Big East Sports Blog

Once is accident.  Two is a trend.  Three became a problem on Saturday afternoon for No.13 UConn against Big East foe Villanova.   The Huskies have been living on the edge as of late.  They needed overtime and a Craig Austrie jumper with 0.2 seconds left to steal a win down in Orlando against South Florida, 74-73, and the Huskies were pushed to the brink earlier this week against DePaul.  UConn, down 13 at one point, used heart and desperation to battle back, using a 23-7 run in final 10 and a half minutes to silence the Blue Demons.  Two straight games the Huskies had poor starts and early troubles, yet managed to dig deep and pull out two consecutive come-from-behind victories.  However, the Huskies ran into a Villanova squad, a Wildcat squad that’s been playing with their own desperation of late, fighting for their tournament lives. They were losers of five straight, and many left them for dead as far as their chances of possibly making the NCAA Tournament, but don’t look now, Villanova is generating some worthy bubble talk, as far as the tournament goes.  The Wildcats have won three in a row since falling in the final seconds on a questionable call to Georgetown.  Villanova has sunk St. John’s and West Virginia convincingly, and now the Wildcats outlast one of the hottest teams in the country.  They’re not a lock by any means to even get an invite, but the door is still open for Villanova.  Their next two games will go a long way in telling whether or not the Wildcats are tournament worthy.  The Wildcats get Marquette at home on Monday night and travel to Louisville to face off against the Cardinals.   In hostile territory, UConn did exactly the opposite of what head coach Jim Calhoun wanted.  The Huskies got behind the eight-ball early, falling in a 14-2 hole.  The raucous crowd at the Wachovia Center was firmly planted behind the home Wildcats, and the Huskies were overwhelmed from the outset, trailing by as many as 15 in the first half.  UConn forget they had center Hasheem Thabeet inside.  Touches were few and far between for the big man, and the Huskies left the Wachovia Center losers for the first time in 10 games.For Villanova to entertain the idea of victory, Scottie Reynolds needed to be the best player on the floor, and he delivered.  Reynolds finished the afternoon with 18 points, 15 coming in the second half, but he wasn’t without help.  A pair of freshmen stepped up and played like seniors to help Reynolds shoulder the offensive load.  Antonio Pena had 10 points, and Corey Stokes finished with 18, all coming off the bench.  UConn’s shortened bench finished with only three points, while Villanova’s bench poured in 20 points.   The other major storyline in the game was the Wildcats’ master plan in defending Huskies big man Hasheem Thabeet.  Villanova was dead set on not allowing Thabeet to be a factor, not allowing Thabeet to be the X-factor he’s been during UConn’s 10-game winning streak.  Hats off to Villanova head coach Jay Wright.  Every time Thabeet got his mitts on the ball, the Wildcats collapsed on him like a cheap lawn chair.  Wright sent ball boys, statisticians, announcers, fans, anyone he could find to throw at Thabeet.  The game plan paid off.  Despite missing only a minute of the game, Thabeet finished with just eight points (two in the first half) and attempted only three field goals.  While the big man had 10 boards, the Wildcats did a good job of steering clear of Thabeet, who had only three blocks in the game.   From the opening tap, you knew that a third come-from-behind win wasn’t in the cards for the visiting Huskies.  UConn made only one of their first eight shots.  Hasheem Thabeet had exactly one more touch than I did in the first half (1).  A.J. Price, who finished with a team-high 16 points, started out just 2-of-9.  UConn had nine first-half cough-ups, and zero fast-break points.   All good things must come to end, and while one streak ends, another carries on.  While impressive and eye-opening, (the Huskies defeated four ranked teams during the streak) UConn’s 10-game winning streak is over.  Villanova’s officially gone streaking, winning their third in a row, but more importantly, the Wildcats are back on the tournament bubble, still giving themselves an opportunity to play ball in late March.

 No.17 UConn 84  No.18 Notre Dame 76

A.J. Price left Notre Dame with more questions than answers after Wednesday night, as Price led No.17 UConn past No.18 Notre Dame 84-76 in the match up of the week in the Big East.  The Huskies survived another dominating performance by Irish forward Luke Harangody, who had 32 points and 16 rebounds in the game.

