At this point, does anyone even remember the Texas two-misstep the UConn Huskies men's basketball had around the New Year? If you do, they are certainly doing their collective best the last few games to make you forget.
And Thursday night on a national stage was no different and in a place that is one of the hardest to pick up a road victory.
An 8-0 run after the score was tied at 62 was good enough to push UConn to an 83-73 upset win over the No. 17 Memphis Tigers at FedEx Forum in Memphis, TN.
The Huskies improve to 14-3 (2-2 American) while the Tigers fall to 13-4 (2-2).
DeAndre Daniels led the way for the Huskies with a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds and he also had three blocked shots. Not to be outdone, Shabazz Napier had a double-double of his own with 17 points and 10 assists. Lasan Kromah added 13 points.
Michael Dixon, Jr. led the way for the Tigers with 16 points. Austin Nichols had 13 points while Joe Jackson had 11. Shaq Goodwin finished with 10 points.
Geron Davis had a team-high six rebounds and seven assists while finishing with eight points in a losing effort.
The first half was a game of runs that saw each team get out to a lead then have it disappear. The Tigers would a one-point advantage at the half.
But UConn would open up the second half on a 10-2 run to get back out in front. Of course it went all for naught as the Tigers got back to one at 49-48. It stayed close over the next minutes of action until Goodwin tied the game up at 62.
From there, the Huskies used the 8-0 run to seize control. They also didn't miss a shot of the rest of the way from that point going 5-for-5 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the line.
This win a is a resume building win. A road win against a ranked team in a place that is nearly impossible to win at.
Things won't get any easier for UConn either. They'll host the No. 18/14 Louisville Cardinals on Saturday night at 9 p.m. ESPN's College GameDay will be in house at Gampel Pavilion and broadcasting from Storrs, CT all day.
Another win against a ranked opponent and the Huskies could see themselves slide back into the top 25.
UConn Huskies @ Memphis Tigers 1/16/14 box score
Here are UConn's postgame quotes.
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photo credit: richard messina – hartford courant
