center locker rooms.

The Huskies started the second half out with a 9-0 run and never looked back as Auriemma got a chance to rest his starters in the second half.

Next up for the Huskies is a trip to Utah to take on the BYU Cougars on Tuesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 PM EST and the game will be televised locally on CPTV.

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It’s game day for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team as they will take on the Rhode Island Rams at 1 PM at the XL Center in Hartford, CT. The game will be broadcast on CPTV in the state of Connecticut.

The UConn women need Tina Charles to stay out of foul trouble this afternoon. She is also still improving her skills on the offensive end. She is also the center of attention for the Huskies.

Kalana Greene is happy to be back on the court after blowing out her knee last season.

Tina Charles was the third fastest player to 1,000 points in UConn history.

The UConn women are getting into game shape.

John Altavilla of the Hartford Courant has some news about a new recruit for the UConn women’s team.

Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant has some postgame notes from last night’s men’s basketball win. He also has some extras from the game as well.

Phil Cardis of the Journal Inquirer has his notebook from the Paradise Jam.

The Paradise Jam is a rising star in the early season basketball tournaments.

Hasheem Thabeet finished strong last night for the Huskies.

David Gillett has his breakdown of last night’s win over La Salle.

The UConn men have the 14th best recruiting class in the country right now.

The UConn and South Florida football teams are heading in opposite directions.

Jasper Howard has returned to form for the Huskies.

Robbie Frey has found his niche for the UConn football team.

The UConn men’s soccer team advanced to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 win over Fairfield University.

The UConn men’s hockey team ended a 6-game losing streak with a 2-1 win over RIT.

The UConn women’s volleyball team’s hopes for a Big East title were dashed by Notre Dame 3-0 in the first round of the Big East Tournament.

For the second straight season, Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis has been chosen by the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America as the winner of the Jackie Jensen Award.

The award is named for the late Red Sox outfielder, who starred with Boston from 1954-59 and 1961 and is presented annually to a major league player for “spirit and determination. He is just the second two-time winner of the award as Johnny Damon won it in 2004 and 2005.

Dustin Pedroia also picked up another piece of hardware as he was named the Red Sox MVP. He is the first second baseman ever to be named as MVP of the Red Sox.

Jon Lester was named as the Red Sox Pitcher of the Year. Lester went 16-6 during the season and is the first Red Sox lefty to win the award since Bruce Hurst won it back in 1988.

Other members of the Red Sox to win awards from the BBWAA are:

• Jacoby Ellsbury – Red Sox Rookie of the Year
• Jonathan Papelbon – Red Sox Fireballer of the Year
• Sean Casey – Good Guy Award
• Jeff Bailey – Red Sox Minor League Award
• Jason McLeod (director of amateur scouting) – Red Sox Unsung Hero Award

The awards will be presented at the 70th BBWAA Awards Dinner, which will be held on Thursday, January 8 at the Westin Waterfront Hotel in South Boston.

If anyone thought the No. 2 UConn Huskies were going to have an easy time of things in paradise, you thought wrong. The La Salle Explorers gave the Huskies all they can handle but the play of Jeff Adrien and Kemba Walker helped spark them to an 89-81 win in the 1st round of the Paradise Jam at the University of the Virgin Islands.

The Huskies will now take on the University of Miami Hurricanes, who beat Southern Mississippi 70-60, on Sunday night at 6 PM EST in the semifinals.

Adrien had 22 points and 14 rebounds for the 37th double-double of his career. Walker actually led the Huskies (3-0) in scoring with a career-high 23 points and added 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Jerome Dyson had another good game as he chipped in with 17 points and A.J. Price had 12 points in his return to the lineup. Hasheem Thabeet added 9 points and 7 rebounds.

For the Explorers (1-2), Rodney Green led all scorers with 25 points. Yves Mekongo Mbala had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists while Ruben Guillendeaux had 13 points as well. Vernon Goodridge finished with 12 points and 8 rebounds before fouling out late in the game.