Price dished out nine assists to go along with his 26 points, and he connected on four 3-pointers and shot 10-of-19 from the field.  Jeff Adrien added 13 points and nine boards and Craig Austie added 14, but it was Austrie at the defensive end matched up against Irish guard Kyle McAlarney that made the difference.  McAlarney was held to just 12 points this time around, after buring UConn (19-5, 8-3) for 32 in the first meeting earlier this season.  The Irish were unable to get other players on track aside from Harangody and head coach Mike Brey couldn’t find someone to step up in place of McAlarney.  UConn’s defense in the second half held Notre (18-5, 8-3) Dame to 33 percent shooting

 South Florida 89  Syracuse 78

As impressive as UConn’s victory over Notre Dame was, South Florida stole the show on Wednesday night, shocking Syracuse 89-78 behind the duo of Kentrell Gransberry and Dominique Jones.  Gransberry had 23 and nine rebounds and Jones scored a game-high 29 points.  South Florida (11-15, 2-11)blew a 16-point to DePaul in their last contest, but used a 20-1 run down the stretch to run away from the Orange.  Donte Greene led Syracuse (17-9, 7-6) with 17 points and Jonny Flynn added 16.  Flynn has now logged 40 minutes in each of the last six games.

 Cincinnati 60 St. John’s 43

Cincinnati surpassed their win total from a year ago with a 60-43 win over St. John’s.  John Williamson led the Bearcats with 25 points and 11 rebounds.  Cincinnati (12-12, 7-5) held St John’s a terrible night shooting, making just 12 field goals the entire game, five of which came from beyond the arc.  The Red Storm (10-14, 4-9) shot just 5-of-22 in the 1st half, and had their three game winning streak snapped in the process.  The Bearcats find themselves currently in the thick of the Big East Tournament picture. 

Monday, Feb.4th

• Louisville 71, #16 Marquette 57
• St. Joseph’s 77, Villanova 55

Tuesday, Feb.5th

• #6 Georgetown 63, South Florida 53
• Providence 79, DePaul 65

Wednesday, Feb.6th

• #19 UConn 63, Syracuse 61
• #22 Notre Dame 95, Seton Hall 69
• St.John’s 52, Rutgers 45

Thursday, Feb.7th

• #25 Pittsburgh 55, West Virginia 54

Friday, Feb 8th. - No games scheduled

Coming down the home stretch during Rivalry Week, entering Big East play on Saturday, Georgetown, Notre Dame and UConn all went 2-0 dating back to last Saturday, Feb.2nd.  For the all the success the previously mentioned teams are having, DePaul, Villanova and Seton Hall posted goose eggs in the win column.

Beasts of the Big East

#6 Georgetown- defeated Seton Hall last Saturday 73-61, then followed up with a 10-point win against South Florida on Tuesday, 63-53.  While the Hoyas needed to rally from 10 points down, they pulled away late for the win and remain on top of the Big East standings at 9-1.

#22 Notre Dame.  Hot on the heels of the Hoyas are the Irish, who matched Georgetown by going 2-0 as well.  With wins over DePaul last Saturday 89-80 and mauling Seton Hall on Wednesday 95-69, the Irish remain just one game behind Georgetown in second place in the Big East at 7-2.

UConn - No team is hotter in the Big East right now.  The Huskies pulled out a tough, physical match up a week ago against Pitt, 60-53, and followed up one hard nosed win with another, knocking off arch rival Syracuse on Wednesday 63-61.  In their two wins this week, they’ve only surrendered an average of 57 points per game, and find themselves inside the Top 25 polls, riding a five game win streak and third in the Big East.

Iron unkind

DePaul- They played Notre Dame close, losing 89-80, but close doesn’t cut the mustard in the Big East.  The Blue Demons suffered their second straight loss this week on Tuesday, losing 79-65 to Providence.  DePaul has lost lost four straight, three on the road, since winning consecutive games over Rutgers and Florida Gulf Coast.

Seton Hall- After winning five in a row, the Pirates have had a power outage this week.  Thought they lost to the best two teams in the Big East ( 73-61 loss to Georgetown, 95-69 loss to Notre Dame), Seton Hall has only averaged 65 points in the two losses.

Villanova-Since starting 13-3, the Wildcats have lost five straight and went 0-2 this week, losing to Syracuse last weekend and getting hammered against Big Five rival St. Joe’s on Monday, 77-55.  An alarming stat this week for Villanova: they’ve given up an average of 82 points in both losses, while only scoring an average of 64.

