Stick a Wilfork in Them; Ravens Miss Wide Left; Patriots Go to Indy

Vince Wilfork #75 of the New England Patriots celebrates after defeating the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium on January 22, 2012 in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

Do not ask me how I remained so calm in a room full of people screaming their heads off at the television.  Maybe it was my fire service training that helped me stay calm, maybe it was the fact that I’ve seen this same show so many times in the last decade I could have predicted the final act.  In my head I was screaming “SHANK IT!!!”, on the outside there were no signs.

I was the first one though in that room full of people to scream out “WIDE LEFT, HE MISSED IT!!!”

Thank you Billy Cundiff, for you are now my “Shankapotamus”.

What a game it was tight the entire time, it was one of the best games I’ve seen in a while and did you notice the officials only threw flags when they had to?  Offsides, illegal motion, etc and other than that they let them play.

Robert Kraft, team owner of the New England Patriots celebrates with the trophy after his team defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium on January 22, 2012 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Thank you Vince Wilfork, you are a beast amongst boys.  With all due respect to the late Clarence Clemons, Wilfork is “The Big Man”.  One handed he sacked Joe Flacco.  One handed he brought down Ricky Williams, one handed he made several plays and along with Kyle Love, Brandon Deaderick, Mark Anderson and “Big Money” Gerard Warren the defensive line was dominating.  The pushed, they pulled, they fought for what was there’s and what wasn’t.

Thank you Brandon Spikes, Rob Ninkovich and Jerod Mayo for your all out intensity in the middle of the field.  And one more for Moore, Sterling Moore, the rookie DB from SMU who last year was at the Super Bowl as a fan and this year will most likely play in it because in crunch time, game on the line, do or die, put up or shut up, he did them all.

The offense was only once again just decent and as Tom Brady said they carried the team because he “sucked pretty bad today”.  But the efforts were there by Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Wes Welker and BenJarvus Green-Ellis.  And with those all out efforts and the good play from the offensive line you guys are going to the Super Bowl.

In the end thought it may have been the teams guardian angel that blew that kick wide left, we will never know.  What we do know is the New England Patriots are once again going to the Super Bowl with a chance at their fourth championship in 10 years.

Stay with Sox & Dawgs for all your Patriots Super Bowl XLVI information.

Ravens at Patriots Gamebook. This includes the box score, all the stats, play by play, drive charts and more.

Ravens at Patriots Game Recap.

To continue reading the Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots recap, hit the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Turning Point(s) of the Game

Ravens K Billy Cundiff misses wide left from 32 yards with 11 seconds to play and the Patriots win the AFC Championship.

Offensive Player(s) of the Game

Ravens QB Joe Flacco was 22 of 36 for 306 yards 2 TD’s, 1 INT and 3 sacks.

Defensive Player(s) of the Game

Patriots DT Vince Wilfork was in on 6 tackles (3 solo), 1 sack, 3 tackle for loss and 1 quarterback hit.

Game Notes

Starters for the Patriots were:

On Offense:

LT – Light

LG – Mankins

C – Connolly

RG – Waters

RT – Solder

TE – Hernandez

TE – Gronkowski

WR – Branch

WR – Welker

QB – Brady

RB – Woodhead

On Defense:

DE – Wilfork

DT – Deaderick

DT – Love

DE – Anderson

LB – Mayo

LB – Spikes

LB – Ninkovich

CB – McCourty

CB – Arrington

S – Chung

S – Ihedigbo

Inactives for the Game:

Patriots

1. WR Chad Ochocinco

2. T Sebastian Vollmer (back/knee)

3. T Donald Thomas

4. LB Gary Guyton

5. RB Shane Vereen

6. RB Stevan Ridley

7. QB Ryan Mallett

Ravens

1. LB Sergio Kindle

2. NT Bryant McKinney

3. OL J Boren

4. LB J Bynes

5. RB A Allen

6. CB C Brown

7. WR T Doss

The spread (Patriots minus 7 1/2) WAS NOT covered.  The over/under (50 1/2) WAS NOT COVERED.  I GAVE the points (Patriots) and took the OVER.  I am now 10-7-1 vs. the spread and 13 of 18 calling the under/over.

Baltimore won the toss and elected to receive.

Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, New England is 76-15 at home including the playoffs.