The Explorer’s used their athleticism to their advantage throughout the first half and clearly looked like they were the No. 2 team in the country at times. The Huskies may have enjoyed an overall height advantage but the one area where La Salle enjoyed that height advantage was at the guard position and it showed early on as La Salle got out to a 13-6 lead. The Huskies hung tough though when Walker came off the bench to help the Huskies get back in the game.

Two Adrien free throws tied the game up at 23 with 9:07 to go in the half and the teams exchanged baskets until a Mbala old fashioned 3-point play put the Explorers back out front 30-29. Baskets by Price, Adrien and Walker gave the Huskies a 5-point lead but a Guillendeaux 3-pointer tied the game up at 40 with just under a minute to go.  The Huskies closed out the half on a 6-0 run behind 2 baskets by Walker and one by Adrien to take a 46-40 lead to the locker room.

Dyson pushed the lead to 8 right out of the gate in the 2nd half but the Explorers hung tough cutting the lead to 4 at 50-46 on two Paul Johnson free throws. Walker and Thabeet got the lead back to 8 for the Huskies but 6 straight points by Green got the lead back down to 2 points at 56-54.

After an Adrien layup, Green hit a 3 to cut the lead to 1 before a 6-0 run by the Huskies increase the lead to 62-55 and forced La Salle to call timeout. The Explorers responded though with a 6-0 run of their own to get the Huskies lead back down to 1 point. Dyson hit two free throws and then Price stole the ball and was intentionally fouled by Guillendeaux. Price hit both his free throws and Thabeet made 1-of-2 from the line. After a Guilldendeaux 3-point miss, Price put the nail in the coffin with a 3-pointer to make it 70-61 Huskies.

La Salle would get no closer than 6 the rest of the way as the Huskies hit 9-of-12 free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

It was a good win for the Huskies and definitely wasn’t as easy as Jim Calhoun would have liked. However, it was a good test for them. The zone Calhoun employed in the second half was key to slowing down La Salle and the play of Walker and Adrien didn’t hurt either.

Walker is going to be a special player in his time at UConn and it showed tonight as when he came in, he allowed the Huskies to play at the pace they were looking for.

As I stated above, the Huskies will play the No. 16/17 Miami Hurricanes on Sunday night at 6 PM. The game will be broadcast on the Fox College Sports channel.

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This week:

The UConn Huskies head to Tampa, FL looking to keep their slim Big East title hopes alive as they take on the South Florida Bulls on Sunday, November 23rd at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 PM.

Here are the rosters for the Huskies and the Bulls.

The Line/Prediction:

According to Yahoo! Sports Odds, the Bulls are favored by 3 points. The over/under is 48.5 points.

My prediction is UConn 31 South Florida 17.

Tickets:

As of the time of this post, there are still tickets available for the game.

Getting To The Game:

Here is a weather report for the Tampa area. Here are directions to Raymond James Stadium. Here is a seating chart, parking information and the stadium policies.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

Television:

The UConn vs. South Florida game will be televised on ESPN. Joe Tessitore is on play-by-play while Rod Gilmore is the color announcer.

Radio:

For the 16th 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 announcers Joe D’Ambrosio (play-by-play) and Wayne Norman (color commentary) return to call the action with Kevin Nathan on the sidelines. Note: Norman will not be calling the game as he will be in the Virgin Islands calling the men’s basketball game. Nathan will be doing the color commentary for the football game.

The UConn pregame show begins 90 minutes prior to kickoff and is hosted by Bob Joyce. Nathan will also serve as a features producer for “UConn Football Magazine,” the halftime show, and also play host to a post-game call-in show after home games with Joyce filling that role for road contests. UConn football games are also broadcast over the internet at WTIC.com. For a full list of stations on the WTIC/UCONN radio network, click here.

USF Radio: USF’s radio broadcast with Jim Louk, Mark Robinson and Mike Pepper can be heard on 13 affiliates statewide and nationally on Sirius satellite radio. In addition, 1300 WQBN will broadcast the game in Spanish with David Cuevas and Victor Rodriguez behind the microphones. Both USF radio broadcasts can be heard on GoUSFBulls.com.

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