Scoreboard for Monday, Jan.28th

UConn 69, Louisville 67

The Huskies prevail on Big Monday behind a big night from guard A.J. Price, who poured in 20 points.  UConn pounded Louisville on the glass, winning the rebounding advantage 40-29.  Very uncharacteristic night for Louisville.  The Cardinals jacked up 33 3-point attempts, connecting on 11; Juan Palacios and Terrence Williams combined to hoist 17 3’s.  UConn played with a short bench, due to suspensions to Doug Wiggins and Jerome Dyson last week.  The frontcourt duo of Stanley Robinson and Jeff Adrien combined for 28 points and 20 rebounds to help UConn to win their 4th straight.

Tuesday, Jan.29th  - #17 Marquette 62, South Florida 52

With Jerel McNeal and Dominic James struggling, Lazar Hayward scored 23 points and Wesley Matthews dropped in 16 to help Marquette past South Florida.  McNeal was held to six points, James managed only three for the Golden Eagles.  In a surprising twist, (not really) Kentrell Gransberry turned in another double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds, but the Bulls were unable to overcome an eight-point halftime defict.

Wednesday scoreboard - Jan.30th

• #6 Georgetown 74  St. John’s 42
• #18Pittsburgh 69  Villanova 57
• Syracuse 60  DePaul 55
• Cincinnati 62  West Virginia 39
• Seton Hall 84  Rutgers 71

Saturday, January 26th

• Notre Dame 90  #18 Villanova 80
• UConn 68  #7 Indiana 63
• Louisville 67  St. John’s 57
• Rutgers 77  #13 Pittsburgh 64
• Marquette 79  DePaul 71
• #9 Georgetown 58  West Virginia 57

Sunday, January 27th

Seton Hall recorded their 4th straight win with a 64-61 win over Cincinnati.  Center Brian Laing dominated with 23 points and eight rebounds, and Jamar Nutter finished with 20 points.  Deonta Vaughn tried to keep Cincinnati within strking distance, scoring 15 points in the game.  Vaughn was the sole Bearcat in double figures.  Cincy trailed by 56-53 down the stretch but the Bearcats couldn’t get over the hump and pull out the victory.  The Pirates improve to 14-6 and 4-3 in the Big East.  Cincinnati falls to 9-11 and .500 in the conference at 4-4.

Freshman Donte Greene powered Syracuse with 24 points, as the Orange were able to fend off pesky Providence 71-64 on Sunday afternoon.  The freshman came up large in the final minutes of the game, breaking a 56-all tie with a 3-pointer and Syrcause sealed the game at the free throw line with 8-of-10 attempts in the final 90 seconds of action.  Providence was led by Dwain Williams with 21 points and Jeff Xavier with 16.  Weyinmi Efejuku and Geoff McDermott both finished scoreless on a combined 0-of-9 shooting.  Syracuse pounded the Friars on the glass, outrebounding Providence 47-32; six Syracuse players had at least four rebounds, with Arinze Onuaku leading the charge with 14 boards.  Syracuse pulled to .500 in Big East play (4-4) and 14-7 overall, while Providence fell below the .500 mark (3-4) and 12-7 overall.

No.18 Panthers blast Red Storm 81-57

Pittsburgh loves to play in their home away from home, Madison Square Garden, and they easily handled St. John’s 81-57 on Wednesday night.  Forward Sam Young led three Panthers players in double figures with 26.  Ronald Ramon added 16 and five assists and DaJuan Blair finished with 10 points, along with eight rebounds.

Pittsburgh (16-3, 4-2) improve to 19-8 all time at MSG since 2000.  They’ve played in six of the last seven Big East Championship games, and they also defeated then No.6 Duke a week before Christmas 65-64 in overtime.  Pittsburgh shot 54.5 percent for the game and a torrid 61.5 percent in the 2nd half.

Anthony Mason Jr. was the sole bright-spot for St. John’s (7-10, 1-5), scoring 23 points on an impressive 12-of-17 shooting from the field.  The Red Storm have dropped four straight and six of their last seven games.  They’ll attempt to stop their recent slide Saturday at Louisville, while No.18 Pittsburgh squares off against Rutgers on Saturday also.

Cardinals take care of Bulls 80-60

Earl Clark’s 18-point effort off the bench led Louisville’s rout of South Florida 80-60.  Jerry Smith and David Padgett added 12 each.  Louisville lead comfortably at halftime 45-26.  The Louisville defense held South Florida to 39 percent shooting, while forcing the Bulls into 15 turnovers.