The Patriots are 13-3 at home in the playoffs all-time. They are 9-2 in the post season at Gillette Stadium.

Overall in the playoffs they are 23-15, they are 7-1 in the AFC Championship.

This was the second time the teams have had a playoff game in Foxboro.

New England has won 10 consecutive games since their last loss in Week 9 to the Giants.

Bill Belichick’s 192 wins are good for 9th all-time.  Chuck Knox, who coached the Rams, Redskins and Seahawks, is 8th all-time with 193.

He is now tied for 3rd in post season coaching wins with long time Redskins coach Joe Gibbs with 17.

Belichick coached teams are 6-1 vs. Baltimore including playoffs all with New England.

Tom Brady is 5-1 vs. the Ravens including 1-1 in the playoffs.

He is now 16-5 in the post season.  He is now tied with Joe Montana for the most post season all time.

Brady is now 3rd all-time with 36 post season TD passes.  Brett Favre is 2nd with 44 TD passes in the post season.

WR Wes Welker now has catches in 100 consecutive games including playoffs, 83 as a Patriot.  The last time Welker did not have a catch in a game was 12/24/05 as a Dolphin.

Patriots players selected for next week’s Pro Bowl will now be replaced by other players who were selected as alternates.

The Patriots were 5 of 11 in 3rd down efficiency and 1 for 1 on fourth down attempts.  The Ravens were 9 of 17 on 3rd down and 0 for 1 on 4th down attempts.

New England was 2 of 5 in the red zone and 2 for 2 in goal to go, while Baltimore was 1 for 4 in the red zone and 1 for 1 in goal to go.

Baltimore is 1-5 as the road team in the series, 1-4 at Gillette Stadium and 0-1 in Foxboro Stadium.

This was Baltimore’s 3rd AFC Championship Game appearance.  They are 1-2. They defeated Oakland 16-3 in 2000 and lost to Pittsburgh, 23-14 in 2008 and New England on Sunday.

John Harbaugh finished his fourth season with the team, he is 44-20 since taking over and is 5-4 in the playoffs for an overall record of 49-24.

He is 1-3 vs. New England in his career, with his lone victory coming in the playoffs.

Baltimore Ravens QB Joe Flacco is 44-20 in his career in the regular season and 5-4 in the playoffs for an overall record of 49-24 in 4 seasons.

He is 1-3 vs. New England in his career including playoffs.

The Patriots sacked Flacco 3 times on Sunday.

Alberto Riveron was the game referee.

The temp at kickoff was 29 with a wind chill of 23.  It was cloudy and cold.

Attendance: 68,756 at Gillette Stadium, Foxboro MA.

Post Game Interviews

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Patriots QB Tom Brady post game press conferences via patriots.com

Next Game

The Patriots will face the winner of the New York Giants/San Francisco 49ers game in Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis IN on Sunday February 5.  Kick off is at 6:30 p.m. on NBC.

Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveMichaelsII

Photo credits: Getty Images, Getty Images

2012 NFL Conference Championship Predictions

2012 NFL Conference Championships

Here are our picks for who we think will win the 2012 NFL Conference Championships in the AFC and NFC that will be held today.

AFC Championship

Ian – New England Patriots 23 Baltimore Ravens 17

Steve – New England Patriots 31 Baltimore Ravens 21

NFC Championship

Ian – San Francisco 49ers 27 NY Giants 24

Steve – San Francisco 49ers 30 NY Giants 24

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

Paw Prints – The Daily UConn Roundup – 1/22

Paw Prints The Daily Roundup

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

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

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

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Rocky Top, Rocky Times for UConn Right now [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Jim Calhoun’s Take [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

Wrapping Things Up from Knoxville [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

the wrap [Ed Daigneault – The Republican-American]

The problem with UConn Men: There’s no team in Huskies [John Nash – The Hour]

Crossroads [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Tennessee holds off No. 13 UConn men [CT Post]

It’s up to Alex Oriakhi to turn the corner [CT Post]

UConn Men Lose To Tennessee, 60-57 [Hartford Courant]

Tennessee’s Stokes, Late Arrival, Hurts UConn [Hartford Courant]

Huskies ‘outworked’ in loss to Vols [New Haven Register]

Former Husky recruit Jarnell Stokes making immediate impact for Tennessee [New Haven Register]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

