vs Sacred Heart at 12:00 Noon at the Hartford Civic Center. The game is being broadcast locally on CPTV.

In the Big East opener for both teams, the West Virginia Mountaineers defeated the UCONN Huskies by the final score of 81-71 on Saturday afternoon in Morgantown, WV. West Virginia was led by Frank Young’s 22 points and Da’Sean Butler’s 16 points. For UCONN, they were led by Doug Wiggins’ career best 20 pts and Marcus Johnson’s 16 points.

UCONN got out of the gates slowly today and West Virginia took advantage of that. UCONN held the lead once at 1-0 and then trailed for the entire game. This was the first time since Dec 6th versus Northeastern that they had trailed in a game. It was also the first time they had trailed at the half all season.

Notes and Observations:

• The starters were Price, Dyson, Johnson, Thabeet and Adrien.
• I was impressed with Doug Wiggins play today. 10 of his 20 points kept the Huskies in the game in the first half. To me, he played like an upperclassman today.
• UCONN came into the game today leading the nation in blocked shots with over 10 per game. They only blocked 3 shots in the entire game, 2 of them by Thabeet.
• Thabeet was atrocious from the foul line along with the rest of the Huskies today. Thabeet was 4 for 10 from the line and the team was 13 for 27 (48.1%). I am sorry but that’s not going to get it done in the Big East at all.
• UCONN did outrebound the Mountaineers by a final margin of 46-36.
• Jim Calhoun picked up a technical foul in the second half as the Huskies were starting to get close again. This seemed to be the final nail in the coffin as the Huskies didn’t respond to Calhoun’s antics.
• West Virginia’s 1-3-1 zone trap gave the Huskies fits. UCONN had trouble breaking the press the entire game.

Next up for the Huskies is the South Florida Bulls on Tuesday night at 7:00 PM at the Hartford Civic Center. The game will be televised locally on WTXX20.

Technorati: West Virginia Mountaineers, UCONN Huskies, Jim Calhoun

@ West Virginia at 2:00 PM. The game is on ESPN2.

Renee Montgomery and Kalana Greene led the nation’s fifth ranked team to a 62-36 win over the University of Hartford Hawks. For the Huskies, Montgomery had 16 points and Greene added 14 to the cause. They were the only two in double figures.

It was an ugly game in the first half for UCONN as the Hawks led most of the way until Renee Montgomery tied the game up at 18. From that point on, the Lady Huskies never looked back. They actually scored 18 pts in a row until the Hawks scored in the second half. The win moves them to 10-0 on the season.

Notes and Observations:

• UCONN was without the services of Meghan Gardler and Brittany Hunter tonight. Hunter took the night off to rest her troublesome right knee that she had reaggravated against Oakland. Meghan Gardler missed the game after she showed back up to campus after the Christmas break with her elbow in a sling. She was “rough housing” with some friends and injured her elbow. It isn’t serious and she’s expected back at practice on Saturday.
• Coach Geno Auriemma announced on Thursday that Kristin Phillip’s playing career at UCONN is over. She had not practiced with the team since Dec 2nd and has not been around them since that point. Geno also said, it is up to her whether or not she attends UCONN in the second semester.
• The starters for the game were the usual five: Montgomery, Thomas, Greene, Charles and Houston.
• While Tina Charles did start the game, it was evident that her shoulder was bothering her and she only played 6 minutes. She had 4 points and 7 rebounds in her short time on the court.
• Kalana Greene had 16 rebounds tonight and along with her 14 pts gave her her second consecutive double-double. Those 16 rebounds were also a career high for her.
• Mel Thomas had a shadow following her the whole game. This seems to be the case recently as teams fear her 3 pt shooting abilities. She finished the game with 6 pts while essentially playing the whole game.
• The “big” girl, Kaili McClaren had a good game. She had a career high 6 blocks to along with 6 points and 6 rebounds.
• UCONN dominated the glass tonight finishing the game with a 53-28 rebounding advantage.
• The 62 points by the Lady Huskies was a season low for them.
• For those who don’t know this, Hartford is coached by former UCONN great, Jen Rizzotti.
• Geno Auriemma is now 1 win away from 600 in his Hall of Fame coaching career.

The Lady Huskies will return to the court on Sunday afternoon as the face the Sacred Heart Pioneers on Sunday at Noon. The game is at the Hartford Civic Center and will be broadcast locally on CPTV.

Technorati: UCONN Huskies, Geno Auriemma, Hartford Hawks, Jen Rizzotti

Here you go folks. Now you don’t have to wait until spring training to get your first glimpse of Daisuke Matsuzaka in a Red Sox uniform. This was taken as he was filming a commercial for a beer company in Japan.

Technorati: Boston Red Sox, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Dice-K, Japan

vs Hartford at 7:00 PM at the Hartford Civic Center. The game is being broadcast locally on CPTV.