Kentrell Gransberry once more led South Florida (10-10, 1-6) with 22 points and 10 rebounds.  Gransberry doesn’t get nearly enough attention he deserves.  He’s almost a guaranteed double-doubled every night, but the rest of his support cast just doesn’t provide him with much help.  Freshman Dominique Jones finished with 17, however, the next highest output by a Bull player was just seven points.  South Florida has lost six in a row, all in the Big East and all by double-digit margins. 

Louisville will host St. John’s on Saturday.  South Florida returns to action Tuesday, Jan.29th against Marquette.

Huskies slip past Bearcats 84-83

UConn’s balanced offensive attack with four players in double figures, helped the Huskies over Cincinnati 84-83 on Wednesday night.  Center Hasheem Thabeet led UConn (13-5, 4-3) with 22 points and seven rebounds and guard Jerome Dyson finished with 20 points.

Cincinnati (9-10, 4-3), on the other hand, was a one-trick pony on offense.  Deonta Vaughn dropped 34 points on the Huskies, but was the only Bearcat in double figures.  Cincinnati squandered a 12-point lead with six minutes left in the second half, and eventually allowed UConn to square things at 80 with 90 seconds left to play.  A.J. Prices’ two free throws gave UConn the lead 84-83 and Cincinnati’s last-ditch effort failed on a miss by Marcus Sikes.

The Huskies found their way to the free throw line 37 times  in this one, and more impressively, made 32 of them.  UConn trailed at the break 41-38 and picked things up at the offensive end of the floor in the second half with a 46-point outburst. 

UConn will aim for their 3rd straight on Saturday afternoon against No.7 Indiana.  This could be just the signature type of win the Huskies need on their resume as their play has picked up and improved recently with wins over Marquette and now Cincinnati.  The Bearcats have dropped two of their last three and they’ll look for a win against Seton Hall on Sunday afternoon.

Huskies hand Golden Eagles 2nd straight loss

Both UConn and No.13 Marquette were coming off losses last Thursday, to Providence and Louisville respectively.  On Sunday, UConn was determined to rebound from the loss at the expense of Marquette.  Connecticut dominated Marquette in Storrs, 89-73, handing the Golden Eagles their 2nd straight double-digit defeat in the Big East on Sunday.

A.J. Price led five Connecticut (12-5, 3-3) players in double figures, with 17 points and eight assists.  Craig Austrie and Jeff Adrien added 15 each, and Hasheem Thabeet turned in a good afternoon with 15 points, seven rebounds and six blocks.  As a team, UConn recorded 10 blocks in the game.

No.13 Marquette (13-4, 3-3) suffered their 2nd straight double-digit defeat on the road, and the Golden Eagles were held to just 40 percent shooting.  Lazar Hayward paced Marquette with 14 points and Wesley Mattews added 13.  In the loss last Thursday to Louisville, Marquette shot only 30 percent from the field and missed all 12 3-point attempts.  The backcourt duo of Jerel McNeal and Dominic James each added nine points apiece on a combined 7-of-20 shooting.

UConn was impressive from the free-throw line, sinking 33-of-39 attempts, with Marquette got to the line just 18 times, connect on 11.  The Huskies led 39-24 at the half, and went on a 12-5 early run in the second half to balloon their lead to 51-29, as the Golden Eagles missed on seven of their first nine shots to open the second half.  UConn’s largest lead of the game was 67-38 with nine and a half to play.

Connecticut will travel to Cincinnati on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m., while Marquette will have five days off to regroup.  They’ll return to action on Saturday against DePaul.

Mountaineers use big 2nd half to storm past Bulls

Four players scored in double figures for West Virginia, as the Mountaineers picked up a 69-52 road win against South Florida on Sunday afternoon.

West Virginia (14-4, 4-2) was powered by Da’Sean Butler and Darris Nichols, who each finished with 15 points; Butler added 12 rebounds.  Alex Ruoff added 14 and Joe Mazzulla had 11.  Despite shooting only 29.6 percent in the first half, the Mountaineers picked their game up in the second, shooting 48 percent and dropping in 43 second-half points.