UConn’s defense too much for overmatched DePaul [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Auriemma Says “No Alarm At All” About Doty [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Geno Auriemma on DePaul’s Doug Bruno [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Faris Takes The Reins [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Postgame Reaction On Doty’s Knee Soreness [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

Mosqueda-Lewis, UConn women rock DePaul [CT Post]

UConn Women Rout DePaul, 88-44 [Hartford Courant]

Auriemma Talks Of Other Passion: Coaching USA Basketball [Hartford Courant]

Huskies double up DePaul [New Haven Register]

Doug Bruno shares Geno Auriemma’s philosophy [New Haven Register]

Other UConn related links

M. Ice Hockey. Men’s Hockey Falls To Robert Morris, 2-1 [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Swimming. Women’s Swimming And Diving Defeats Seton Hall [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Swimming. Men’s And Women’s Swimming & Diving Top Seton Hall [UConnHuskies.com]

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

Red Sox Avoid Arbitration With Daniel Bard

Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington had been doing his best to get all of his arbitration-eligible players signed before last Tuesday’s noon deadline of exchanging salary figures. When that deadline came and passed, he had four players to work out contracts with.

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Daniel Bard fields a ball off the bat of Toronto Blue Jays' Brett Lawrie in the ninth inning of a baseball game in Toronto, Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. The Blue Jays defeated the Red Sox 1-0 in 11 innings.Among those four was Daniel Bard.

Well now, it’s down to three as the Red Sox and Bard avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one year, $1.625 million deal. Bard had asked for $1.825 million while the Red Sox were offering $1.4 million. Bard was eligible for arbitration as a Super-Two. He made $505,000 last year.

Bard was told during the offseason that he will be given a chance to compete for a spot in the starting rotation. If he doesn’t stick as a starter, he’ll return to a revamped Red Sox bullpen in 2012.

He was 2-9 with a 3.33 ERA and one save in 70 appearances last year. In 192 career games over 2.5 seasons, Bard is 5-13 with a 2.88 ERA and five saves in 192 appearances.

Cherington now has to try and reach deals with Alfredo Aceves, the newly acquired Andrew Bailey and David Ortiz before they go to arbitration sometime in February.

Aceves is seeking $1.6 million was the Red Sox are offering $900,000. Bailey is looking for $4.7 million while the Red Sox are offering $3.35 million. Big Papi is asking for $16.5 million while the Red Sox are looking to pay him $12.65 million.

Of the three, the most likely scenario is that Big Papi ends up going to arbitration.

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

Photo credit: AP Photo

Norfolk Admirals 5, Connecticut Whale 4 (SO)

By Brian Ring

Hartford, CT, January 21, 2012 – The Connecticut Whale were defeated by the Norfolk Admirals, 5-4 in a shootout, Saturday night at the XL Center before a crowd of 5,557. Scott Tanski scored twice for the Whale and Kelsey Tessier added two assists, but it would not be enough to surpass the Admirals. The Admirals scored twice in the third period and the Whale once to send the game to overtime tied at four.

CT WhaleRichard Panik would score the shootout winner for Norfolk, also picking up one assist in the contest, and Carter Ashton had a goal and an assist for the Admirals.

“We had a good lead in the first, they got one back in the second,” said Whale head coach Ken Gernander. “We put the emphasis on finishing the game strong, not sitting back. We were unable to maintain that third-period lead.”

The Admirals had taken a quick lead just 39 seconds into the game, when Tyler Johnson’s shot from the right circle seemed to fool Whale goaltender Chad Johnson (30 saves), deflecting off his stick and into the net. Ashton and Cory Conacher both assisted on the goal.

Andre Deveaux would get the goal right back on the power-play, as he tipped a Kris Newbury feed past Norfolk starting goaltender Dustin Tokarski at 1:26. Deveaux’s 12th goal was also assisted on by Erik Christensen, who gathered his third point in as many games (2-1-3).

The Whale would take a 2-1 lead on Tanski’s breakaway goal 3:49 into the period, as he flew down the left wing boards before beating Tokarski high to his glove side. Tanski’s third of the season was unassisted.

Ryan Bourque would cash-in just under three minutes later, roofing the puck for his third goal and chasing Tokarski from the game after he allowed three goals on three shots to start the night. Bourque was fed in the slot by Tessier. Jaroslav Janus (25 saves) would replace Tokarski.

