Big East Sports Blog

Wipe the sweat from your brows Huskies fans.  This one certainly put an unexpected scare into UConn.  A much needed lesson for the Huskies as they head into a harder stretch of scheduling in 2008: don’t take anyone for granted.

Connecticut had five players score in double figures, led by Jerome Dyson who had 23, and the Huskies escaped Orlando with a win over Central Florida 85-82 on Friday night.

Only taking a two point lead into halftime, 43-41, the Huskies used an 8-2 run in the early moments to give themselves some breathing room over the Knights, 56-46.  UCF refused to go away quietly into the night, relying on their perimeter shooting to keep them within striking distance.  The Knights canned 10 three pointers, tying their season high from beyond the arc on the year.

A.J. Price scored 13 points and dished out five assists for UConn, while Jeff Adrien added 16 points and nine rebounds.  The Huskies improve to 9-2 and have won four straight games.  Their three point margin of victory is the slimmest margin of victory for Connecticut on the season.  The previous smallest margin of victory was a four point win to open the season against Morgan State 69-65.

For Central Florida, the loss drops them under the .500 mark at 5-6 and they are 1-4 in their past five games.  Jermaine Taylor led the way for UCF with 30 points and Mike O’Donnell added 20.  Central Florida got to within three points with 10 seconds left, but two free throws from Craig Austrie allowed UConn to hang on for the victory.

For UConn, head coach Jim Calhoun has done a pretty good job softening the schedule in the early part of the season,  the Huskies have feasted on their share of cupcakes early this season (Quinnipiac, Maine, Buffalo, Florida A & M).  Take away Memphis and Gonzaga, and UConn hasn’t been tested, but that will change in ‘08.  Road tilts at Georgetown, Indiana, and Villanova (all of which are ranked) will present the Huskies with stiffer competition down the road.

We’ll find out what UConn is made of in the month of January when they’ll clash with Georgetown, Marquette, Louisville and Indiana. Connecticut will take the plunge into Big East Conference play next on Jan. 3rd when they travel to Seton Hall to take on the Pirates.