Kentrell Gransberry led South Florida (10-9, 1-5) once again, pouring in 22 points and grabbing seven rebounds.  Gransberry, however, had a day to forget at the free-throw line, going 2-of-11 from the charity stripe.  As a team, South Florida was just 4-of-15 from the line.  The Bulls also struggled from beyond the arc, going 4-of-19, including shooting 2-of-12 in the second half.

West Virginia, which has won three in a row, will host Marshall on Wednesday at 8 p.m.  South Florida, which has lost five straight and five of six Big East Conference games, will try to end their five-game slide on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against visiting Louisville.

There were 4 games on the Big East slate on Thursday night, with Seton Hall, Providence, Louisville and West Virginia all picking up key victories in conference play.

Seton Hall 74, South Florida 64

The monkey finally comes off their backs, as Seton Hall gets their win this season in Big East play, defeating South  Florida 74-64.  Seton Hall (11-6, 1-3) had four players score in double figures, with Jeremy Hazell leading the charge with 22 points.  Jamar Nutter added 13 points and John Garcia pitched in with 10 points and 13 rebounds. 

South Florida (10-8, 1-4) was led by Kentrell Gransberry, who had 21 points and 10 boards.  The Bulls doubled-up the Pirates early, leading 12-6 before Seton Hall raced back with a 15-0 run, all coming on 3-pointers, to go up 21-12.  The Pirates led at the break 36-30.  South Florida would get no closer than three points the entire second half, as they lost their fourth straight game.  They’ll try to end their four-game slide on Sunday afternoon when they West Virginia at 2 p.m.  Seton Hall returns to action on Saturday night when they host Louisville at 8 p.m.

West Virginia 73  St. John’s 64

With the scored tied at 29 at halftime, West Virginia used 59 percent shooting from the field in the second half to knock off St. John’s 73-64 on Wednesday night.  Da’Sean Butler led WVU (13-4, 3-2) with 19 points and Joe Alexander added 15 points.  John Flowers and Darris Nichols each finished with 10.  The Mountaineers have now won three of their last four.

St. John’s (7-9, 1-4) dropped their third straight despite 15 points off the bench from Larry Wright and 14 points from Anthony Mason Jr.  The Red Storm outrebounded the Mountaineers 39-30, but never came closer than six points in the second frame. 

It boiled down to a couple big runs by WVU in the first and second half.  Down 19-13 in the first half, the Mountaineers went on a 13-2 run to go up 26-21, however St. John’s late 8-3 run closed out the first half at 29 apiece.  With just under eight to play in the second half, WVU went on a decisive 19-6 run to led 55-43.  The win marks the 15th straight at home for West Virginia.  They’ll travel to South Florida on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., while St. John’s will be idle for five days until they return to action next Wednesday, Jan.23rd, when they host Pittsburgh at 7 p.m.

Providence 77  Connecticut 65

Providence pulled off a little bit of shocker in Gampel Pavillion on Wednesday night, defeating Connecticut 77-65.  Dwain Williams scored 23 points for the Friars, who hit 14 3-pointers on the night, topping their 13 they hit earlier in the week against South Florida.  Williams was 6-of-9 from behind the arc and Brian McKenzie was a perfect 4-of-4 from downtown, finishing with 20 points.  Geoff McDermott added 12 points and Jeff Xavier finished with 11.  The Friars are officially on a winning streak, having won three straight conference games.

Jeff Adrien led UConn (11-5, 2-3) with 16 points and 15 rebounds, Doug Wiggins had 15 and A.J. Price added 12.  The turning point of the game game when Price picked up his fourth foul with just under 13 minutes to go with UConn trailing 43-40.  With Price on the bench, Providence (12-5, 3-2) went for the kill, going on a 17-8 run to lead 60-48.  Price would return to action, but was unable to spark a Huskie run.  UConn couldn’t get the Friars lead under nine points the remainder of the second half.  While Providence flourished from 3-point range, UConn floundered, shooting just 4-of-19 from beyond the arc and 24 percent shooting in the second half.  The Huskies shot 37 percent for the game, while Providence shot 43 percent.  UConn will look to rebound off the home loss with a home victory, when they face off against Marquette on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.  Providence will have a week off and they’ll return to action next Thursday, Jan. 24th at home against Seton Hall.

Louisville 71 #13 Marquette 51

Don’t look now, but Louisville is healthy and starting to play with a lot consistency.  Just ask Marquette, who saw first hand, how dangerous Louisville is becoming.  Louisville dominated No.13 Marquette from start to finish, smashing the visiting Golden Eagles 71-51 on Thursday night. 