The Admirals would get one back at the 3:58 mark of the second period, as Ondrej Palat fired a close-in shot past Johnson to close the Whale lead to 3-2. The goal was the third of the season for Palat, coming unassisted.

That would be all of the scoring in the second period, with the shots winding up identical to the first frame with Norfolk outshooting their hosts, 8-7.

Norfolk would tie the game at three 6:10 into the third period, as an open Carter Ashton received a pass from Richard Panik and backhanded a shot past Johnson. Scott Jackson received the secondary assist on the goal.

A quick power-play goal just 18 seconds later from the AHL’s leading goal-scorer Cory Conacher would put the Admirals briefly on top, 4-3. Conacher’s wrist shot from the left wing boards got past Johnson, and the Whale found themselves trailing for the first time since the opening minutes of the game.

Tanski, however, would bury his second of the night 8:13 into the third to tie the game at four. Tommy Grant passed the puck across the slot to Tanski at the far post, and he promptly one-timed it past Janus. Jordan Owens picked up the secondary assist on the goal.

Neither team could pull ahead in the rest of the third period or in overtime, and the teams headed to the shootout.

Erik Christensen would give the Whale a quick lead in the tie-breaker after the first round, but Mike Kostka would tie it and Panik would score the shootout winner in the tenth round to seal the victory and send the Whale to their ninth straight defeat (0-5-2-2).

“We’re gonna have a good week of practice, we’ve got two more big games next weekend headed into the All-Star break,” said Gernander. “We’d like to get some points headed into the All-Star break so everybody can relax and have a good feeling.”

The Whale are now off until “Trading Card Weekend” at the XL Center Friday and Saturday.  This Friday, January 27, when the Whale entertain the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (7:00 PM faceoff), 5,000 fans will receive the Whale’s second set of player trading cards, sponsored by Webster Bank.  The featured players for this set are All-Star Jonathan Audy-Marchessault, Cam Talbot, Bourque, Tessier, Owens and, in a historical tribute, former Hartford Wolf Pack star Ryan Callahan, now captain of the parent New York Rangers.  Then the next night, Saturday, January 28, when the Springfield Falcons visit the XL Center for a 7:00 game, will feature a giveaway of additional sets of the first group of Whale trading cards.  That array included cards of All-Star Mats Zuccarello, Wade Redden, Newbury, Johnson and Carl Hagelin.  Also, after the game on January 28, selected Whale players will conduct an autograph session to sign their cards.

Tickets for these, and all Whale home games, are available at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, as well as on-line at www.ctwhale.com and through TicketMaster Charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000.

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

Norfolk Admirals 5 (SO) at Connecticut Whale 4
Saturday, January 21, 2012 – XL Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Norfolk 1 1 2 0 – 5
Connecticut 3 0 1 0 – 4

1st Period-1, Norfolk, Johnson 14 (Ashton, Conacher), 0:39. 2, Connecticut, Deveaux 12 (Newbury, Christensen), 1:26 (PP). 3, Connecticut, Tanski 3 (Tessier), 3:49. 4, Connecticut, Bourque 3 (Tessier, Parlett), 6:33. Penalties-Ouellet Nor (slashing), 1:16; Angelidis Nor (roughing), 9:03; Owens Ct (roughing), 9:03; Bell Ct (interference), 10:55.

2nd Period-5, Norfolk, Palat 3   3:58. Penalties-Conacher Nor (goaltender interference), 0:19; Newbury Ct (goaltender interference), 5:41; Johnson Nor (boarding), 14:39.

3rd Period-6, Norfolk, Ashton 16 (Panik, Jackson), 6:10. 7, Norfolk, Conacher 24 (Kostka), 6:28 (PP). 8, Connecticut, Tanski 4 (Grant, Owens), 8:13. Penalties-Jackson Nor (fighting), 6:10; Nightingale Ct (fighting), 6:10; Voros Ct (cross-checking), 6:10.

OT Period- No Scoring. Penalties-Angelidis Nor (roughing), 3:40; Newbury Ct (roughing), 3:40.

Shootout – Norfolk 2 (Gudas NG, Ashton NG, Kostka G, Barberio NG, Conacher NG, Ouellet NG, Fornataro NG, Dimmen NG, Johnson NG, Panik G), Connecticut 1 (Christensen G, Audy-Marchessault NG, Bell NG, Newbury NG, Tanski NG, Bouchard NG, Thuresson NG, Bourque NG, Deveaux NG, Erixon NG).
Shots on Goal-Norfolk 8-8-13-5-1-35. Connecticut 7-7-11-4-0-29.
Power Play Opportunities-Norfolk 1 / 3; Connecticut 1 / 3.
Goalies-Norfolk, Tokarski 17-9-0 (3 shots-0 saves); Janus 8-6-2 (26 shots-25 saves). Connecticut, Johnson 10-8-5 (34 shots-30 saves).
A-5,557
Referees-Terry Koharski (10).
Linesmen-Derek Wahl (46), Luke Galvin (2).

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UConn Women Shellack DePaul 88-44

If Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies women’s basketball team keeps beating his friends’ teams badly, he’s going to end up with no friends.

Last Saturday, it was Harry Perretta’s Villanova Wildcats squad. This Saturday, it was his Olympic assistant coach and good friend Doug Bruno’s DePaul Blue Demons.

Connecticut's Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis left, goes up for a shot against DePaul's Jasmine Penny right, in the second half during an NCAA college basketball game in Chicago, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis scored 25 points to help the Huskies to a relatively easy 88-44 win over the Blue Demons in front of 4,001 at McGrath-Phillips Arena in Chicago, IL.

The No. 3 Huskies, who completed a 3-0 week which included wins over two ranked teams, improve to 17-2 (6-1 Big East). The injury-depleted Blue Demons fall to 15-5 (3-3).

Besides tying her career-high of 25 points, KML pulled down seven rebounds. Tiffany Hayes added 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals while Stefanie Dolson had 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. Bria Hartley chipped in with 10 points and six steals but had five turnovers.

As usual, Kelly Faris had a nice all around game with eight points, seven rebounds, six assists, two steals and three blocked shots.

Brittany Hrynko led the Blue Demons with 18 points and four rebounds but she did turn the ball over nine times.  Jasmine Penny added seven points while Deanna Ortiz had six. DePaul’s leading scorer, Anna Martin, was held scoreless.

As the game of basketball goes, so do the runs.

The Huskies started this game out with an 11-0 run before DePaul finally got on the scoreboard on a Katherine Harry jumper with 16:14 to go in the half. UConn followed that run with an 11-3 run to open up a 17 point lead.

Over the next six or so minutes the play was a little helter skelter as both teams had trouble scoring and taking care of the ball. DePaul would work UConn’s lead down to 12 a few times before things started clicking for them.

With a 32-16 lead, the Huskies seized control of the game with a 21-4 run to push their lead to 33 points at 53-20. Hrynko hit two free throws just before halftime to cut UConn’s lead to 31 points.

Within the first six minutes of the half, UConn worked the lead up to 40 points and allowed Auriemma to rest his starters and get the bench some more work.

The one bad thing to come from the game was the fact that Caroline Doty tweaked her knee in the first half after playing just two minutes. There wasn’t any noticeable play where she did it but it could have come from the fact that UConn just played on Thursday night and then had an awful travel day on Friday with the weather that plagued the Midwest before hitting the Northeast on Saturday.

The Huskies couldn’t land in Chicago due to the inclement weather so they were forced to Indianpolis and then took a five hour snowy bus ride to get to Chicago. So without speculating, I’m going to say that’s probably what helped force Doty from the game. Hopefully, it turns out to be nothing and she’ll be back on the court next time out.

That next time out will come on Wednesday night when the Huskies head to upstate New York for a matchup with the Syracuse Orange. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised locally in Connecticut on CPTV.

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

Notes and musings:

UConn Huskies @ DePaul Blue Demons 1.21.12 box score

UConn ended DePaul’s 28-game home winning streak. Ironically enough, UConn was the last team to beat them at home back on February 10, 2010.

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

Tiffany Hayes has now scored in double figures in eight straight games.

UConn shot 54.7% (29-53) from the floor while the Blue Demons shot 27.8% (15-54).

The Huskies had 19 assists on their 29 made baskets.

UConn shot 47.4% (9-19) from beyond the arc while DePaul shot 30.8% (8-26).