Louisville (13-4, 3-1) shot 49 percent from the field, as Terrence Williams led the way with a game-high 20 points and David Padgett finshed with 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the Cardinals, which outscored Marquette 35-12.  The Louisville defense limited Marquette to just 30.4 percent shooting and held the Golden Eagles without a 3-point field goal; Marquette went 0-of-12 from beyond the arc.  Louisville has won four straight and moved into a 4-way tie atop the Big East standings at 3-1.

Marquette (13-3, 3-2) was reduced to a jump shooting team largely because the tenacious Louisville defense allowed close to zero dribble-drive penatration from the Golden Eagles.  Jerel McNeal led Marquette with 16 points and Wesley Matthews finished with 14.  As if the brow beating wasn’t bad enough, Marquette lost guard Dominic James in the second half, after James reaggrivated a wrist injury with about six minutes to go.  James did not return and finished with a season-low three points.  The Golden Eagles also lost the battle on the glass 40-28.

No.13 Marquette will try to rebound on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. when they travel to Connecticut to take on the Huskies.  Louisville will aim for their fifth straight win on Saturday night at 8 p.m. against Seton Hall.

Somewhere Patrick Ewing, Dikembe Mutombo, and Alonzo Mourning are ecstatic and a little surprised.  The next big man in the Hoyas’ storied tradition at center wrote another chapter in his legacy with a shot that nobody could have predicted.  It was a match-up centered around two Big East rivals, with Hasheem Thabeet and Roy Hibbert putting the ‘big’, back in Big East.  Game, set, match for Georgetown.  Advantage Roy Hibbert.

Roy Hibbert drained a 3-pointer with four seconds left to break the tie ballgame, giving No.7 Georgetown a 72-69 win on Saturday, capping off the Hoyas come-from-behind victory against Connecticut.  It was just the second career 3-pointer Hibbert made, catching the UConn Huskies defense completely off guard, not expecting the 7-foot-2 center to nail the step-back three to win it.

Georgetown (13-1, 3-0) is now the lone undefeated team in the Big East and the Hoyas notched their second straight win over UConn (11-4, 2-2).  The Huskies were without head coach Jim Calhoun on the sidelines for the first time since 2003 due to the flu.  Georgetown held the lead at halftime 42-38.

UConn had the Hoyas on the ropes in their own building, up 67-61 with about four and a half minutes to go, but Georgetown erased the six point deficit behind two three’s from Jessie Sapp and Austin Freeman.  The successive three’s by Georgetown tied the game at 67.  The Huskies didn’t score a basket from the field rest of the way after Jerome Dyson gave UConn the 67-61 lead.

Hibbert had 20 points and eight rebounds, both game highs.  Hibbert dominated the big man match-up between he and opposing center Hasheem Thabeet.  Thabeet only registered seven points and grabbed just two rebounds.  Despite the struggles from Jessie Sapp and Jonathan Wallace (both were just 2-of-8 shooting; Sapp had six points, Wallace had five), Patrick Ewing Jr. gave the Hoyas a tremendous boost off the bench with 14 points.  Austin Freeman added 13 points and DaJuan Summers finished with 12.

For UConn, Jeff Adrien led the way with 18 points and six rebounds, A.J. Price had 17 and Doug Wiggins scored 15.  Dyson, entering the contest as the leading scorer for UConn, fell into foul trouble early on and finished with only eight points.

It’s a difficult pill to swallow for UConn, a really shocking way to lose a game.  I have a funny feeling the Huskies never planned for a spot-up 3-pointer from Hibbert.  It’s not like they had an abundance of game film they could of used to prepare for that situation.  If you didn’t like this one, you don’t like Big East basketball.  Two old rivals going fiercly at one another, a see-saw, tooth-and-nail match-up that went down to the last few seconds.  The go-to-guy wound up with the game on his fingertips, and you’d probably be expecting a hook-shot or short turn around shot in the paint from Hibbert.  Lesson for UConn: Expect the unexpected.  Oh, and the Roy Hibbert can shoot 3-pointers.

Georgetown can enjoy the victory, but it’ll have to be short-lived, as they’ll hit the road for another Big East clash on ’Big Monday’ against Pittsburgh on Monday at 7 p.m.  UConn will return home Thursday night at 7 p.m. against Providence.