The Huskies went 21-of-26 (80.8%) from the charity stripe.

UConn dominated the glass, outrebounding the Blue Demons 48-22.

The Huskies scored 33 points off of 23 DePaul turnovers. The Blue Demons nine points off 19 UConn turnovers.

UConn outscored DePaul 30-8 in the paint and just 4-2 on the fast break.

The Huskies had 20 second chance points to eight for the Blue Demons.

UConn’s bench had 46 points.

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Photo credit: AP Photo

Tennessee Upsets UConn, 60-57

Connecticut's Roscoe Smith, left, and Brendan Allen look on in the final seconds of an NCAA college basketball game against Tennessee on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, in Knoxville, Tenn.

Given the inconsistent play from his UConn Huskies team at times this season, it makes you wonder if Jim Calhoun is thinking that maybe he should have retired on top after they won the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.

Jarnell Stokes, playing in just his third collegiate game, scored 16 points to help the Tennessee Volunteers to the 60-57 upset win over the Huskies in front of 21,114 at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN on Saturday afternoon.

It’s the second straight loss for the Huskies, a feat that’s been accomplished twice now this season, who fall to 14-5. The Volunteers ended their three-game losing streak and improve to 9-10.

Jeremy Lamb woke up from his slumber to lead UConn with 23 points. Shabazz Napier added 18 points, four rebounds and four assists while Andre Drummond had six points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Besides his 16 points, Stokes added 12 rebounds for a double-double and also had two blocks. Cameron Tatum was the only other Volunteer in double figures with 15 points.

The Huskies jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first two and half minutes of the game before the Volunteers responded with a 7-2 run to take a one point lead. After an exchange of baskets, Tennessee went on a 6-0 run to open up a five point lead.

UConn bounced back with a 5-0 run capped off by a Napier three to tie the game back up. The two teams would stay close for the rest of the first half with Tennessee’s biggest lead coming at three points and UConn’s at two points. They’d also have four more ties as well.

The Huskies did hold a two point lead at the half at 27-25 but the Volunteers would take the lead for good by opening up the half on a 9-0 run to open up a seven point lead. UConn would respond with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to one but that’s the closest they would get.

Tennessee would build their lead to 10 points at 53-43 with 3:15 to go before UConn would battle back. Part of the reason that UConn was able to get back in the game was the fact that the Volunteers couldn’t make a free throw.

But down the stretch run while Lamb and Napier would hit threes, Tennessee would hit 7-of-10 free throws to seal the three point win.

We know the Huskies really miss Ryan Boatright. It was definitely evident in the loss.

Sure it was nice to see Lamb get involved with the offense again but the problem was the only two who really could do anything were Lamb and Napier. The problem was that Napier looked tired at times and seemed to be forcing shots, more than likely a result of being fatigued. Having Boatright would have eliminated that.

UConn hasn’t been able to do much in their offensive sets in the two straight losses. The good news is they’ll have eight days to correct the problem.

The Huskies aren’t back in action until next Sunday, January 29th, when they’ll host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the XL Center in Hartford, CT.

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

Notes and musings:

UConn Huskies @ Tennessee Volunteers 1.21.11 box score

UConn is now 6-3 without Ryan Boatright and 8-2 with him.

The starters for the Huskies were Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb, Niels Giffey, Alex Oriakhi and Andre Drummond.

UConn shot 36.4% (20-55) from the floor while the Volunteers shot 42.3% (22-52).

The Huskies had just eight assists on their 20 made baskets.

Both teams were 6-of-18 (33.3%) from beyond the arc.

UConn was 11-of-17 (64.7%) from the free throw line. That’s not going to win ball games. Tennessee was 10-of-21 (47.6%) but as I said above, they hit 7-of-10 down the stretch.

The Volunteers outscored the Huskies 22-20 in the paint.

UConn outscored Tennessee 5-2 on the fast break.

The Huskies had nine points off of 10 Tennessee turnovers. The Volunteers had 11 points off of 11 UConn turnovers.

UConn outrebounded Tennessee 39-37.

The Huskies had nine second chance points to four for the Volunteers.

UConn got no production from its bench.

The Huskies wore shirts in pre-game warmups that support Tennessee women’s coach Pat Summitt who is battling dementia.

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Photo credit: AP Photo